Singapore — Saudi Aramco has set its September Contract Price for propane at $600/mt, up $20/mt from the August CP. The butane CP was set at $635/mt, up $40/mt from the August CP, the company said said Thursday.
The September propane and butane CPs were within traders' expectations. Traders had expected Saudi Aramco to set the September CP for propane at $600/mt, while predictions for the butane CP vary between $625/mt and $635/mt.
Front-month September propane CP swaps closed at $598/mt and butane at $630/mt in Asia on Wednesday.
With the stronger ICE Brent crude futures Thursday, brokers' morning notional indications showed the September propane CP swaps at $604.5/mt and butane at around $32/mt above that.
The September propane CPs extended the recovery seen for August, as demand for Middle Eastern cargoes remained robust while Chinese importers seek alternatives for US tons due to higher import tariffs.
This is the sixth consecutive increase for the butane CP, S&P Global Platts data showed.
Aramco had set the propane CP for September 2017 at $480/mt and butane CP at $500/mt, Platts data showed.
Aramco's CPs, which set the price of LPG lifted from the Saudi ports of Yanbu, Ras Tanura and Ju'aymah under term supply contracts, are closely watched by the market as they tend to set a base level for LPG pricing for most markets East of Suez.
