US propylene stocks rise 7.6%, refineries run slower

20 January 2011 22:06  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--US propylene inventories rose by 7.6% in the week ended 14 January despite another drop in operating rates at US refineries, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday.

Refinery-sourced propylene stockpiles stood at 2.531m bbl, up from 2.352m bbl a week earlier.

Meanwhile, US refineries operated at 83.0% of capacity, down from 86.4% the previous week and the second drop in as many weeks.

US refineries operated at 88.0% of capacity in the last week of 2010.

Non-fuel use propylene, as defined by the EIA, is intended for petrochemical manufacturing, including polymer (PGP) and chemical grade (CGP) propylene.

Refinery grade propylene (RGP) for January traded earlier this week at 71.00 cents/lb ($1,565/tonne, €1,158/tonne) for railcar delivery.

RGP for January was bid on Thursday at 69.00 cents/lb, while an offer for February was heard at 74.00 cents/lb.

US weekly non-fuel use propylene inventories – m bbl (EIA)
14 Jan	7 Jan	31 Dec	24 Dec	17 Dec
2.531	2.352	2.166	2.189	2.027

($1 = €0.74)

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By: William Lemos
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