Trends & daTa

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Commentary elaIne BurrIdge

may olefins contracts fall in europe, Us

chemical prices
ETHYLENE SPOT PRICES
$/tonne

PROPYLENE SPOT PRICES

$/tonne

European ethylene contracts have dropped by 20/tonne to 1,325/tonne in May to reflect soft demand but also keeping in mind upstream volatility. US April contracts have been agreed at 55.25 cents/lb ($1,218/tonne), a slip of 0.50 cents/lb fom March when production costs fell following a 7% drop in ethane feedstock prices. The settlement is in sharp contrast to spot prices, which surged to a record of 76.125 cents/lb in April. Although spot levels have softened in recent weeks, material for May delivery still has a premium of more than 10 cents/lb compared with the April contract. May propylene contracts in Europe have also fallen, by 15/ tonne to 1,230/tonne. Some buyers said decreases of 2030/ tonne would have been more realistic. Producers, however, pointed to heightened upstream volatility and poor cracker margins in recent months. US May benzene contracts have settled at $4.21/gal ($1,260/ tonne), up by 9 cents/gal. Market participants cited tight inventory levels, which had pushed spot prices above $4.20/gal in midApril. Japanese producer JX Nippon Oil & Energy settled the benzene Asian Contract Price (ACP) for May at $1,195/tonne, $5/ tonne higher. The May paraxylene (PX) ACP has been agreed by all four major Asian producers at $1,550/tonne, $35/tonne lower than April, as buyers put up strong resistance to higher prices. The US May methanol contract has moved higher following Canadian producer Methanexs posting at 138 cents/gal, the highest monthly price this year. US-based Southern Chemical posted 133/ cents/gal, a rollover from April. The US Tampa ammonia contract for May shipments has been agreed at $545/tonne, up by $75/ tonne, because of higher global prices in the past four weeks.

1,650

Europe US Asia

2,000
Europe US Asia

1,520

1,800

1,390

1,600

1,260

1,400

1,130

1,200

1,000

May 2011

Apr 2012

1,000

May 2011

Apr 2012

SOURCE: ICIS

SOURCE: ICIS

spOT BUlK chemical prices

asia $/tonne 1,0251,026 CFR Japan 1,3201,370 CFR NEA europe Change $/tonne -10 988996 CIF -55 1,4001,450 CIF -60 1,1001,130 CIF -450 2,5002,600 FOB -5 1,2501,260 CIF -5 1,2201,250 FOB -32.50 1,3201,360 FOB -13 1,4901,520 FOB +15 1,6401,660 FOB -20 1,5251,535 FOB +12.50 319322 FOB -20 1,2501,250 FOB +30 475480 FOB Yuzhny +10 1,2401,260 FD uS Change cents/lb -14.50 299300/gal DEL -100 68.571.5 DEL -2.50 70.7571.5 -400 145155 CIF +15 $4.174.22/gal FOB HTC +7.50 $3.903.96/gal FOB +10 $4.004.12/gal FOB HTC -20 6768 FOB -10 6970 FOB +12.50 66.7567.25 FOB USG +14.50 119121/gal FOB -78 $3.553.55/gal FOB USG nc 6266 FOB Change +19.25 +0.75 -0.63 -5 -0.05 +0.01 -0.07 -0.5 -1 +0.5 +1 -0.23 -3.5

naphtha ethylene

Propylene1 1,4301,500 CFR NEA Butadiene 2,7502,800 CFR NEA Benzene toluene Xylene4 1,1851,190 FOB Korea 1,2001,215 FOB Korea 1,2351,250 FOB Korea

Paraxylene 1,5381,545 CFR Taiwan orthoxylene 1,5901,610 CFR NEA Styrene methanol mtBe ammonia Phenol 1,4651,485 FOB Korea 405410 CFR China 1,1701,182 FOB Singapore 530540 CFR Taiwan 1,5201,540 CFR CMP

+2.50 $548550/tonne CFR USG +37.50

cONTracT BUlK chemical prices

europe, /tonne ethylene Propylene1 Butadiene Benzene toluene Xylene Paraxylene orthoxylene Styrene3 methanol ammonia ethylene glycol ethanol 1,325 May 1,230 May 2,250 May 890 Apr $1,2281,238 Apr 1,225 Apr 1,180 Apr 1,300 Apr 340 Q2 7780/HL uS, cents/lb 55.75 Mar 77.5 Apr 152155 Apr $4.12/gal Apr $4.24/gal Apr 78.5 Apr 71 Apr 7175 Mar $1.331.3/gal Apr $545/tonne May 46.748.1 May $3.743.84/gal Q2

Prices contained in this magazine are gathered by ICIS pricing through consultation with producers, consumers and traders across Asia, Europe and the US. They are intended as a guide to price levels of recent transactions and reflect mediumto-large tonnage sales. ICIS Chemical Business and ICIS pricing accept no liability for commercial decisions that are based on the market information/prices reported in this magazine. abbreviations used are FOB (free on board), CIF (cost, insurance and freight), FCA (free carrier), CFR (cost and freight), DEL (delivered). European contract prices are quoted on a freedelivered basis (FD), unless otherwise stated. na = not applicable, nc = no change. 1 = polymer grade, 2 = solvent grade, 3 = barge price, 4 = isomer grade. Spot prices in this issue are based on information that was available on April 27, 2012. Dollar prices are also based on rates of exchange on April 27, 2012. $1 = 0.755; $1 = 0.617; 1 = 0.817

12 | ICIS Chemical Business | May 7-20, 2012

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