Naphtha-based ethylene margins increase in Asia

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Naphtha-based ethylene margins rose during the week ended 13 January, while LPG-based margins were mixed, the ICIS margin report showed on Tuesday.

In Northeast Asia, naphtha-based ethylene margins rose 6.7% to $826/tonne, while in Southeast Asia margins rose 6.6% to $744/tonne.

While naphtha costs on an ethylene basis increased in each region, co-product credit values increased more.

The jump was particularly stark in SE Asia, where co-product credit values rose $92/tonne week on week.

For LPG-based ethylene, margins in NE Asia were flat week on week at $501/tonne, and fell by 1.6% in SE Asia to $381/tonne.

While LPG-based ethylene co-product credit values in NE Asia had the smallest growth, margins did not fall because spot prices rose $35/tonne during the week.

In SE Asia, spot ethylene values were flat week on week.