The NWE December ethylene contract price fully settled Wednesday at Eur1,275/mt FD, a rollover from November, industry sources said Thursday.
The initial settlement was Wednesday between sellers LyondellBasell and BASF with customer Clariant, all parties confirmed Wednesday.
This was followed by customer Vinnolit with its producer LyondellBasell on Wednesday, industry sources said Thursday. Neither party was immediately available to confirm.
The rollover came despite a decrease in the feedstock costs and a low demand environment as the olefin industry struggled with thin margins, sources said. Naphtha has averaged $929/mt CIF NWE this month to date, down $25/mt from October's average.
Spot cracker margins were in negative territory again this month assessed at minus Eur94/mt while contract margins were a positive Eur107/mt for November to date. This compares with October's average of minus Eur50/mt and plus Eur117/mt respectively.
