OREANDA-NEWS. April 21, 2014. Spot LPG prices retreated slightly in South China this week due to rising supply, local traders said.

Propane-rich imported LPG cargoes traded at around Yuan 6,700-6,750/mt (USD1,090-1,098/mt) in the Pearl River Delta and around Yuan 6,750-6,800/mt in east Guangdong this week, both down about Yuan 50/mt from last week, said local traders.

Several major import terminals in the regions -- including Guangzhou Huakai, Chaozhou Ouhua, Shantou Siam Ocean Gas, Dongguan Jovo, Zhuhai New Ocean and Zhuhai Longhua - received LPG imports last weekend, traders said.

The imports were estimated at 142,000 mt, sources said.

But the price drop was limited because many third-grade distributors entered the market to replenish stocks, local traders said.

"Many third-grade distributors had run out of inventories in the previous week when supply of imported cargoes was tight and kept their appetite for the new arrivals this week," said a trader with Zhuhai Longhua.

"This has helped buffer the LPG price drop to a certain extent, though supply of the grade was ample this week," the trader said.

Supply of domestically produced LPG in the South China market remained tight this week, which also underpinned LPG prices in the region, said another trader in the Delta.

He said a few arbitrage cargoes arrived in South China from PetroChina's Guangxi Qingzhou refinery, when they typically also come from PetroChina's Dalian refinery in northeastern China; Sinopec Qingdao, Zhenhai and Jinling refineries in eastern China; and Sinopec Hainan in southern China.

Sinopec Guangzhou refinery in the Pearl River Delta offered its domestically produced LPG cargoes at around Yuan 6,700/mt this week, up slightly by around Yuan 30/mt from last week.