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EMA, EnBA, EBA, EEA, EAA, EMAA, EMA/AA & Ionomers are often the backbone materials in technical applications ranging from golf ball covers to cold-pack sensitive meat packaging and collectively represent roughly 700 kt in demand globally. The majority of present-day capacity is located in Europe, Japan and North America by producers including Dow, ExxonMobil, ENEOS NUC, SK Functional Polymers & Westlake, among others – with announced capacity in China and potentially the Middle East on the way.

After nearly sixty years as a member, the United Arab Emirates has confirmed it will withdraw from OPEC and OPEC+, with the change taking effect today, May 1st. This decision removes one of the group’s largest producers at a time of heightened geopolitical instability, with key export routes disrupted and crude prices elevated above $110 per barrel.

South Korea’s petrochemical industry is entering a decisive phase, as government intervention helps stabilize producers under pressure from surging feedstock costs while pushing the sector toward long-delayed restructuring. The latest support package targets core operators such as LG Chem, Lotte Chemical, and Hanwha TotalEnergies, aiming to minimize disruption across the country’s main production hubs.

The effects of the 2026 Iran war are no longer confined to oil markets or political briefings—they are showing up much closer to home. Across Europe and parts of Asia, households are rethinking how they power their homes and what they drive, as rising energy costs and uncertainty reshape everyday decisions.

European EVA and LDPE markets have entered one of their most turbulent phases in years as the US–Israel–Iran conflict disrupts flows through the Strait of Hormuz and sends oil, naphtha and olefin costs sharply higher. In March, this shock translated into a rapid reset of European feedstock and derivative pricing, with ethylene, VAM, EVA and LDPE all repricing within a few weeks.

The majority (93%) of PP Copolymer buyers surveyed by Townsend paid more for their resin in March, and market participants are expecting another significant increase for PP prices in April which will likely include margin increases sought by producers. Most US/Canada PP producers – including Formosa, Heartland, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, Braskem, Ineos and TotalEnergies – have announced margin increases of between 4.0 and 10.0 cpp for April, with one producer – Formosa – seeking an additional 5.0 cpp increase for May.