The EU 28 imported 251,315 mt of propylene for the first nine months of the year, up 32% from 191,007 mt in 2014, latest Eurostat data showed Friday.
At the same time, propylene imports were down 31% on the year for the Jan-Sep period to 19,989 in 2015.
Increased imports have added to bearish fundamentals in the propylene market.
Spot prices hit a low not seen since April 2009 at Eur480/mt ($518/mt) FD NWE late October.
Spot prices were last assessed at Eur529/mt FD NWE Thursday.
Ethylene imports for the first nine months of 2015 were 183,178 mt, mostly stable compared to 2014’s 192,660 mt.
Exports were down 73% on the year to 50,607 mt for Jan-Sep, due to unusually high exports in 2014.