In Asia, last week during the Chinese New Year holiday, the spot ethylene market was mostly steady. Players pegged spot prices unchanged at $890/ton on CFR Northeast Asia basis and with a slight uptick, of around $5/ton, at $895/ton on CFR Southeast Asia basis. Prices on FOB South Korea basis also remained stable at $890/ton during the same period. Demand was thin due to the holiday but overall supplies continued to be deemed as tight ahead of upcoming maintenance turnarounds at regional crackers.
In Europe, the spot ethylene market was mostly steady, according to players. Prices were pegged unchanged at €750/ton on FD NWE basis. In general, supply levels are not comfortable but the spot market continues to be traded below the contract market, for which the February contract had settled at €830/ton on FD NWE basis.
In the US, according to a trader, the spot ethylene market inched up by $6/ton (0.25 cents/lb) at the end of last week to $413-424/ton (18.75-19.25 cents/lb) on FD USG basis. The slight rise occurred despite the fact that Exxon Mobil had restarted their Texas ethylene unit.