US Gulf Coast propane prices dipped to a seven-month low Wednesday despite a 1.6 million-barrel inventory draw last week.
March non-LST propane fell 1 cent to 73.75 cents/gal, but climbed 1 percentage point to 51% of crude futures.
Non-LST barrels reflect prices at the Enterprise NGL fractionation and storage facility in Mont Belvieu, Texas.
Wednesday's assessment was its lowest since August 8, 2017, at 72.375 cents/gal, though propane was trading at 62% of crude futures at that time.
Total US propane and propylene stocks shed 1.6 million barrels to 41.1 million barrels in the week ended March 2, Energy Information Administration data showed. Inventories were 12% below the five-year average
Gulf Coast stocks fell 1.2 million barrels to 26.5 million barrels while Midwest inventories shed 327,000 barrels to 9.9 million barrels, or 20% below the five-year average. East Coast stocks fell 8,000 barrels to 3 million barrels as total propane imports rose 67,000 b/d to 201,000 b/d, a three-week high. Propane imports were largely into the Midwest and East Coast.
Exports fell 293,000 b/d to 668,000 b/d, a low since the week of December 29.
Platts Analytics data showed 10 VLGC loaded from US ports last week. Most appeared to be headed for Latin America or Europe.
Production rose 33,000 b/d to 1.86 million b/d as product supplied, or implied demand, climbed 571,000 b/d to 1.62 million b/d, a two-week high.
The increased domestic demand may have been due to a winter storm in the US Northeast that brought freezing temperatures and snow to the region last week. A second storm is forecast to bring heavy snow into the region Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
