(ICIS) -- US propylene contracts for December were fully settled at an increase of 3.00 cents/lb ($66/tonne, ┬50/tonne), market sources said on Wednesday, lifted by tight supply following a series of cracker and refinery outages.
The 5% increase from November puts chemical-grade propylene (CGP) contracts in December at 59.00 cents/lb and polymer-grade propylene (PGP) at 60.50 cents/lb, as assessed by ICIS.
US propylene producers had originally nominated increases of 3.00 and 3.50 cents/lb for this month. A full-market agreement at plus 3.00 cents/lb was widely expected, even though one producer at first had not agreed to the increase and was holding out for a higher price.
Limited supply and rising refinery-grade propylene (RGP) spot prices in November were among the factors supporting higher contract prices in December, according to sources.
Major US producers of PGP and CGP include Chevron Phillips Chemical, Enterprise Products, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, Petrologistics and Shell Chemical. Main buyers include Dow Chemical, INEOS, Ascend Performance Materials and Total.