CONSUMER VOLUMES:
Small: 1-10m lbs/year, 60.00-69.00 cents/lb FCA
Medium: 10-20m lbs/year, 55.00--60.00 cents/lb FCA
Large: 20+m lbs/year, 50.00-55.00 cents/lb FCA
Contract prices unchanged in modest market
US ethylene oxide (EO) prices were unchanged during the week ended 29 July awaiting movement of the feedstock ethylene contract.
EO contract prices are formula-based and move primarily on changes in the ethylene contract.
However, upcoming cracker turnarounds scheduled in the coming months were expected to tighten supply of feedstock ethylene. A tighter ethylene supply amid and following the turnarounds could result in an up tick in ethylene values that would be likely to move EO contract prices.
As is the usual practice, the majority of EO supply continued to be channelled down to the glycol chain amid steady demand for ethylene glycol (EG).
However, other demand sectors downstream continued to be modest or weak as the US economy continued to limp along.
In production news, following a shutdown after a lightning strike in mid-July, DuPont’s cracker in Orange, Texas, is operating at reduced rates. A source said there was a possibility that the cracker could be returned to full operations during the first week of August.
Flint Hills Resources (FHR) light olefins unit at Port Arthur, Texas, may start up over the weekend of 30-31 July, market sources said.
The unit was taken down during the weekend of 23-24 July because of a loss of steam from a third-party supplier.
If the restart is successful, full operating rates at the 621,100 tonne/year facility could be reached as early as Monday, the sources said.
Feedstock news
Ethylene spot prices continued to climb amid production issues at crackers in Texas and the likelihood of increased demand in the coming months following scheduled cracker maintenance.
Ethylene for July traded at 62.0-63.5 cents/lb DEL, up from 59.5-61.5 cents/lb a week earlier. The bid/offer range at week’s end was 62.5-63.5 cents/lb. August ethylene traded at 62.0-63.5 cents/lb, up from 59.0-61.0 cents/lb during the previous week. A deal for September was done at 62.0 cents/lb.
In the energy complex, the crude oil close on the NYMEX futures contract slipped below $96/bbl on 29 July on dismal economic data.
The table below shows the evolution of crude oil prices in the past four weeks.
NYMEX Front-Month Crude Oil Contract
| Date | 8 Jul | 15 July | 22 July | 29 July |
| (US$/bbl) | 96.20 | 97.24 | 99.87 | 95.70 |
This week on ICIS ( www.icis.com ):
29/07/2011 00:08 US Flint Hills Texas olefins unit may start up during the weekend
28/07/2011 11:58 China’s Yanshan Petrochemical to shut cracker, derivative units mid-Aug
27/07/2011 19:01 Suppliers prepare Europe MEG market for an August increase
27/07/2011 18:17 Europe August ethylene fully confirmed at €1,120/tonne
27/07/2011 07:08 Taiwan’s Nan Ya runs MEG units normally following fire
