U.S. Propane Inventories Unchanged for Week

U.S. propane stocks as of the week ended Feb. 21 were unchanged from the previous week, with overall inventories standing at 26.7 MMbbl, 21.2 MMbbl, or 44.3%, lower than the comparable period a year ago, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its Feb. 26 “This Week in Petroleum” report. Volumes in the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain/West Coast region both fell by 0.1 MMbbl, while Midwest and East Coast supplies each rose by 0.1 MMbbl. Propylene non-fuel-use inventories represented 12.4% of total propane stocks, off from 13.1% the prior week.

U.S. propane production for the week stood at 1.378 MMbbld, down slightly from a week earlier and standing only a bit above last year. East Coast production was at 0.139 MMbbld, the Midwest 0.277 MMbbld, and the Gulf Coast 0.811 MMbbld. Though the needle barely budged week over week, East Coast production dipped a bit, while the Midwest and Gulf Coast were virtually unchanged. For the year, the East Coast and Gulf Coast barely improved, and the Midwest dipped.

Imports to the nation were at 0.196 MMbbld, only fractionally higher from a week earlier but up nearly 0.1 MMbbld from than last year. The East Coast received 1.125 MMbbld and the Midwest 0.054 MMbbld. U.S. propane demand for the week ended Feb. 21 was at 1.211 MMbbld, down nearly 0.14 MMbbld from a week earlier and 0.5 MMbbld lower from a year ago.

The U.S. average residential propane price for the week ended Feb. 24 was 347.8 cents/gal., according to EIA, off a sharp 15.9 cents from the prior week but 115.9 cents higher than a year ago. The New England residential average price was 396.0 cents; Central Atlantic, 408.6 cents; Lower Atlantic, 381.5 cents; and Midwest, 306.2 cents. EIA pegged the U.S. average wholesale price for the week at 184.1 cents/gal., which was down a steep 33.7 cents week over week. The East Coast wholesale average was 201.0 cents; Central Atlantic, 208.8 cents; Lower Atlantic, 189.4 cents; and Midwest, 177.4 cents.