Trade curbs on China send US ethane prices sliding

Licensing requirement for exporters may push Chinese buyers toward naphtha

20250623N natural gas

China is a major buyer of American ethane, a natural gas derivative used to make plastics. © Reuters

RIONA GOMI

TOKYO -- Ethane prices in the U.S. have tumbled on expectations that Washington's restrictions on exports of the petrochemical feedstock to China will result in oversupply.

If Chinese manufacturers increase purchases of naphtha as an alternative, prices of that chemical could rise in Asia.

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