據ICIS網站4月2日休斯頓報道 由于風暴相關的生產問題依然存在，美國大多數市場參與者3月份的乙烯合同價格較2月份上漲了9美分/磅（198美元/噸）。

環比增幅為2005年10月以來最大。

2月中旬的冬季風暴導致蒸汽裂解裝置停運和減息，使得現貨價格月環比大幅上漲，超過了合同價格結算中較低的現金成本。

這將合同價格推至2014年10月以來的最高水平。過去四個月里，合同價格每年都在上漲。

3月期貨乙烯交易價格為54.0-59.5美分/磅，高于2月份的32.5-51.0美分/磅。

乙烯供應正處于放松過程中，隨著冬季風暴相關的停工和減產，裂解裝置繼續增加。

大約四分之三的美國乙烯產能受到了風暴的影響。

雖然目前大多數工廠都已上線，但風暴前的開工率尚未達到。

乙烯衍生物的強勁消費和下游的低庫存繼續支撐對單體的需求。

乙烯是重要的石油化工原料，用于生產聚乙烯、乙二醇和聚氯乙烯等產品。

美國主要乙烯生產商包括雪佛龍菲利普斯化學、陶氏、埃克森美孚、英力士烯烴和聚合物公司、利安德巴賽爾和殼牌化學公司。

王磊 摘譯自 ICIS

原文如下：

US March ethylene contracts notch largest increase in 15 years on storm-related production issues

US March ethylene contracts for the majority of market participants have settled at an increase of 9 cents/lb ($198/tonne) from February on lingering storm-related production issues.

The month-on-month increase is the largest since October 2005.

Steam cracker outages and rate reductions caused by mid-February's winter storm resulted in much higher month-on-month spot prices, which outweighed lower cash costs in the contract price settlement.

The settlement puts contract prices at their highest levels since October 2014. Contract prices have increased in each of the past four months.

Front-month ethylene traded in March at 54.0-59.5 cents/lb, up from 32.5-51.0 cents/lb in February.

Ethylene supply is in the process of loosening as crackers continue to ramp up following winter storm-related shutdowns and rate reductions.

Around three-quarters of US ethylene capacity was affected by the storm.

While most plants are now online, pre-storm operating rates have not yet been achieved.

Strong consumption of ethylene derivatives and low inventories downstream continue to support demand for the monomer.

Ethylene is a key petrochemical feedstock, used to make PE, ethylene glycol (EG) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) among other products.

Major US ethylene producers include Chevron Phillips Chemical, Dow, ExxonMobil, INEOS Olefins & Polymers, LyondellBasell and Shell Chemical.