US President, Donald Trump, has threatened to slap a 100% tariff on Canadian goods if the country strikes a trade deal with China.   “If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% Tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.,” Trump said on Truth Social. […]

European polymer prices rose over the week to 23rd January. There was an increase of 10 EUR per tonne reported in the price of LDPE. In the UK, prices rose against most grades as the Pound lost value against the Euro.   Asian polymers were mixed with increases of between 5 and 30 USD per […]

UK government borrowing fell sharply last month, due to more income from taxes and higher National Insurance Contributions outweighing spending, figures show.   In December government borrowing – the difference between public spending and tax income – was £11.6bn, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.   It is down £7.1bn (38%) from the previous […]

China’s birth rates sunk to a record low in 2025, despite the government rolling out a spate of incentives to boost it, as the country’s population fell for the fourth straight year.   Recent Government data showed that the country’s birth rate fell to 5.63 per 1,000 people – a record low since the Communist […]

Trade tensions and a reversal in the artificial intelligence (AI) boom are among the main risks to global economic growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.   Its comments came in its latest world economic outlook, where it described the global economy as “steady”, with growth expected to remain “resilient” this year.   The […]

European polymer prices were largely unchanged over the week to 16th January. There was an increase of 15 EUR per tonne reported in the price of Polystyrene. In the UK, prices fell against some grades as the Pound gained value against the Euro.   Asian polymers rose with increases of between 5 and 15 USD […]

The US said it had agreed to cut the tariffs it charges on goods from Taiwan to 15%, in exchange for hundreds of billions of dollars in investment aimed at boosting domestic production of semiconductors.   The Commerce Department said the island’s semiconductor and technology enterprises had committed to “new, direct investments” worth at least […]

The US government has given chip giant Nvidia the green light to sell its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) processors in China, the Department of Commerce said.   The H200, Nvidia’s second-most-advanced semiconductor, had been restricted by Washington over concerns that it would give China’s technology industry and military an edge over the US.   The […]

China announced record export numbers for 2025, a year when US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade policy caused turmoil in the global economy.   Beijing on Wednesday reported the world’s largest-ever trade surplus, the value of goods and services sold overseas compared to its imports, at $1.19tn.   It’s the first time China’s full-year […]

European polymer prices were largely unchanged over the two weeks to 9th January. There was an increase of 5 EUR per tonne reported in the price of Polystyrene. In the UK, prices fell against most grades as the Pound gained value against the Euro.   Asian polymers rose with increases of between 5 and 45 […]