Weighed down by decreasing upstream costs, spot ethylene prices eventually declined by $80/ton during this past week on a CFR Northeast Asia basis. Despite falling on a weekly basis, prices remained steady on a day over day basis at the beginning of this week as some regional producers were not willing to cut their prices further citing their dwindling supply.
Some major crackers in the region are set to undergo turnaround between February and April. Thailand’s PTT is expected to shut their 1 million tons/year cracker at Map Ta Phut for maintenance next month.