Europe April propylene up €50/tonne at €1,245/tonne

LONDON (ICIS)–The European propylene contract settlement for April has been fully confirmed at €1,245/tonne ($1,660/tonne) free delivered (FD) northwest Europe (NWE), up by €50/tonne from the previous month, said two buyers and two sellers on Tuesday.

This matches the record high seen in May 2011, according to ICIS records.

The upward price move was driven by feedstock cost pressures and the need for margin recovery at cracker level, producers and buyers said..

The initial settlement was between one main producer and one pure consumer. This was also followed by a second customer and the same seller.

The second customer also agreed on this number with a second main producer.

The second seller, however, said it had settled for the sake of “industry discipline”, but considered that the increase was not sufficient, in view of recent feedstock developments.

It added that it would have expected to see an increase of around €10/tonne more than that agreed and would like to see margin recovery throughout the value chain in April.

($1 =€0.75)