Moody’s issues its 2021 outlook for the global chemical industry. The outlook is stable, according to the report, as the industry’s recovery is uneven across the globe. Europe is reportedly most at risk, while in China fast demand recovery happened this year, and continued growth is expected in 2021.
“Recovery has stalled in Europe and the Americas following rising coronavirus infection rates, and we expect that chemical demand will be down in the first half of 2021, with the European chemical sector most at risk,” says Martin Kohlhase, vice president – senior credit officer at Moody’s Investors Service. “This will be followed by improved growth, however, as the benefits of a vaccine will allow more consistent growth in chemical demand.”
Key points from the report include:
- Recovery from the unprecedented economic shock of the coronavirus will be tenuous and inconsistent across countries, regions and sectors.
- The consequences of climate change will require increased adaptation and mitigation efforts, with wide-ranging effects on governments and companies.
- Public health and safety issues stemming from the coronavirus, growing inequality, demographic trends and other social challenges will have substantial credit implications.
The chemicals sector was also among the 13 sectors identified as facing heightened environmental credit risk in Moody’s Environmental Risk Heat Map report.
To view the report: https://www.chemicalprocessing.com/assets/moody-gobal-chemical-industry-2021-outlook.pdf
