Latest economic statistics from China suggest its economy is still flagging, meaning it will continue to export excess chemicals capacity into global markets. 

-          China’s economy is sputtering as country deals with excess domestic capacity and ruptured property sector

-          Global chemical markets likely to see more flows of cheap material from China, undermining prices and margins

-          Latin American Petrochemical and Chemical Association (APLA) delegates in Mexico report rising pressure from Chinese, US imports 

-          ICIS data shows spreads near record lows in Asia, little hope of recovery to long-term averages 

SINGAPORE (ICIS) -- Asia styrene prices continued to be under pressure, while downstream margins began to recover.

In this chemical podcast, Asia styrene editors Luffy Wu and Aviva Zhang discuss recent market developments, and the outlook ahead, following their observations in the industry conference held last week in Xi'an, China.

The European base oils market is facing key challenges with strong capacity growth and a transition from Group I to Group II and Group III, while re-refined base oils have been growing in popularity due to consistent quality, attractive prices and their circular aspect. The ICIS base oils team attended the 60th UEIL Congress in Italy, engaging with key players in the industry on the latest market developments.

Samantha Wright, Sophie Udubasceanu and Alessia Succi Cimentini discuss the key takeaways from the conference and what awaits the European base oils industry. 

Ongoing weak demand pressure, rising import trends, and interest in recycling sets the tone at K in Dusseldorf, Germany, one of Europe’s key downstream plastics industry events.

Markets editor Stephanie Wix and markets reporter Sam Lovatt unpack the highlights and major talking points from K in this podcast, focusing on Europe acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polystyrene (PS), expandable polystyrene (EPS), polycarbonate (PC), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) markets.

Asia olefin players open their 2026 contract talks at a trade conference Xi’an, China, this week, with fundamentals in oversupply and supply pressure likely to ramp up in 2026.

Podcast by Josh Quah and Julia Tan

Editing by Will Beacham

With the problem of plastic pollution growing, especially in Asia, an innovative project by Borealis and partners aims to build scalable, low-cost municipal waste systems in regions where infrastructure is lacking.

Political leaders in Europe must boost availability of cheap energy and deregulate or risk deeper deindustrialization, according to Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman.  

-      AI will require vast amounts of cheap energy, Europe disadvantaged

-      EU energy policies have closed access to huge reserves of oil and gas

-      Europe has outsourced manufacturing, often to more polluting regions

-      CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) does not work, increases costs of imported raw materials

-      Tackle climate change through use of innovative materials, nuclear fusion

-      Tariffs are hurting any nascent economic recovery

-      Don’t expect strong economic bounce back in 2026

-      US reshoring will drive industrial and chemicals demand 

-      China-driven overcapacity will persist for several years

ICIS journalist Will Beacham interviews Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman

European phthalic anhydride (PA) reporter Gabrielle Jordan and plasticizers reporter Marion Boakye discuss market developments into Q4, highlighting key talking points from the European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) annual meeting held from 22–25 September in Berlin, Germany.

Demand in both markets is expected to remain subdued into 2026, with sentiment for the coming year projected to closely mirror 2025 levels.

Topics discussed include:

Podcast by Marion Boakye and Gabrielle Jordan

SINGAPORE (ICIS)- In this chemical podcast, Senior editors Emily Friedman and Arianne Perez discuss the implications of recently added reciprocal tariffs on the recycled PET (R-PET) markets in the US and Asia.

SINGAPORE (ICIS) – Fatty alcohols mid-cuts C12-14 are expected to see sluggish demand in the near term amid the festive holidays in some countries in Asia. Meanwhile, its substitute linear alkyl benzene (LAB) is likely to see some supply lengthening in 2026, even as demand conditions continue to be optimistic.

In this podcast, ICIS senior editors, Clive Ong and Helen Yan discuss recent market conditions with an outlook ahead in Asia.