The acetone settlement for March was concluded at a split of $0.5575 and $0.58 per pound. Using the average of the range, March’s settlement represents a $0.11375 per pound increase from February’s settlement. Energy prices dance to the tune of whatever the last headline reads. Volatility was a word the petrochemical industry left out of the 2026 dictionary.
The refinery grade propylene (RGP) market saw 3 railcar trades since the last report. Two railcar trades were reported in late March (1 March trade and 1 April trade) at $0.48 per pound and one railcar was traded earlier this week for April at $0.55 per pound. Polymer grade propylene (PGP) has gone from $0.45 per pound to over $0.60 per pound over the last month. There have been a couple disruptions at propane dehydrogenation (PDH) units over the last few weeks which has limited PGP production. With propylene derivatives not moving in the Middle East, this has led to arbitrage across the Atlantic for USA producers.
Just over 4,000 MT’s of acetone arrived in the USA in February 2026 and just over 1,000 MT (all in container ships) in March. The two bulk liquid imports arriving in February came from Europe and Japan. As stated in last month’s report, we expect to see minimal imports from April onwards. Europe and Asia are grappling with logistical messes and increased feedstock costs. The world has now turned to the USA to fulfill a lot of petrochemical needs. USA acetone has been sought from Latin America and Europe over the last month.
Domestic acetone price increases have been announced by numerous parties, to numerous extents, and in numerous intervals. In summary, the price increases range from $0.235 to $0.47 per pound announced from early February until present. Availability is still thin. There are multiple domestic turnarounds happening or about to commence. Phenol demand remains weak, but phenol exports will be important to watch over the coming months if the global logistical chaos continues.
We predicted at least a $0.04 per pound higher March settlement from February. For April, we predict an increase of at least $0.08 per pound from March’s split average. We hope everybody is staying as calm, cool, and collected during this time as possible.