US Gulf Coast ethane spot values for December delivery fell to under 80 cents/gal Wednesday, on weak demand from the chemical sector, market sources said.
"Crackers [are] slowing down because of weaker derivative demand ... I think December will be very slow," said one trade source.
Platts assessed purity ethane at the Mont Belvieu, Texas, trading hub at 79.75 cents/gal, down 1 cent from Tuesday.
Ethylene continued to soften for the week, assessed down a quarter-cent Wednesday to 50.50-51 cents/lb as capacity continues to come back on line and downstream demand remains sluggish amid global economic uncertainty and the typical end-of-year slowdown, sources said.
Ethylene has shed 1.25 cents/lb since hitting the 52-cent/lb mark November 23 on the back of production issues, according to Platts data.
Since then, ChevronPhillips Chemical has resumed normal operations at its Sweeny, Texas, complex, while Shell Chemical was heard to have restarted its OP-3 unit at Deer Park, Texas, following a six-week maintenance.
On Wednesday, LyondellBasell reported to state regulators it was restarting its 1.74-billion lb/year (790,000 mt/year) La Porte olefins unit through December 4.
