US propane and propylene stocks rose 540,000 barrels to 54.28 million barrels in the week ended March 13, according to US Energy Information Administration data released Wednesday.
Stocks had declined for 14 consecutive weeks since the week ending November 28 due to seasonal heating demand.
Propane sees higher seasonal demand during the winter, when it is used for heating and crop drying. Almost 30% of US households use propane for heating.
But during the last two weeks seasonal demand has been declining, mostly seen from stocks build in the Gulf Coast, while the Midwest still shows bullish demand.
Gulf Coast stocks saw a build of 1.29 million barrels to 37.13 million barrels, the data show. Gulf Coast stocks rose 1.52 million barrels during the week that ended March 6, EIA data shows.
Midwest stocks declined 845,000 barrels to 13.5 million barrels last week. Midwest stocks declined by about 2.5 million barrels during each of the two prior weeks.
East Coast stocks rose 137,000 barrels to 1.52 million barrels.
US stocks of propylene for nonfuel use rose 82,000 barrels week on week to 4.6 million barrels.
Implied demand fell 246,000 b/d to 1.08 million b/d, the data show.
Imports in the most recent reporting week fell 8,000 b/d to 122,000 b/d, while exports remained flat at 506,000 b/d, according to the data.
But market participants said exports were lower during the week due to closures of the Houston Ship Channel due to adverse weather and a collision between two tankers that left some LPG tankers waiting to enter the bay.
As many as eight gas carriers were seen stationary off the coast of Houston on Friday, according to Platts cFlow vessel-tracking software, which contributed to loading and discharge delays.
– Platts.com
