Europe naphtha cracker margins rise, LPG margins fall week on week

LONDON (ICIS)–European cracker margins based on naphtha feedstock rose in the week ending 16 September, but an increase in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices pushed LPG-based margins down, ICIS margin analysis showed on Monday.

Euro-based naphtha costs fell by around 5% week on week, which led to improvements of 12% and 13%  for contract and spot margins respectively. Spot margins are slightly ahead of those for the contract.

Co-product credits in both cases were largely unchanged.

LPG contract cracker margins fell by 6% on a 5% gain in LPG costs – co-product values were stable.

Naphtha margins are currently showing a small – €34/tonne – premium over those for LPG.

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