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(ICIS) -- US ethylene margins continued to
fall in the second week of September, dropping by 15% from a week earlier on
lower spot prices and higher production costs, the ICIS margin report showed on
Monday.
Ethylene margins were at 26.88 cents/lb (USD 593/tonne, EUR 433/tonne) in
the week ended 16 September, down from 31.61 cents/lb a week earlier, using
ethane as a feedstock. The drop last week followed a nearly 4% average decline
in ethylene spot prices, as the monomer traded at 57.25–60.00 cents/lb for
September delivery, down from 60.00–62.00 cents/lb a week earlier.
Market sources continued to point to looser supply, citing a delay in a
Dow Chemical cracker turnaround in Louisiana that originally was scheduled for
October.
Dow was expected to shut down the 610 KTa cracker in St Charles on 10
October for 30 days, but sources said the company decided to push the shutdown
back to January 2012 or possibly the first half of 2013.
mrcplast.com
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