Hubert Mandery, Director General, Cefic.
BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM: Growth in the EU chemicals industry in 2011 will be better than initially expected and will likely move towards more modest expansion in 2012, chemicals industry group Cefic said. The European trade group revised upward its annual summary forecast of chemicals sector economists, predicting growth in 2011 to reach 4.5 per cent. The revised forecast is nearly double the initial full-year forecast of 2.5 per cent predicted last November. Cefic also announced today projected expansion in 2012 for the sector to be 2.5 per cent.
The 2011 forecast revision reflects changes since fourth quarter 2010, when the latest available data indicated a pause in recovery, causing Cefic’s forecasting panel to take a cautious stance.
“Strong growth since our last forecast was driven especially by a combination of robust manufacturing and continued strong durable goods exports. EU output by the end of this year will likely remain below all-time levels reached in 2007, but should reach the pre-crisis threshold toward mid-2012,” said Hubert Mandery, Director General, Cefic, at a press briefing in Birmingham.
The chemicals trade group forecasts EU gross domestic product to grow by 1.8 per cent in 2011, up from 1.6 per cent originally forecast in November. Cefic predicts expansion in 2012 to remain unchanged at 1.8 per cent, while expecting EU manufacturing to grow by around six per cent in 2011 and three per cent in 2012.
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