The north-south spread widened further on Wednesday, to 12.20 cents as Conway prices added 0.3% (25 points) to reach 98.38c/g while Mt. Belvieu TET prices fell back 1.0% (82 points) to 86.18c/g. The losses at Mt. Belvieu came despite broad-based strength in energy futures. Brent crude rose 0.6% and WTI gained 0.5% following bullish US crude oil inventory data and with weakness in the US dollar index. Natural gas futures climbed 2.7% higher with supportive developments in the near-term temperature and US market balance outlook.
Brent and WTI futures once again looked to possibly snap their rally, with small loss of 0.2% in Brent and 0.3% in WTI as of this writing. The losses followed a bearish demand note from the International Energy Agency and the end of a blockade at the Hariga port in Libya, but despite further strength in US and European shares and further weakness in the US dollar. Natural gas futures were steady following the weekly EIA storage report, which showed a smaller than expected withdrawal. Propane prices were mixed with Mt. Belvieu up 1.0% (82 points) at 87.00c/g (non-TET at 84.38c/g), narrowing the discount to Conway, where prices fell 2.9% (2.88 cents) to 95.50c/g. In the news, Platts reports that US propylene export prices have reached a record Platts assessment high. Meanwhile, US LPG exports to Europe are expected to rise this month with an improved arbitrage.
