US ethylene margins rise 1% on higher spot prices

HOUSTON (ICIS)--US ethylene spot margins widened by nearly 1% last week, lifted by continued gains in ethylene spot prices, the ICIS ethylene margin report showed on Monday.

Spot margins for ethane-sourced ethylene were assessed at 12.99 cents/lb ($286/tonne, €204/tonne) last week, up from 12.88 cents/lb in the week ended 15 October, according to the report.

Ethylene margins rose as ethylene spot prices jumped by 3.4% on average, supported by rising ethane values and a lingering cracker outage in Texas.

October ethylene traded last week at 38.00-38.50 cents/lb, compared with deals done at 35.00-39.00 cents/lb in the week ended 15 October.

Ethylene spot prices were steady on Monday compared with Friday. The monomer was bid at 39.75 cents/lb for October, while an offer was heard at 41.00 cents/lb.

Meanwhile, ethane was heard traded at 61.75-62.25 cents/gal, climbing from a range of 61.00-62.00 cents/gal on Friday on continued strong demand, a source said.

Ethane is a key component in the cost structure of US ethylene since the product accounts for around 60% of the feedstocks used to make the monomer.