European Chemicals & Ingredients: Spreads Sheet – spreads widen further in April

Research evidence excerpt

European Chemicals & Ingredients: Spreads Sheet – spreads widen further in April

Equity Research

13 May 2026

European Chemicals & Ingredients

Spreads Sheet – spreads widen

further in April

April spreads rose across regions, with Europe holding European Chemicals & Ingredients

elevated levels and Asia rebounding to breakeven. NEGATIVE

European Chemicals & IngredientsCracker-linked products led gains. M2M EBITDA implies

Anil Shenoy

~€900m upside for BASF, skewing FY26 guidance risk higher, +91 (0)22 6175 2487

though gains look temporary. anil.shenoy@barclays.com

Barclays, UK

Katie Richards

+44 (0)20 3555 0315

Key conclusions kathryn.richards@barclays.com Barclays, UK

• Spreads widened materially across regions in April, with the divergence between Europe and

Alex Sloane

Asia persisting. In Europe, spreads edged modestly higher from already elevated March levels. +44 (0)20 3555 0645

In Asia, spreads rebounded sharply but have only recovered to breakeven. As a reminder, alexander.sloane@barclays.com

European spreads had already expanded in March, as price increases—particularly in Barclays, UK

cracker-linked products—more than offset raw material inflation. In contrast, Asian spreads

Setu Sharda

slipped into negative territory in March amid sharper raw material cost pressure. Given the + 91 (0)22 6175 1934

heightened price volatility, we have calculated March and April spreads on an unlagged basis. setu.sharda@barclays.com

• An analysis of spread dynamics shows that products closer to oil have benefited

disproportionately from recent price increases. In Europe, cracker margins expanded

meaningfully, while downstream intermediates—where cracker products are key inputs—saw

more muted margin improvement. In Asia, cracker margins remain around breakeven,