Asia ethylene margins increase on higher ethylene, lower costs

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Asian ethylene margins rose across the board during the week ended 15 September, the ICIS margin report showed on Monday.

Naphtha-based ethylene margins rose by 7.1% week on week in northeast Asia and increased by 7.5% in southeast Asia.

This put margins at their highest levels since the week ended 10 March in NE Asia and 17 March in SE Asia.

Ethylene margins based on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rose by 9.4% in NE Asia during the week ended 15 September, while margins in SE Asia rose by 10%.

Spot ethylene values rose by $35/tonne in NE Asia and by $25/tonne in SE Asia, and cracker co-product credits rose by $10-13/tonne for naphtha-based ethylene and $4-6/tonne for LPG-based ethylene.

Costs were also down across the board on an ethylene production basis, falling by $14-15/tonne for naphtha-based product and by $16-18/tonne for LPG-based product.