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US June ethylene contracts settle up 3 cents/lb [ 02 Jul, 2009]
June US ethylene contracts were settled up by 3 cents/lb ($66/tonne, €47/tonne) at a net price of 33.5 cents/lb, a market participant said on Thursday.
Other participants were not immediately available to confirm the settlement, but sources on Wednesday said the market was moving toward a 3 cent/lb increase in June.
US ethylene producers nominated increases of 4-5 cents/lb for June following a rollover settlement for May at 30.5 cents/lb.
Higher feedstock ethane and crude oil prices during June helped drive up ethylene spot prices, laying the foundations for a contract increase, observers said.
The spot transaction average for ethylene during the week ended 26 June was 25.25 cents/lb, according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.
That is nearly 3 cents higher compared with an average price of 22.5 cents/lb during the week ended on 29 May.
Mont Belvieu ethane prices were at 50 cents/gal on 26 June, up 7 cents from four weeks earlier.
In the propylene market, a US buyer this week said he did not expect any progress on July contract negotiations until next week.
Chevron Phillips, Equistar, ExxonMobil, INEOS and Shell Chemicals are among the major producers of ethylene in the US.
Dow Chemical, Georgia Gulf, Occidental and Total are among the buyers
Source: ICIS
Dow Chemical to cut ethylene-related production in the U.S. [ 01 Jul, 2009]
Dow Chemical plans to shut three ethylene-related plants in Louisiana in an effort to reduce its cost structures and focus more on specialty chemicals production, a market it dove into with its acquisition of Rohm and Haas earlier this year.
Under the plan, Dow will permanently close an ethylene cracker in Hahnville, La., an ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol production unit in Hahnville, La., and an ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomer facility in Plaquemine, La. By closing the plants, Dow will cut its demand for ethylene by 30%.
"Consistent with Dow's practice of active portfolio management, we continue to take quick and aggressive action to right-size our manufacturing footprint, particularly in our basics portfolio," says Dow CEO Andrew Liveris in a statement. "These actions are also aligned with our strategic transformation, which focuses on preferentially investing for growth in our performance and advanced materials portfolios."
In late 2008, Dow unveiled a restructuring plan to close or idle as many as 200 plants worldwide in an effort to move away from basic chemical production and focus more on higher margin specialty chemicals and leverage more manufacturing joint ventures. Then, this March, German chemicals giant BASF said it was taking an annual capacity of 220,000 metric tons of ethylene offline for at least three months, due to weak demand.
Source: purchasing.com
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