LyondellBasell plans to increase its US monoethylene glycol prices by 3 cents/lb in February, the company said in a letter to customers.
The increase will take effect on February 1 or as contracts allow, according to the letter seen by S&P Global Platts Tuesday. LyondellBasell also intends to raise its diethylene glycol prices by 2 cents/lb, the letter added.
The company did not cite a specific reason for the increase.
North American producers MEGlobal and Huntsman have also announced MEG price increases for February.
MEGlobal will increase its North American benchmark for monoethylene glycol by 3 cents/lb ($66/mt) to 47 cents/lb ($1,036/mt) for February, a company representative said Tuesday.
Huntsman plans to increase MEG and DEG pricing by 2 cents/lb in February, the company said in a letter to customers.
Asian MEG contract prices, which are closely watched in the US market, will also increase for February.
Shell has nominated an increase of $10/mt to $1,040/mt CFR Asia, MEGlobal plans a rise of $40/mt to $1,060/mt CFR Asia and SABIC has announced an increase of $50/mt to $1,100/mt CFR Asia.
US spot MEG pricing currently stands at a 17-month high after being assessed Friday at 38.00-39.00 cents/lb ($838-$860/mt) FOB USG, as a result of tight export supplies on the US Gulf Coast and firm pricing in the Chinese market.
Asian MEG was assessed Tuesday at $920/mt CFR China, for an increase of $80/mt in the course of a month, Platts data show.
The January US MEG contract was assessed Friday at 40.71-41.21 cents/lb, up 5 cents from December and the highest since August 2015, Platts data show. The contract assessment was based on a weighted formula that discounts the North American benchmark price by 15% and the ACP average by 5%, with each segment equally weighted, according to market feedback.
