December 1st, 2025
The acetone settlement for October was not concluded due to a couple of turnarounds and thus, a lack of transactions between large buyers and sellers. We do expect a November settlement to occur although it has not been completed yet.
The refinery grade propylene (RGP) market did not witness any pipeline trades (we don’t expect these moving forward). However, two separate RGP railcar deals were reported at $0.19 and $0.23 per pound. The polymer grade propylene (PGP) contract price for November settled at $0.305 per pound, which is down $0.01 per pound from October contract price. Current PGP trades are hovering around $0.25-$0.26 per pound. We are expecting a rather quiet December for PGP with little price movement.
Acetone imports in October were stronger at 6,700 MT’s hitting the USA’s shores. Some cargoes from Europe have arrived and we expect more arrived in November. European and Asian pricing have crept even lower over the last month. More shipments await should the USA domestic picture get tighter.
The time of the year has come when phenol and acetone demand is muted. Acetone prices have hit their contractual lows since late 2023. Phenol contracts for 2026 are still being negotiated. However, phenol volumes being discussed for next year are at levels below this year. We are hopeful the automotive and construction industries will pick up in 2026 to prove this forecast wrong.
We still expect the November settlement to be concluded despite it now being December. We are forecasting a drop of $0.03-$0.06 per pound from the September settlement of $0.455 per pound. We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
