Ethylene prices in USA rise after plunging to 20 month lows in June

06-Jul-12

As short-term supply concerns briefly resurfaced, U.S. prices for ethylene saw some recovery at the end of June from the lowest level in 20 months, according to PetroChem Wire. Ethylene price touched 39.5 cents per lb on June 13, extending its drop from a 7 year high of 75.12 cents per lb on April 5 after unplanned plant outages and scheduled maintenance caused supply to fall short of demand. The June 13 price was the lowest since October 22, 2010. Several key ethylene plants that had been shut for scheduled maintenance were expected to be back in service by the end of the month, and their restarts were delayed. That, combined with some unexpected plant outages, cast some uncertainty about short-term supply availability, and prices popped back above 40 cents."