US spot ethylene was offered 1-3 cents/lb ($22-$66/mt) higher late Thursday morning amid market talk of a possible production issue in the US Gulf Coast region.
Spot ethylene for September delivery was offered at 55-57 cents/lb MtB Wms-pipe basis in late-morning trading, with bids steady to Wednesday at 53-53.25 cents/lb MtB Wms, sources said.
Talk in the market in early-morning trading centered on a possible production disruption at Dupont’s petrochemical complex in Orange, Texas, multiple market sources said.
Dupont spokesman Aaron Woods declined to comment on plant operations, including maintenance activities.
Dupont’s olefins production in Orange includes an estimated 680,000 mt/year of ethylene, per Platts data.
Spot ethylene was last assessed on a 3- to 30-day basis on Wednesday at 53-53.50 cents/lb FD USG, with September trading at 53.50, 53 and 53.25 cents/lb MtB and talked in a range of 52.50-54 cents/lb MtB Wms by the 3:15 p.m. EDT assessment.
After the assessment, September ethylene was heard traded at 53.75 cents/lb.
Source: platts.com
