The S&P Global Platts propylene contract price indicator for September was assessed at Eur675/mt ($761/mt) FD NWE Monday, Eur5/mt above the industry’s contract price settlement for August.
The assessed increase follows a rise in both propylene’s spot price as well as CPs for upstream products.
Polymer grade propylene spot prices hit a high not seen since early September 2015 to be assessed at Eur740/mt FD NWE on Monday.
Prices were indicated at premiums of 13% for both August and September delivery amid a dearth of material.
A shortage of propylene has come about because ethylene margins are better than those of propylene, and cracker operators have geared towards ethylene production as a result, sources said.
Tightness is also increasing on cracker maintenance and fresh production issues, sources said this week.
The Naphtachimie stream cracker in Lavera, southern France, is running at a limited rate, a source close to the company said Monday.
“Naphtachimie’s cracker in Lavera is running at trimmed run rates because of a nearby forest fire,” the source said.
Meanwhile, a planned maintenance shutdown of one of BPRP’s two crackers at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, will begin mid-August. In addition LyondellBasell is set to carry out scheduled maintenance at one of its crackers at Wesseling, Germany, in September.
“There have been no PGP deals in European recently, I think there is no European material available,” a propylene buyer said Monday.
In addition to the supply shortage, naphtha, the primary feedstock of propylene production in Europe, has seen its price increase in August.
Naphtha was assessed at $370.5/mt CIF NWE Monday, rising 11% from the beginning of the month.
