US ethylene margins using E/P mix and ethane as feedstocks showed marginal gains for the week ending Aug. 12, while propane dipped slightly and light naphtha fell off its shortlived reign as the highest-yielding crack.
E/P mix-based cracker margins closed Friday at 32.53 cents/lb, up .14 cents week on week after hitting a two-month high at 34.26 cents/lb Aug. 9, as per Platts data.
Ethane-based margins, meanwhile, closed Friday at 29.22 cents/lb, up .74 cents/lb week-on-week after also hitting a two-month high at 31.26 cents/lb Aug. 9.
E/P mix- and ethane-based margins jumped dramatically to start the week as spot ethylene and propylene prices held their ground while the energy complex plummeted, dragging with it most olefin feedstocks.
Margins stabilized to close the week as both ethylene and propylene posted decreases while ethane and propane rebounded above 70-cents/gallon. Spot ethylene shed 2.5 cents/lb week on week, assessed Friday on either side of 61.125 cents/lb; refinery-grade propylene closed the week down 1.25 cents/lb, assessed on either side of 68.50 cents/lb
Light naphtha-based margins, which closed at roughly 33.66 cents/lb for the week ending Aug. 5 to surpass ethane, propane and E/P mix as the highest-yielding crack, plummeted more than 10 cents/lb Friday to 23.59 cents/lb.
Propane-based margins also fell Friday from 24.84 cents/lb to 21.63 cents/lb.
The cracker margins estimates use the current spot price and yields of the various cracker products from cracking various light and heavy feedstocks.
