EU chemicals production dropped 1.7 per cent in the first two months of 2013, according to the latest Cefic Chemicals Trends Report. Monthly data for February showed a 2.3 per cent drop compared with February the year prior. The EU chemicals production level for the first two months of the year remains 8.1 per cent below the peak in 2007, data show. Monthly data for February show prices for chemicals in the European Union climbed on a year-on-year basis in February, up 1.1 per cent.
The overall EU chemicals industry confidence indicator continued to deteriorate in April, the third straight month of decline, mainly due to lower order-book assessments. Recently published data show sales were slightly lower in January 2013 compared with January 2012, but stood 3.5 per cent higher than the pre-crisis, full-year peak level reached in 2008. The EU chemicals industry capacity utilisation level, compiled by Cefic and based on Eurostat data, nudged downward to 78.3 per cent in the first quarter from 78.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012. Latest data show the EU chemicals sector employment level for 2012 was 0.1 per cent lower compared with 2011.