FEEDSTOCK - ETHYLENE

Ethylene prices in Asia dipped to US$1430/MT the week of February 4, 2008, as the market outlook toned down on the arrival of Iranian cargoes, providing a respite in the supply crunch being faced in the region on account of outages at Asian plants. An ease in the supply situation was coupled with lackluster demand from end-users, particularly from China. As the market players in China prepare to break for the Lunar New Year holiday, buying sentiments continue to range as low as US$1410/MT CFR China. Sellers, however, continue to quote at least 50-60 dollars higher. Prices in the next few weeks will be affected by end user demand as well as influx of cargoes from Iran.