US ethylene contracts for December are settling 2.75 cents lower with the month’s net transaction price at 25.75 cents/lb, market sources said Tuesday, the lowest in 13 years.
If the increase is accepted marketwide, it would mark the largest month-on-month drop since the 3.25-cent/lb decline seen in July, and would push contracts to their lowest level since January 2003’s 24 cents/lb, Platts data showed.
The drop is within market expectations of a 2-3 cent/lb decrease and follows weakening spot prices and declining prices for feedstocks.
Front-month US spot ethylene assessments averaged 18.881 cents/lb in December, a drop of 3.58 cents/lb from the November average of 22.461 cents/lb, according to Platts data.
In feedstocks, the December monthly average for ethane was 15.108 cents/gal, which was lower than November’s average of 18.039 cents/gal. Propane marked the largest month-on-month drop, falling from 42.691 cents/gal in November to 38.682 cents/lb in December.
