Global Chemicals Market Weekly Overview 17–22 Aug: Feedstock Costs and Logistics Risks Continue to Drive Prices 🛢️ Oil and naphtha prices remained elevated during the week, with Brent trading around USD 93–94/bbl, keeping production costs for olefins and polyolefins under pressure. Asian ethylene and propylene prices moved higher, while PE and PP in several markets have risen by more than USD 200/tonne in the recent period. 🚢 Middle East supply risks continued to add a premium to polymer markets. The Persian Gulf accounts for roughly 25% of global PE/PP exports, making disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz a significant risk to cargo availability and landed costs in importing markets. 🌊 In Europe, exceptionally low Rhine water levels added further pressure to chemical supply chains. BASF and other producers faced production or delivery constraints for selected products, while shifting freight to road and rail increased logistics costs on top of already expensive feedstocks. 🇨🇳 China remained a moderating factor for prices. PDH operating rates hovered around 70%, while some petrochemical units reduced rates or entered maintenance. However, inventories and underlying demand remained relatively soft, while continued Chinese polymer exports increased competitive pressure across regional markets. 📉 Overall, the current price strength appears to be driven more by cost-push than demand-pull. Packaging demand remains relatively stable, but construction and parts of industrial demand are still weak, limiting producers’ ability to fully pass higher input costs downstream. 🔎 In the near term, olefins and polyolefins may remain elevated if crude prices stay firm and Hormuz-related risks persist. Oil prices, Rhine conditions, and polymer export flows from the Middle East and China will remain key factors to watch next week. #Chemicals $CHR $EM $ICP