Persistent dip in US propylene inventories continues

19-Aug-10

Propylene inventories in USA have fallen by approx 9% to 2.566 mln barrels for the week ended August 13, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA). US propylene inventories continued to dwindle this week as per Platts, as inventories shed 255,000 barrels to close the week, following a drop of 216,000 barrels the week ending August 6. In spot propylene markets, the spread between RGP and PGP continued to hover just above 13 cents/lb this week, as RGP slipped. Since the beginning of August, the differential has widened by 2 cents but continues to be far off the roughly 30 cents/lb spread back in early April, when spot PGP prices were close to 80 cents/lb. Historically, the spread between RGP and PGP has been closer to 3 cents/lb. In mid-February the gap widened as lower refinery rates, steam cracker operators' preference for lighter feeds, and limited splitter capacity to convert RGP into PGP contributed to higher PGP values.