Chemicals production in the EU decreased 2.2% in the first two months of 2012, and 2.4% in February 2012 on a year-on-year basis, according to Cefic's recent report on monthly chemicals trends. Consumer chemicals was the only sub-sector that experienced an increase, up 0.7% during February 2012, compared with February 2011, while basic inorganics and specialty chemicals output decreased by 5.2% and 4.5%, respectively, year over year. Petrochemicals and polymers production also fell in February 2012 compared with the same period the previous year, by 3.5% and 2.6%, respectively, Cefic says. The decline in EU chemical production in the first quarter of 2012 was caused by "continued deterioration in the EU business climate and weak macroeconomic activity," says Moncef Hadhri, Cefic's chief economist. "The sector's downward growth trend is partly the result of financial turbulence stemming from the European debt crisis, and the intensifying fiscal consolidation efforts in most EU member-states," Hadhri adds.
Prices for chemicals in the EU increased 4.4% in February 2012 compared with February 2011, driven by the overall price increase in basic inorganics which reached 7.2% during the same period, Cefic says. EU chemicals trade surplus, however, improved by €800 million ($1.05 billion) in January 2012 compared with the corresponding period of 2011, to reach an overall EU chemicals net trade surplus of €4.1 billion. Sales for chemicals in the EU also increased by 0.2% in January 2012 compared with January 2011, the study says.