Butadiene contract prices for the Brazilian domestic market dropped 7.5 cents/lb ($165/mt) for May to $3,200/mt FOB plant, a Braskem source said Friday.
The US May butadiene contract price settled down 7-8 cents at a $1.45-$1.55/lb split settlement.
ExxonMobil settled 7 cents lower than it had in April at $1.55/lb, LyondellBasell and Shell Chemical both settled 8 cents lower than in April at $1.47/lb and TPC Group settled 7 cents lower at $1.45/lb, market sources said. Producer confirmation was unavailable.
May US butadiene contract prices were expected to be lower than the April contract price because of lower spot butadiene prices, weak spot demand as well as producers and buyers having ample level of inventories, added the sources.
The Brazilian butadiene contract market generally follows the US contract prices monthly with some days lag.
On production, a second Braskem source said the company plans to start up in the second or third week of July its new butadiene plant in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil.
"The new butadiene plant was previously scheduled for the beginning of 2013 but we now anticipate it for this year," the company source said.
The plant should have the production capacity of 100,000 mt/year, which would double the company's existing monomer nameplate capacity in Rio Grande do Sul state to 205,000 mt/year from 105,000 mt/year.
