US OLEFINS: Spot ethylene pricing continues to fall, shedding 1.125 cents/lb last week. Sources say the decline is due to a combination of weak demand and healthy run rates at steam crackers. February US ethylene contract prices settled 2.75 cents/lb lower month on month at 30 cents/lb ($661/mt), sources said Friday. The settlement fell within market expectations, which recently called for a decrease of between 2-4 cent/lb, sources said. Those expectations were driven by a decrease in demand — particularly from the polyethylene market — amid planned and unplanned outages, sources said. Meanwhile, in propylene, pricing was stable as demand remains subdued, sources said. Domestic demand remains weak, sources said, adding that demand that has been diminished so far this year due to high propylene costs, particularly in the polypropylene sector, is likely to pick up amid expectations that March contract pricing could shed 5-7 cents/lb, sources said.