Low ethane prices benefit Westlake, LyondellBasell, says TPH

摘要

US ethane prices have eased to multi-month lows, to the benefit of US crackers owned by Westlake and LyondellBasell, according to Tudor Pickering & Holt (TPH). US spot ethane closed at just 23 cents/gal on 4 December, the lowest price since a one-day dip during Hurricane Harvey in late August, the investment bank says. Prior to that, ethane prices had not been so low since early June. The shift in pricing compressed the spread between ethane and natural gas down to just 4 cents/gal, in contrast to the 7 cents/gal quarter-to-date trend.