Butac distributor prices, the main consumer range, were expected to take a big dive in October and began dropping late last week.
Sources said the range is now perched at 88-92 cents/lb ($1,940-2,028/tonne, ?,397-1,460/tonne), compared with the previous 96-100 cents/lb.
"It took awhile for a few folks to realise the downstream derivative affect," a distributor said.
The new average distributor price of 90 cents/lb is 8 cents/lb lower than the previous average of 98 cents/lb.
The butac drop follows that of spot feedstock US chemical-grade propylene, which has sunk 31% since late August on soft demand and ample supply, sources said.
Butac producers tried to raise prices in September but the market rejected the proposals. Germany-based Oxea even floated a proposed increase for October but it gained no support.
Major US butac producers include Dow Chemical, Eastman Chemical and Oxea Group.
($1 = ?.72)
