The S&P index for chemical companies rose by 4.2% in December 2013, outpacing the overall S&P 500 index, which rose 2.4%. The numbers were included in the latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com).
For the entire 2013, the S&P chemical index rose by 29.6%, its largest annual gain since 1997, the ACC report says. The S&P 500 rose 29.0% in 2013.
In other economic data included in the ACC report, U.S. wholesale chemical sales fell in November 2013, by 0.1% from the previous month, but inventories rose by 0.7%. Sales were 4.7% higher compared to last year at the same time, while inventories were up 5.4% year-over-year.