U.S. Propane Inventories Decline 1.3 MMbbl

Propane production for the week stood at 1.511 MMbbld, edging just fractionally higher from a week earlier and up nearly 0.2 MMbbld from last year. East Coast production was at 0.173 MMbbld, the Midwest 0.317 MMbbld, and the Gulf Coast 0.845 MMbbld. Although there was little change week over week, East Coast production barely edged up, while the Midwest dipped minimally. Gulf Coast production was virtually unchanged. For the year, the Midwest rose 0.1 MMbbld, and the East Coast and Gulf Coast posted marginal gains.

Imports to the nation were at 0.130 MMbbld, moving a bit lower compared to the prior week and coming in nearly 0.1 MMbbld under last year. The East Coast received 0.068 MMbbld and the Midwest 0.051 MMbbld. Once again, the Gulf Coast barely registered at 0.006 MMbbld. U.S. propane demand was at 1.324 MMbbld, down 0.4 MMbbld from a week earlier but virtually unchanged from last year.

The U.S. average residential propane price for the week ended March 9 was 235.9 cents/gal., according to EIA, off 1.1 cents from the previous week and down 80.6 cents from a year ago. The New England residential average was reported at 311.6 cents; Central Atlantic, 305.4 cents; Lower Atlantic, 303.7 cents; Midwest, 185.9 cents; Gulf Coast, 245.0 cents; and Rocky Mountain, 208.1 cents. EIA calculated the U.S. average wholesale price at 76.0 cents/gal., off 2.1 cents from the prior week and 66.7 cents lower than last year. The East Coast wholesale average was reported at 92.1 cents; Central Atlantic, 97.6 cents; Lower Atlantic, 83.7 cents; and Midwest, 69.6 cents.