Benchmark propane prices saw independent strength yesterday, with gains of 1.7% in Mt. Belvieu TET and a 2.0% jump in Conway pricing, while Brent crude edged down 0.%, WTI lost 1.0%, and NYMEX natural gas futures fell 1.4%. The 1.56-cent rise left Mt. Belvieu TET prices at a 92.31c/g midpoint, 9.06 cents above Conway where prices climbed 1.63 cents to 83.25c/g.
Crude futures were seeing strength this morning, led higher by a 2.4% gain in February RBOB futures ahead of expiration today. The gains came despite weakness in global shares. As of this writing, WTI futures had gained 1.2% and Brent crude futures had climbed 1.0% higher. Natural gas futures were also in the black, but gains were slim at 0.5%. Propane prices were mixed featuring a narrowing of the north-south spread. Mt. Belvieu TET prices were off 0.7% (69 points) at 91.63c/g, although non-TET prices were stronger at 93.94c/g. Meanwhile, Conway spots jumped 3.2% (2.63 cents) higher to 85.88c/g, implying a narrowing of the north-south spread down to 5.75 cents. In the news, OPIS reports that Edmonton inventory transfer (IT) propane prices hit a record discount of 38.5 cents to Conway amid oversupply and steep backwardation. Mt. Belvieu TET propane swaps are also backwardated, as can be seen in the chart below.
