26 August 2010 12:41 [Source: ICIS news]
LONDON (ICIS)--The European September monthly contract price (MCP) for butadiene has been agreed at ┬1,450/tonne ($1,835/tonne), down by ┬10/tonne from August, a major producer said on Thursday.
The contract, settled on a free delivered (FD) basis, was fully confirmed by one consumer and two main suppliers.
The lower contract settlement was mainly driven by improved availability in Europe, according to the players.
This was attributed to higher-than-expected cracker utilisation rates and a smaller-than-usual shift to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) this summer, sources said.
Stable-to-softer downstream demand in August also led to a better supply position.
An underlying bearish sentiment in other regions was also a contributory factor to the lower European contract price, the consumer said.
However, players said that the magnitude of the reduction was limited, offset by a number of upcoming cracker turnarounds in September, which could reduce supply flexibility.
($1 = ┬0.79)