Industry participants continue to evaluate the impact of Harvey on energy, petrochemical and

logistics markets. 

OLEFINS 

Ethylene spot pricing closed the past week at seven-month highs. 

Trading activity was beginning to pick up after thin activity stemmed from uncertainty surroun

ding the situation along the US Gulf Coast following the impact from Hurricane Harvey, sourc

es said. 

The storm affected more than 50% of US steam-cracking capacity, according to S&P Global

Platts estimates. 

Support from the outages continues to be partially offset by a lack of downstream demand, a

s many polymer plants were shut along the US Gulf Coast, including polyethylene, PVC and e

thylene oxide and glycols plants, sources said. August contracts remained unsettled. 

In propylene, spot polymer-grade propylene closed the past week at five-month highs as indu

stry participants continue to evaluate the impact of Harvey on energy, petrochemical and logis

tics. 

The upward pressure from outages continues to be partially offset, sources said, from downstr

eam capacity -- particularly polypropylene and acrylonitrile -- with some also still offline due to

Harvey-related impacts, thereby limiting demand for product. 

AROMATICS 

US spot benzene prices fell week on week with prompt September values shedding 6 cents to

finish the week assessed at 274 cents/gal DDP USG. 

The market opened the week in a backwardated structure with October discounted to

September by 2 cents. However, by week's end, values for both months were at parity. 

Demand was characterized as strong from the downstream styrene segment which continued

to see support from stronger styrene values in both Europe and Asia. 

September styrene was said to be sold out and much of the market was focused on October,

which rose 2.78 cents ($61.25/mt) to finish the week at 60.33 cents/lb ($1,330/mt) FOB USG. 

The focus remained how forward month demand would materialize as forward-month inventori

es in East China were at a two-year low and CSPC was in the midst of a planned maintenance

a its 700,000 mt/year unit at Huizhou. Still prices on a CFR China basis showed signs of softe

ning, with Platts marker shedding $55 from Monday to Friday, closing the week at $1,410/mt. 

In Europe, prices were also supported by supply constraints, with at least two producers heard

undergoing maintenance activities in September. 

The Platts European styrene marker shed $13.50 last week to finish at $1,380/mt on an FOB

ARA basis. 

US POLYETHYLENE 

Domestic polyethylene prices were facing upward pressure as multiple major US producers a

nnounced mid-September price hikes on the heels of an August increase being heard accept

ed by the market in the wake of growing tightness in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The

storm resulted in roughly one-third of US PE capacity shutdown. 

Chevron Phillips Chemical plans to increase US PE prices by 4 cents/lb on September 15, the

company said Wednesday in a letter to customers. 

ExxonMobil Chemical announced a similar increase late Tuesday, while a pair of producers --

Dow Chemical and Equistar Chemical -- had previously announced 4-cent increases for Sept

ember contracts. 

Market sources said there appears to be a good chance of a September increase going thro

ugh, and there are expectations additional producers would eventually announce similar inten

tions. 

Multiple sources said the impact of recent outages on domestic and export markets would be

significant, in part due to talk that a number of end users and distributors were carrying lower

-than-normal inventory heading into hurricane season, in part because of planned and unpla

nned maintenance before the storm. 

Export offers were virtually non-existent over the past week, sources said, with some suggesti

ng the export market was unlikely to see much resin before October. 

LATIN AMERICA POLYETHYLENE 

Buyers in key South American polyethylene markets should continue to encounter few, if any,

US-origin offers in the wake of Hurricane Harvey battering the US Gulf Coast, sources have

said. 

Importers are expected to keep turning to the Middle East, Asia and even Egypt for resin while

the US -- which has served as a preferred trader partner for much of 2017 -- restores producti

on and logistics. 

Regional producers Braskem and Dow have both increased September PE prices in the wake

of US scarcity, company sources have confirmed. Braskem was reportedly splitting an increas

e of Real 300/mt (around $95/mt) into two phases, with the first cut-off falling on September 6,

sources said. 

Buyers who order after September 6 will encounter PE pricing that is Real 150 (around $48/m

t) higher than customers who ordered during the first week of the month. In Mexico, Braskem

Idesa will be limiting exports for the foreseeable future in an attempt to prioritize the demand of

its local customers, a company official said. 

METHANOL 

Spot pricing opened last week Tuesday at a 4-and-1/2-month high of 102 cents/gal before sof

tening 9.5 cents to close the week. 

A number of trades were reported at levels up to 97 cents/gal FOB USG, according to source

s, with five trades heard done. 

In production news, the Clear Lake methanol plant owned by Mitsui/Celanese remained down

in Pasadena, Texas, on Friday, according to sources. The plant suffered a process trip that ca

used it to shut after heavy rainfall associated with Harvey, according to a filing with the Texas

Commission on Environmental Quality.