November 4, 2016 [Reuters] - German chemicals trade group VCI on Wednesday cut its forecast for industry revenue in 2016 for the fourth time, citing lower product prices as a result of cheaper raw materials and seeing little evidence of any economic upswing.
VCI, which represents Germany’s third-largest industrial sector with more than 440,000 employees, said it expected revenues to decline 3 percent in 2016, down from a previous forecast in September of minus 1.5 percent.
The lobby group still expects output volumes to increase 0.5 percent this year.
Germany-based chemical and pharmaceutical businesses saw third-quarter aggregate sales drop 2.5 percent from a year earlier, with output volumes slipping 0.5 percent and domestic chemical prices declining 2.7 percent year-on-year, the group said.
