Propylene (also known as propene) is a colorless, flammable gaseous olefin with the chemical formula C3H6 and a molecular weight of 42.08 g/mol. It is one of the most important petrochemical building blocks in the world, second only to ethylene in terms of production volume. Propylene is produced primarily as a co-product of steam cracking of naphtha or ethane for ethylene production, and as a by-product of fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) in oil refining. It is also produced via on-purpose routes such as propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and metathesis. Propylene serves as the key feedstock for polypropylene (its largest end use), acrylonitrile, propylene oxide, oxo-alcohols, acrylic acid, cumene, and numerous other chemicals and polymers.
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Key Influence Events
Data source: UN Comtrade public trade statistics (https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true) | Last updated: 2026-10-30
Price Trajectory, latest 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07)
The monthly customs export unit value for HS 290122 moved from USD 887.10/ton in 2025-08 to USD 1,106.34/ton in 2026-07 (+24.7% across the window). The window high was USD 1,376.05/ton in 2026-05 and the low USD 815.26/ton in 2025-11. Three-month averages put the latest quarter +21.6% against the previous one, which is classified here as bullish.
The same panel reported USD 1,918.1 million of export value on 1,931,288 tonnes over the twelve months, an average of 160,941 tonnes a month. Values are customs returns for the stated HS heading, so they capture the traded mix of that heading rather than a single quoted grade.
The EU side of the same market is one month fresher than the panel above: Eurostat Comext records EU27 imports of HS 290122 from outside the EU at USD 1,108.66/ton in 2026-08 (EUR 956.31/ton at the ECB monthly reference rate), -24.0% against 2026-07, on 30,867 tonnes; the twelve months to 2026-08 totalled 220,820 tonnes. On the 11 months the two datasets share (2025-09 to 2026-07), three-month blocks that far apart moved +44.4% on the export panel and +73.5% on the EU import side, so the two agree on direction. Import values are recorded on a CIF-type basis by a single bloc, so the level is not comparable with the export panel — the comparison above is directional.
2026-08 is not used yet: 4 of the listed reporters had filed both value and net weight for this heading when this page was rebuilt, against the 9 that make up the locked panel used here, and 2026-09 had no filings at all. Mixing a partly-filed month into a fixed panel would move the unit value through composition alone, so the window is held at 2026-07 until the panel for 2026-08 is complete.
HS 290122 carries propylene only, so the series is product-level; it does not separate polymer-grade from refinery-grade material, and pipeline and inter-site transfers never enter customs data.
Supply-side factors
- Fixed reporting panel of 9 economies: CAN (124), CZE (203), DEU (276), GRC (300), IDN (360), MYS (458), NLD (528), SWE (752), USA (842). The panel is held constant in every month of the window so month-to-month movement is not a composition effect.
- Monthly unit value range over the window: USD 815.26 to USD 1,376.05/ton.
- Latest month, 2026-07: USD 1,106.34/ton, -6.8% against the previous month, on 141,442 tonnes.
Demand-side factors
- Propylene demand is dominated by polypropylene, followed by propylene oxide, acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, cumene and oxo-alcohols. Supply comes from steam cracker by-product, refinery FCC units and on-purpose propane dehydrogenation, so the traded balance is set by the marginal on-purpose plant.
- Related market pages on this site: Polypropylene, Propylene Oxide and Acrylonitrile — Polypropylene for the largest downstream outlet; Propylene Oxide for the polyol and glycol outlet; Acrylonitrile for the acrylic-fibre and ABS outlet.
Basis: these are customs unit values for the stated HS heading, not quoted spot, contract or assessed prices, and no paid price assessment is used or redistributed on this page. Every figure can be re-checked at the API links listed at the end of this page.
Need the supplier landscape, contract structure or a delivered-cost build-up behind this heading? Request a sample report or a custom cut.
Top Countries Production Capacity
| Grade | Property | Typical Value / Range | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polymer Grade | Propylene Purity | ≥ 99.5 | mol% |
| Polymer Grade | Ethylene Content | ≤ 10 | ppmv |
| Polymer Grade | Acetylene Content | ≤ 5 | ppmv |
| Polymer Grade | Propadiene (Allene) | ≤ 5 | ppmv |
| Polymer Grade | Total Sulfur | ≤ 1 | ppmw |
| Polymer Grade | Water Content | ≤ 5 | ppmw |
| Polymer Grade | CO Content | ≤ 5 | ppmv |
| Polymer Grade | Oxygen Content | ≤ 2 | ppmv |
| Chemical Grade (HD) | Propylene Purity | ≥ 99.0 | mol% |
| Chemical Grade (HD) | Total Sulfur | ≤ 5 | ppmw |
| Chemical Grade (HD) | Water Content | ≤ 10 | ppmw |
| Refinery Grade (RG) | Propylene Purity | 50 – 70 | mol% |
| Refinery Grade (RG) | Propane Content | Balance (30–50) | mol% |
| All Grades | Molecular Weight | 42.08 | g/mol |
| All Grades | Flash Point | -108 | °C |
| All Grades | Auto-ignition Temperature | ~455 | °C |
| All Grades | Flammability Limits in Air | 2.0 – 11.1 | vol% |
Data Sources
Price and volume figures are derived from the directly verified public sources below. The customs unit values are USD/ton; they are not subscription price assessments. Grade-level specifications are not restated here: confirm them with the supplier. Every monthly endpoint used for the series on this page is listed below, together with the HS classification reference.
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202508&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202509&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202510&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202511&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202512&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202601&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202602&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202603&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202604&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202605&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202606&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/M/HS?reporterCode=156,842,699,410,276,528,356,360,764,458,724,40,56,251,380,616,826,124,76,484,792,682,784,704,490,702,643,36,710,818,364,203,348,300,620,372,208,246,752,578,320,508&period=202607&cmdCode=290122&partnerCode=0&flowCode=X&includeDesc=true
- https://comtradeapi.un.org/files/v1/app/reference/HS.json
- Eurostat Comext DS-045409, EU27 extra-EU imports, monthly: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/comext/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/DS-045409?format=JSON&freq=M&reporter=EU27_2020&partner=EXT_EU27_2020&flow=1&indicators=VALUE_IN_EUROS&indicators=QUANTITY_IN_100KG&product=290122&sinceTimePeriod=2025-09
- ECB euro reference rate, monthly average (EXR/M.USD.EUR.SP00.A): https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/EXR/M.USD.EUR.SP00.A?format=csvdata&startPeriod=2025-09&endPeriod=2026-08
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