Americas top stories – weekly summary

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Americas for the week ended 30 August 2013.

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Buyers, traders look for roll in US methanol Sept contracts
September contract postings will likely roll over for US methanol, a quick survey of buyers and traders revealed on Monday.

US naphtha’s future tied to uses elsewhere: analyst
The petrochemical wave generated in the US by the advent of shale gas has domestically produced naphtha caught in the undertow.

Dow targeting 2017 for start-up of Texas, Louisiana expansions
Dow Chemical has selected sites in Texas and Louisiana for its earlier announced investments in additional performance plastics capacity, with both expansion projects scheduled to be fully operational by 2017, the US-based producer announced on Tuesday.

US pending home sales fall in July for second month
US pending home sales declined in July from June, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Wednesday, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, with higher mortgage loan rates and increasing home prices taking the blame.

US industrial ethanol contract prices rollover
US industrial ethanol contracts were assessed on Wednesday at a rollover from the second quarter to the third quarter.

ExxonMobil to allocate HDPE from US plant after pipeline outage
ExxonMobil will allocate high density polyethylene (HDPE) produced at its Baton Rouge Polyolefins Plant because of an unplanned outage of a pipeline, a market source said on Thursday.

US August PE contracts end flat, producers eye future increase
US August contract negotiations for polyethylene (PE) ended in a rollover after the biggest producers separately agreed earlier this week to give up on proposed increases for all grades and to settle flat, leaving on the table just proposed increases for next month, sources said on Thursday.

US Sept BD expected to roll over, stay at 2009 lows
In August, the monthly contract price for US butadiene (BD) dropped by more than 30%. For the September contract, which is expected to be settled this week, it is expected to essentially roll over.

US August cumene contract value rises on feedstock pressure
The US cumene contract range for August settled nominally higher on Friday, in line with higher August benzene contract values despite ample cumene supply.

US Labor Day travel to increase on lower gasoline
The number of Americans travelling 50 miles (80 km) or more from home during the upcoming US Labor Day holiday may hit a post-recession high, as a recent drop in gasoline prices could encourage more people to travel, an analyst said on Friday.