US PP suppliers nominate 3 cent/lb December hike

24 November 2010 19:45  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--At least two US polypropylene (PP) suppliers nominated a 3 cent/lb ($66/tonne, €50/tonne) price increase for December, buyers said on Wednesday.

The PP nominations matched a 3 cent/lb Decenber increase nomination for feedstock polymer-grade propylene (PGP), a resin supplier said.

Spot PGP for November was heard traded at 58.25 cents/lb, compared with offers at 55.25 cents/lb during the week ended 22 October.

US PP price fluctuations are largely governed by the benchmark PGP contract price because of the prevalence of monomer-plus contracts in the US market.

A PP buyer said the 3 cent/lb increase nominations were not realistic and a rollover or small decrease would be more likely outcomes for December.

PP contract prices fell by 1 cent/lb in November, putting domestic injection-grade homopolymer prices at 69.5-71.5 cents/lb, as assessed by ICIS.

The November PP decrease was more shallow than initially forecast as rising crude oil prices and olefins plant outages lent support to propylene prices.

Major US PP producers include Braskem Americas, Formosa, Total, Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, Flint Hills Resources, INEOS, ConocoPhillips, Phillips Sumika and Pinnacle Polymers.

($1 = €0.75)

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