Global oil prices are predicted to remain in the “low $100s” for much of this year even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens as early as next month, investment bank JP Morgan has suggested.   The bank said on Monday supplies of oil in the region would not return to normal service quickly.   The […]

European polymer prices continued to rise over the week to 8th May. There were increases of between 15 and 40 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, Polypropylene, PVC and Polystyrene.   Asian polymers were mixed with increases of between 10 and 20 USD per tonne reported in the prices of […]

The US economy created 115,000 jobs in April as businesses kept hiring despite the economic fallout from the US-Israel war in Iran.   The increase was stronger than expected, with the total almost twice as much as economists had forecast.   The data, published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), also showed the […]

Donald Trump is increasing the tariffs charged on cars and trucks imported from the European Union to 25% in a sharp escalation of trade tensions with Brussels.   The US president accused the EU of “not complying with our fully agreed to trade deal” in a post on Truth Social, but did not explain how. […]

Shell has become the latest energy giant to report a jump in profits following the sharp increase in oil prices since the beginning of the Iran war.   It reported profits of $6.92bn for the first three months of the year, which was higher than analysts had expected and up from $5.58bn in the same […]

European polymer prices continued to rise over the week to 1st May, though only on two grades. Prices appear to be stabilising but there were increases of 15 and 40 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of Polystyrene and PET.   Asian polymers were mixed with reductions of between 5 and 50 USD per […]

China will scrap tariffs for all African countries from Friday 1st May, except Eswatini, which maintains ties with Taiwan.   As of December 2024, China had already implemented a duty-free policy for 33 least-developed African nations. The policy now covers 53 countries, and will be in place until 30 April 2028. It is unclear what […]

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is quitting the OPEC and OPEC+ groups of major oil producing nations next month after nearly 60 years of membership.   The UAE said its decision would help it meet growing global energy demand in the long term after recent investments to boost its production capacity.   It is seen […]

BP’s profits for the first three months of the year have more than doubled following a surge in oil prices since the beginning of the Iran war.   In its first results since the conflict broke out, the energy giant reported profits of $3.2bn between January and March after an “exceptional” performance in its oil […]

European polymer prices continued to rise over the week to 24th April. There were increases of between 55 and 175 EUR per tonne reported in the prices of HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, Polypropylene, PVC, ABS and Polystyrene.   Asian polymers were mixed with reductions of between 5 and 65 USD per tonne reported in the prices […]