Mt. Belvieu and Conway propane prices rallied on Monday, showing independent strength as crude futures edged lower and NYMEX natural gas futures fell 4.5%. Brent crude eased off 0.5% and WTI slipped 0.3% lower with strength in the dollar and weakness in European shares, even as US shares strengthened. Propane prices saw small losses, similar to those in crude. Mt. Belvieu TET prices fell 0.8% (75 points) to 94.56c/g and Conway spot prices dropped 0.3% (25 points) lower to 85.00c/g.
Crude futures were falling this morning, with WTI down 2.0% and Brent down 1.9% as of this writing. News that a number of European countries are halting distribution of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine following reports of serious side effects was unsupportive, whereas US and European shares were trading flat to higher. Natural gas futures looked set to snap a losing streak, up 1.3%. Propane prices were back in the red. Mt. Belvieu TET prices were down 1.9% (1.81 cents) at 92.75c/g (non-TET at parity), and Conway spots were off 1.3% (1.13 cents) at 83.88c/g. In the news, OPIS reports that Michigan is looking to increase propane shipments by rail and increase storage capacity as part of the Michigan Energy Security Plan, ahead of the possible shutdown of the 540kb/d Enbridge Line 5 crude oil and mixed NGL pipeline. Enbridge is fighting the shutdown and says the plan is "wholly inadequate" to replace the pipeline.
