Weekly Mont Belvieu Propane-Butane Price Review February 17th 2023

By Godwin Okoduwa ــ Last Update 20 February 2023

Our assessment for last week's daily Mont Belvieu propane and butane in USD/mt (1.7% and 4.6% down respectively on the weekly average):

13th February: 437.3; 554.4

14th February: 430.3; 536.2

15th February: 428.7; 540.8

16th February: 429.8; 549.5

17th February: 423.0; 554.6

LPG Butane prices flipped back to a downward trend this week, closing at 554.6 USD/MT; 7% lower than the previous week's close of 596.5 USD/MT. There was an increase in price for Propane when compared to the previous week's close but lower on average.

The price decline may be as a result of the week’s release of strong economic data in the U.S. as well as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s hikes. Oil prices ( WTI) also dropped below $76 on Friday morning.

Long-term price direction is still tricky; factors to watch that could drive prices higher include Russian oil production cuts and expected Chinese Oil imports to the tune of 11.8 barrels/day.

Local LPG prices in Nigeria

Local prices stayed within the range of 11.5 Million per 20MT at most depots with a few selling higher in the South-South and South-East depots.

We expect prices to remain in the aforementioned price region or dip further as more LPG enters the market and as business slows as the elections beckon.

LPG retail prices at the LPG plants should remain within the same prevailing levels; between N9,000.00 to 10,000.00 nationwide.