Europe September propylene contract price agreed at a rollover

LONDON (ICIS)–The European propylene September contract reference price has been set at €732.50/tonne, a rollover from August.

The settlement was confirmed by four producers and three consumers, two integrated, one non-integrated.

Primary driver naphtha values were slightly lower on average in August compared to July, while supply and demand fundamentals are largely steady overall, although there remains some disparity between grade and/or location.

Planned cracker maintenance is underway alongside the ongoing outage at Borealis’ Stenungsund, Sweden cracker. Prompt availability had been constrained by a couple of unexpected cracker issues earlier in August but these have been resolved. Refineries continue to run at reduced rates.

The demand outlook for September is mixed. Some players saw lower than expected demand in August and will be expecting some improvement in September. Others saw steady conditions July through August while others saw some pick up in derivatives for the automotive sector.

The contract reference price is fully established when a minimum of two producers and two consumers have directly confirmed.

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

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