Enterprise Spot Propane Ends at 4-1/2Yr Low vs WTI Futures

    

   ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (DTN) -- Spot NGLs prices finished mostly down at the key 
U.S. supply hubs Friday with propane at the LST and Conway supply hubs at 2-1/2 
week lows while Enterprise spot propane ended at a fresh near five-month low.

   Late session, Enterprise spot propane traded at a more than 4-1/2 year low 
28.4% versus nearby New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil futures. The NYMEX 
February WTI crude oil futures contract settled fractionally higher Friday at 
$58.54 bbl, but on the week declined 50cts or 0.8%. 

   Nearby NYMEX RBOB futures settled 1.42cts lower at $1.6406 gallon and on the 
week slid 1.88cts or 1.1%.  

   In the week that ended today, both LST spot propane and Enterprise spot 
propane dropped 8.4% while Conway spot propane slid 7.7%.

   LST spot propane slid 0.5cts Friday at 42cts gallon while Enterprise spot 
propane traded down 0.625cts at 39.625cts gallon. LST spot propane ended the 
week at 2.375cts premium to Enterprise propane, down from 2.625cts the Friday 
prior. 

   At the Conway hub, spot propane edged down 0.25cts at 38.75cts gallon, its 
discount to Enterprise spot propane at 0.875ct per gallon equal to a more than 
two-month low differential seen on Wednesday. 

   The Energy Information Administration Wednesday reported U.S. propane 
inventories decreased an about-as-expected 900,000 bbl in the week-ended Jan. 
10, which compares with a 1.6 million bbl stock draw in the corresponding week 
last year and a five-year average decline of 3.6 million bbl.

   U.S. propane/propylene stocks at 87.9 million bbl on Jan. 10 were up 20.4 
million bbl or 30.3% from the same time in 2019 and approximately 15 million 
bbl or 20.6% above the five-year average of 72.9 million bbl.

   The Houston Ship Channel was closed Friday afternoon to outbound traffic but 
open to arriving vessels, reversing the permitted flows the afternoon prior. 

   EIA data showed U.S. propane/propylene exports at 1.235 million bpd in the 
week-ended Jan. 10, up from a then five-week low 988,000 bpd in the week prior. 

   Market sources said foggy conditions along the Gulf Coast through much of 
the week likely meant propane exports this week were at below recent levels.  

   In Canada, sources pegged Sarnia spot propane at 61.5cts gallon, down 
3.5cts.  

   Other NGLs prices moved mostly lower during the week. At the Enterprise hub, 
the spot price of normal butane declined 2.5% while isobutane rose 6.5%, 
natural gasoline edged down 0.2%, and ethane fell 4.8%.

   This afternoon, both Mont Belvieu non-LST normal butane and Conway normal 
butane traded 3cts higher, with the former at 69cts gallon and the latter at 
76cts gallon.

   Mt. Belvieu non-LST natural gasoline changes hands at 120cts gallon, down 
0.25cts with its discount to LST natural gasoline unchanged at 4.25cts. 

   Conway natural gasoline traded flat at 119.25cts gallon and was up 0.25cts 
on the week.

   Gulf Coast purity ethane traded late Friday at 15cts gallon, down 0.75cts 
from the day prior.   

   In related markets, spot-month NYMEX natural gas futures settled down 7.4cts 
at a more than 3-2/3 year low $2.003 MMBtu, and on the week dropped 19.9cts or 
9%.  

   EIA on Thursday reported natural gas held in U.S. storage decreased a 
more-than-expected 109 Bcf in the week-ended Jan. 10 to 3.039 Tcf, which is up 
494 Bcf or 19.4% from the same time in 2019 and 149 Bcf or 5.2% above the 
five-year average of 2.890 Tcf.

   The 109 Bcf draw on domestic working gas in the week-ended Jan. 10 compares 
with an 82 Bcf decrease reported in the same week last year and a five-year 
average decline of 184 Bcf.

   Alton Wallace, 1.832.646.9229, alton.wallace@dtn.com, www.dtn.com.

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