Factbox: Falling chlorine, PVC demand expected to prompt lower chlor-alkali rates

US chlor-alkali rates are expected to decline this month, reflecting lower demand for chlorine and downstream products in the polyvinyl chloride chain, market sources said.

As those rates fall, market participants anticipate higher prices for caustic soda, a byproduct of chlorine production.

"Chlorine demand destruction has happened way faster than demand destruction for caustic soda," a market source said. "It will eventually happen with caustic, but not for another 60 days. We're going to get really tight on caustic in May and June."

Another source said US chlor-alkali rates in April were expected to range from 70% to 80%, or "closer to the low 70s."

Also on Tuesday, the US spot Choctaw ethylene price fell 0.25 cent on the day to 7.25 cents/lb, the lowest since S&P Global Platts launched the assessment on March 2 and cited as the lowest in memory by market sources.

INFRASTRUCTURE

**US isopropyl alcohol spot prices reached a new multi-decade high amid strong demand for sanitation products to combat the coronavirus pandemic, with higher values pulling new producers to the market to fill the temporary supply gap.

**Effective April 8, the Port of Houston Authority will require non-contact temperature screenings of all people entering restricted areas at the port's two container terminals, and anyone with a temperature that exceeds 100.4 F will be denied entry.

PRICES

Olefins

**Non-LST ethane prices rose 6.1% to 10.875 cents/gal on Tuesday.

**US spot ethylene for April was flat Tuesday at 8 cents/lb FD Mont Belvieu, but fell 0.25 cent/lb to 7.25 cents/lb FD Choctaw.

**Non-LST propane prices rose 12.5 points to 27.875 cents/gal.

**April US spot polymer-grade propylene prices fell 0.75 cent/lb to 23.25 cents/lb FD USG on Tuesday, while refinery-grade propylene held flat at 10 cents/lb FD USG.

Polymers

**Export LDPE prices were stable on the day Tuesday at $937-$959/mt (42.5-43.5 cents/lb) FAS Houston

**Export HDPE blowmolding were flat at $662-$684/mt (30-31 cents/lb) FAS Houston

**Export LLDPE butene prices were flat on the day Tuesday at $662-$684/mt (30-31 cents/lb) FAS Houston

**Export homopolymer PP prices were stable at $1,058/mt FAS Houston

**Post-consumer FOB Los Angeles bottle bales for both premium and curbside grades were stable day on day at 18 cents/lb and 8 cents/lb, respectively, while the FOB Chicago marker also was flat at 11.50 cents/lb.

**US export ethylene dichloride prices fell $100/mt on the week to $110-$120/mt FOB USG Tuesday, while export vinyl chloride monomer prices fell $185/mt week on week to $405-$415/mt FOB USG.

**US acrylonitrile prices fell $35/mt week on week to $935/mt on Tuesday.

Aromatics

**US spot MTBE prices fell 2.64 cents/gal to 63.16 cents/gal FOB USG on Tuesday.

**April US methanol fell 1 cent/gal to 67 cents/gal FOB USG.

**US April benzene prices finished down 2 cents/gal on the day at 95 cents/gal DDP USG.

**Prompt-month US styrene monomer was flat at $400/mt FOB USG.

**FOB USG April and May toluene (nitn) prices fell 11 cents to 89 cents/gal.

**FOB USG April and May mixed xylenes prices fell 12 cents to 92 cents/gal.

**FOB USG paraxylene prices rose $10/mt to $515/mt .

**USGC light straight-run naphtha prices fell 7.3% on the day to 31.5 cents/gal.

**NYMEX May RBOB settled at 64.84 cents/gal, down 5.34 cents on Tuesday.

**US IPA was assessed $760/mt higher at $3,860/mt FOB USG and $3,920/mt DER

TRADE FLOWS

**The US benzene market is poised to see close to 150,000 mt of benzene land on the US Gulf Coast in April, while only about 85,000-90,000 mt of benzene imports are expected in May, contributing to the wide contango seen in spot benzene, sources told Platts on Tuesday.

**Gojo Industries, which makes Purell hand sanitizer and dispensers, has received approvals for exemptions from tariffs on US imports of pump housings and collars from China after having been denied exemptions earlier, according to Panjiva, the trade analysis unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence.