US propylene stocks rise by 100,000 bbl - EIA

31 May 2007 21:27  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Non-fuel use propylene inventories rose by 100,000 bbl to 2.6m bbl in the US during the week ended 25 May, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday.

Inventories have risen steadily from 2.2m bbl at the beginning of May as a series of refinery troubles came to an end.

This rise in stocks depressed prices for refinery grade propylene (RGP) earlier in the month, market sources said.

However, the most recent rise in inventories came as spot prices rose to 47.5 cents/lb ($1,047/tonne) by the end of last week, up from the May low of 43.5 cents/lb, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

Prices rose amid an outage at Valero’s fluid catalytic cracker at its 170,000 bbl/day McKee refinery in Sunray, Texas, on 24 May.

Non-fuel use propylene is intended for petrochemical manufacturing including polymer- and chemical-grade propylene, according to the EIA.

By: Mark Quiner
+1 713 525 2653

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly