Expectations Considerably Worse in the German Chemical Industry
Amid fears of a shortage of natural gas, the expectations of German chemical companies deteriorated significantly in June, with the indicator plummeting to minus 40.3 points, down from minus 27.2 points in May. This is the result of the latest survey conducted by the ifo Institute. “There is a lot of uncertainty about a Russian gas embargo and the consequences this would have for the chemical industry,” says ifo industry expert Anna Wolf.
As a result, companies in the chemical industry expect to scale back their production in the coming months; this indicator dropped to minus 14.8 points from plus 11.2 points in May. Moreover, companies intend to increase their prices, even though the indicator fell to 60.7 points, down from 67.8 points in May. “The current situation with supplies of precursors to chemical companies has hardly eased,” Wolf says. In June, 57.5 percent of companies reported a shortage, down from 58.7 percent in May. The record was 73.0 percent in December 2021.
