Europe Nov propylene CP fully agreed down €90/tonne at €1,015/tonne

LONDON (ICIS)–The European propylene contract price (CP) for November has been fully confirmed with a €90/tonne reduction at €1,015/tonne, two producers and two buyers said on Thursday.

A price reduction had been widely expected, driven by upstream bearishness over the last month, but the level of decrease was moderated by market factors such as reasonably good downstream demand and some supply changes linked to Shell’s cracker problems at Moerdijk, in the Netherlands.

The initial settling seller had reached an agreement with two of its buyers and confirmation has been received from all of these parties.

One of the buyers involved in the initial settlement said it had also agreed the same number with a second producer and this has been confirmed. 

While there has been sufficient market support to fully confirm the price, one buyer, however, has expressed its disappointment with the outcome, stating “I was hoping for more [of a reduction]. I think producers are getting away quite cheaply…”. The same source had previously said it had wanted to see a three-digit price drop.

The contract is agreed on a free delivered (FD) northwest Europe (NWE) basis.