Americas top stories – weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
13-Jan-2014
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Americas for the week ended 11 January 2014.
(Please click on the link to read the full text.)
US December ethylene fully settled up 4.3%
on higher spot prices
US December ethylene contracts reached a full settlement up
4.3%.
US BD spot prices soar on overseas
tightness, steady demand
US spot butadiene (BD) prices were assessed higher as sources
said they had jumped on supply tightness and steady demand.
US front-month spot ethylene falls despite
cracker shutdown
US spot ethylene prices fell despite a cracker shutdown and
expected supply tightness.
US Alcoa agrees to $384m in penalties in
Bahrain bribery scandal
A subsidiary of global aluminium major Alcoa has agreed to
pay $384m in penalties for repeatedly paying bribes to
Bahrain government officials.
US oil exports may encourage more crude, NGL
production
The US may remove restrictions on oil exports, which could
reduce refiner margins but encourage more production of crude
and natural gas liquids (NGLs), a key petrochemical
feedstock.
Slipping spot propylene likely to push
down US January contracts
With US polymer-grade propylene (PGP) spot prices slipping,
January contracts could settle below nominations.
US VAM Q4 contracts, spot prices rise on
ethylene, supply issues
US vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) fourth-quarter contracts rose
by 1-2 cents/lb ($22-44/tonne, €16-32/tonne) on the
settlement of key feedstock ethylene this week and on supply
issues in Europe.
US January propylene contracts expected to
jump on tight supply
US January propylene contracts are expected to climb on the
back of tight supply and steady demand.
OUTLOOK ’14: Economic prospects darken for
Brazil
Economic prospects continue to darken for Brazil, Latin
America’s largest economy.
OUTLOOK ’14: US economy to build on new
energy, global recovery
Driven by abundant new
energy supplies, a strengthening global recovery and
increasing domestic consumer demand, the US economy is widely
expected to reach or come very close to normal growth rates
in 2014.
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