Americas top stories: weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
10-Oct-2016
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories from ICIS Americas for the week ended 8 October 2016.
Sasol’s new US complex in Louisiana now
half complete
Sasol’s new world-scale Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP)
in Louisiana is about half complete, with construction around
15% complete, according to company executives from the South
Africa-based producer. The LCCP in Westlake, Louisiana,
consists of a 1.5m tonne/year ethane cracker, as well as six
downstream chemical production facilities.
US spot benzene rises on higher
crude
US spot benzene prices rose, tracking gains in upstream crude
oil markets. Trade was limited early in the week, with
several US market participants attending a petrochemical
conference in Europe, and prices began the week lower.
However, benzene prices recovered at mid-week as upstream
crude oil futures firmed.
US toluene prices firm despite gasoline
blend shift
US spot toluene prices were assessed higher as deals were
done above the previous week’s offer levels. The rise in
toluene prices came in spite of the shift from summer to
winter gasoline blends, which would normally result in weaker
demand for toluene as an octane booster and put downward
pressure on prices.
US Sept styrene contracts settle at
increase
US styrene contract prices for September have settled at an
average increase of 1.5 cents/lb ($33/tonne) over August.
Producers use different pricing mechanisms to determine
prices, including market prices and reference numbers. Some
contracts are also based on a combination of feedstock prices
and spot prices. Feedstock prices typically include benzene
and, to a much smaller extent, ethylene and natural gas.
US TiO2 Q4 prices said likely to settle
flat
A strong spring and a steady summer sharply reduced US TiO2
stocks, but inventories are climbing again, softening already
weak fourth-quarter price-hike efforts. Fourth-quarter
pigment prices, in fact, were said likely to settle flat on
rising inventory amid weakening demand. One buyer suggested
current inventories could be as low as 30 days’ supply, but
agreed with other customers that supply is increasing as
coatings demand continues to weaken seasonally.
‘Deepwater Horizon’ movie mixes fact with
fiction
The Hollywood film Deepwater Horizon has received favourable
reviews from movie critics, but some experts are dubious
about its portrayal of the 2010 disaster in the US Gulf of
Mexico. Donald Van Nieuwenhuise, director of professional
geoscience programmes at the University of Houston, said the
film showcases the explosion and loss of life, but at 107
minutes in length, it lacks the time required to address the
big picture. “The whole story could never fit in one movie
designed to get folks to clutch the edge of their chairs,” he
said.
US October OX contracts settle
higher
US orthoxylene (OX) contracts for October settled higher
compared with September. Sources attributed the rise to
firmer prices for upstream mixed xylenes (MX). MX prices have
remained firm throughout September owing to supply
restrictions. MX prices would typically move lower after the
summer as the switch from summer to winter gasoline blends
typically results in lower MX demand from gasoline blenders.
US jobs growth short of forecast for
September
US nonfarm job growth slowed to 156,000 in September, the US
Department of Labor said on Friday. Last month’s jobs growth
was below an upward-revised 167,000 jobs added in August. It
also was below the average of 192,000/month of job gains over
the past three months and it missed the 175,000 jobs that
economists polled by a media group had forecast for
September.
US crude penetrates psychological
$50.00/bbl barrier
NYMEX WTI crude futures for November delivery settled at
$50.44/bbl, up 61 cents on Thursday, having penetrated the
key barrier for the first time since June. Upside momentum
lifted the front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US
benchmark, to hit a session high of $50.58/bbl, before
retreating on profit-taking.
US chem shipment values rise for 17th
straight month
US chemical shipment values in August rose for the 17th
straight month year on year, according to data obtained on
Wednesday from the US Department of Commerce. The value of
US-made chemical shipments totaled $65.83bn in August, a 2.3%
gain over the same month in 2015. In the larger economy,
August shipment values for all US manufacturing industries
fell by 4.1%, marking 21 straight months of declines.
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