November US propylene contracts were heard settling at a 2.5-cents drop from October contract prices, trade participants said Wednesday.
The decline was in line with market expectations, which were heard targeting between a 2-cent and 3-cent drop.
Spot polymer-grade propylene for front-month November was up 0.50 cent on Thursday at 31.50 cents/lb FD USG. Forward-month December PGP was also up 0.50 cent on the day at 31.75 cents/lb FD USG, keeping a 0.25-cent contango for the seventh consecutive session.
Domestic propylene inventories inventory remains long, as the US Energy Information Administration data Wednesday showed domestic propylene inventory increased for the second consecutive week for week ended November 15.
Non-fuel-use propylene stocks rose to 5.050 million barrels, up 311,000 barrels week on week. The rise comes as refinery utilization rates also increased from 87.8% to 89.5% week on week.
If the 2.5-cent decline is accepted by a majority of the market, it would take polymer-grade propylene contracts to 35 cents/lb and chemical-grade propylene contracts to 33.5 cents/lb.
