The chemical industry is tightly linked to the global economy. As the world’s third- largest industry, its products can be found in nearly every item people use in their every day lives. That’s why when strong indicators in the chemical industry point towards a recession, it should be scrutinized. A key indicator of a looming recession is when gross domestic product (GDP) exceeds consumer demand. A graph recently published by the Financial Times showed a significant increase in inventories across many industries. This data can often be mistaken as building inventory for a strong user demand, when, in fact, there are no reports that explicitly correlate the production to the demand. In other words, many companies are operating with a Covid-19 “just in case” mindset, which could be cause for trouble in the near future. An article published by the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS) reports on the possible financial “hurricane” that is coming our way.
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