Argus Propylene Oxide and Derivatives
Overview
Argus Propylene Oxide and Derivatives is a weekly price report covering international propylene oxide and its major derivatives: propylene glycols, flexible slabstock polyether polyols and polyester polyols. It delivers contract and spot price assessments, month-on-month price movements, market commentary and plant capacity data across the US, Europe and China.
At a glance
- Weekly prices for propylene oxide and key derivatives.
- Coverage across the US, Europe and China markets.
- Global capacity analysis and supply availability insight.
- Capacity tracking for PO, polyol and propylene glycol plants.
- Identify price trends across the propylene oxide value chain.
- Support contract negotiations and procurement with reliable data.
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Key features
Weekly price report
Publishes every Wednesday, covering propylene oxide, propylene glycols, flexible slabstock polyether polyols and polyester polyols across the US, Europe and China.
Contract and spot assessments
Delivers monthly outright contract prices, month-on-month assessments and weekly spot prices, each with low, high and midpoint values across all covered markets.
Global capacity data
Weekly analysis of planned and unplanned outages across global propylene oxide, propylene glycol and polyol capacity, providing visibility on supply availability at plant, regional and global levels.
Related market coverage
Publishes upstream crude, naphtha, propylene, styrene, MTBE and glycerine prices alongside PO and derivatives data to support full value-chain analysis.
Flexible data delivery
Price data are available in the weekly report, electronic data files, third-party data integrator platforms and via the Argus website with web-based tools and historical price archives.
Market commentary
Provides expert regional analysis of supply, demand, trade flows, feedstock costs and capacity developments across the US, European and Asian PO and derivatives markets each week.
How Argus assesses propylene oxide and derivatives markets
- Physical market prices
Argus publishes physical market prices in the open market, using the trading period deemed most appropriate in consultation with industry to capture market liquidity.
- Broad market data collection
Price assessments are informed by data from producers, consumers and intermediaries, gathered by reporters through proactive polling via telephone, instant messenger and email.
- Transaction verification
Reporters verify price, volume, specifications, location basis and counterparty for all transactions, applying primary and secondary tests to identify and scrutinise outlying or anomalous data.
- Judgement-based assessment
Where transaction data are insufficient, Argus assesses market value using bids, offers, spread trades, exchange trades and fundamental supply and demand information alongside validated transactions.
- Dynamic pricing models
US and European propylene oxide contract prices are calculated monthly using a dynamic formula incorporating propylene feedstock costs, freight, energy costs and a periodically reviewed adder.
Who uses this service
Producers of Propylene, Propylene Oxide and Derivatives
- Benchmark contract and spot prices using independent market assessments.
- Monitor capacity losses, feedstock costs and market dynamics to support negotiations, budgeting and commercial strategy.
- Track performance across propylene oxide, glycols and polyols value chains.
Traders and Distributors
- Identify arbitrage opportunities using global price data and regional market analysis.
- Monitor trade flows and supply availability to support trading and pricing decisions.
- Use capacity-loss analysis to evaluate market tightness and commercial risk.
Consumers of Polyols and Propylene Glycols
- Support procurement decisions with independent price assessments and market commentary.
- Benchmark spot and contract discussions using propylene oxide, polyol and glycol market data.
- Track supply-demand developments to strengthen planning, budgeting and internal reporting.
Investors and Banks
- Model company exposure across propylene oxide, glycol and polyol markets.
- Use market intelligence and price data to assess commercial performance and market risk.
- Monitor developments across the broader chemicals value chain and related feedstock markets.