The Global Chemical Production Regional Index (Global CPRI) rose 0.5% in January on a three-month-moving-average (3MMA) basis, according to the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economics Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com).
The January rise follows similar gains in the fourth quarter of last year. Increases for January chemical production were reported in all geographic regions, except Latin America.
In other data reported in this week’s report, chemical industry construction spending fell 3.1% in January, but was 27% higher compared to a year ago.
Further, the S&P index for chemical companies rose by 5.6% in February, the ACC report says, making up losses posted in January. Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P 500 Index was down 0.6% in February. Year to date, the chemicals index was down 5.4% while the S&P 500 was down 5.6%.