Spot US C2 up amid cost, production speculation

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Spot ethylene prices rose on Friday, with market sources saying that firm feedstock costs or production issues could be the root cause.

Six spot trades were done on Friday, starting at 40.25 cents/lb ($887/tonne) for June and reaching 40.75 cents/lb for June and July, market sources said.

The deals followed four Thursday deals heard done in the range of 39.75-40.00 cents/lb.

Buyers and sellers could not peg the upward trend to a specific reason. Some ethylene sources said the trading was partly due to thin margins and strengthening derivatives demand.

Ethane at Mont Belvieu, a key ethylene feedstock, was trading around 75 cents/gal on Friday, up from 72.75 cents/gal a week earlier.

Others market sources speculated the activity could be driven by a production issue. However, no issues have been confirmed.

< previous article(ICIS Podcast: Chemical News Central 2 November 2009)

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