The acetone settlement for September was unanimously settled at $0.565 per pound. This is a decrease of $0.015 per pound from August’s settlement. Acetone imports have tempered but demand has also seasonally slowed order patterns.
The refinery grade propylene (RGP) movement for the latest 45-day volume weighted average was down $0.01 per pound from the previous pricing window. Since the September settlement, RGP pipeline trades have been flat around $0.20 per pound while railcar trades have lowered into the $0.35-$0.37 per pound range. Polymer grade propylene has trended lower and is being traded just above $0.40 per pound.
September imports came in at approximately 7,000 MT’s. Q4 2024 should see at least this volume per month based upon where Asian pricing has been seen over the last 6 weeks. Since the last report, Asian pricing has come down slightly. On the acetone export side, 2024 is likely to be the smallest volume year in over 3 decades. Mexico has almost exclusively relied on imports from Asia and Europe.
Two domestic producers are on turnarounds now while another domestic producer remains on force majeure. Acetone demand has hit a wall as buyers are destocking. It’s the mentality of “buy only what you need as we see what the future holds”. This holds particularly true of methyl methacrylate, a major downstream derivative of acetone.
We called for either a rollover or a small decrease for September’s settlement. For October’s settlement, we expect a decrease of at least $0.025 per pound. Happy Halloween to all!
