Petrochemical producers and consumers are facing challenges from low water levels on the River Rhine, market sources in Europe informed SSESSMENTS.COM. Water levels were at 106 cm at the Kaub chokepoint on June 5 after dipping to as low as 100 cm a day earlier. As a result, barge operators lowered their gas load by 25%, while liquid barges were underloaded even further.
However, a butadiene market participant said nobody complained about half-full barges as volumes were already low due to weakness in many European petrochemical markets amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, lower Rhine water levels boosted demand for trucks, but it does not appear to be the case this year.
A source told SSESSMENTS.COM that rains were expected to sweep across western Europe this week, with water levels at Kaub projected to recover to 134 cm by Tuesday. However, they were cautious that similar challenges would occur in the rest of 2020.
