Spot assessments on Mont Belvieu ethane for June delivery hit a three-year low Wednesday, down 4.75 cents to 34 cents/gal, reflecting a glut in supply.
The assessment was the lowest since 32.50 cents/gal on April 1, 2009, Platts data showed.
Sources said the market reflected strong supply and weak demand.
"Several petchem plants had maintenance outages [over the] past couple of months," an LPG broker said, adding supplies in a Gulf Coast market were already saturated with ramping supply from booming shale plays.
ONEOK last week began to restart its 160,000 b/d MB-1 NGL fractionator in Mont Belvieu, Texas, according to state environmental regulators.
The steep downward movement in ethane was felt downstream in the ethylene market Wednesday, where spot shed 4.25 cents/lb in late-morning and early-afternoon trading to hit a seven-month low.
Spot June material opened the day talked in a range of 45-52 cents/lb MtB Williams pipeline basis, down from Tuesday's assessment of 52-52.50 cents/lb FD USG, when June was heard talked in a range of 50-54.50 cents/lb.
June was heard traded multiple times in a range of 47.50-48.25 cents/lb MtB Wms pipeline basis, leading to an assessment of 47.75-48.25 cents/lb, the lowest since hitting that same level in late October.
Spot ethylene has been in decline since reaching record-high assessments of 75 cents/lb April 30-May 4, and has lost 16 cents/lb since May 1.
The fall has come as the olefins industry is on the tail end of a busy turnaround season that began in January amid lackluster demand from key downstream markets, including polyethylene and styrene.
