The latest chemical trends report released by the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) shows that the production of chemicals in the EU from January to September 2018 increased by 0.2% compared with the same period in 2017; sales revenue increased by 4%, mainly because manufacturers Product prices have been raised, with chemical product prices reaching a five-year high in the third quarter.

Statistics show that the output of most chemicals in the EU declined in the first three quarters of this year, with the largest decline in basic chemicals, while the output of consumer chemicals increased by 2.9% year-on-year. Cefic said the increase in chemical prices was due to higher oil prices. The average selling price of the EU chemical industry increased by 3.6% year-on-year, of which the price of petrochemicals increased by 5.4% year-on-year, the price of basic inorganic substances increased by 5.3%, and the price of polymers increased by 4.2%.

As of August this year, EU chemical exports totaled 108.4 billion euros ($122.6 billion), up from 104 billion euros in the same period last year and an increase of 4.6 percent year-on-year. Among them, the EU's chemical exports to the United States increased by 10.8% year-on-year to 21.5 billion euros. The EU's petrochemical exports to the United States rose 14% year-on-year to 1.08 billion euros; exports of specialty chemicals to the United States rose 11.7% year-on-year to 650 million euros. EU petrochemical exports to China fell 13% year-on-year to 342 million euros, though China remained the EU's third-largest export market for the chemical industry, accounting for nearly 9% of its total exports.

As of August 2018, EU chemical imports increased by 6.8% year-on-year to 77.2 billion euros. In the first eight months of 2018, EU chemical imports from China increased by 16.7% year-on-year to 10.5 billion euros. EU chemical imports from the US fell by EUR 203 million over the same period, mainly basic inorganics and consumer chemicals. In the first eight months of 2018, the EU had a net chemical trade surplus of EUR 31.2 billion, down 1.8% year-on-year. The EU's largest chemical trade surpluses are with the rest of Europe, the US, Africa and Brazil. The EU maintains chemical trade deficits with India, South Korea, China and Japan.