US July PP contracts fall 4 cents/lb on lower propylene

21 July 2011 21:42  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--US polypropylene (PP) July contract prices fell by 4%, pressured by a 4 cent/lb drop in feedstock costs, market sources said on Thursday.

US PP contract prices for July were at 89-91 cents/lb DEL (delivered) ($1,962/tonne, €1,373/tonne) for homopolymer injection and raffia grade material, as assessed by ICIS. The price is down 4 cents/lb from June, reflecting the pass-through of lower propylene prices.

Much of the PP market has a monomer-based contract that follows the monthly polymer grade propylene (PGP) cost. With the 4 cent/lb drop in propylene, US PGP settled at 78 cents/lb for July, driven lower by declining spot prices.

Buyers who do not use the monomer-plus pricing indicated their prices fell by the same 4 cents/lb in July.

"There has been nothing to indicate that anybody is going to break away from the monomer," one buyer said.

A producer agreed, suggesting that demand isn't strong enough to push prices higher, and profit margins aren't great enough to allow for lower prices.

"I am not aware of any exceptions," the producer said.

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

($1 = €0.70)

For more on polypropylene visit ICIS chemical intelligence 

By: Michelle Klump
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