European acrylonitrile spot prices hit 3-month high on Asia, demand rise

Spot acrylonitrile prices in Europe rose by a further $25/mt this week to $1,845/mt CIF Med, the highest level in three months, Platts data showed.

Steady gains in Asia, which hit a 15-week high Tuesday, firmer feedstock cost and a pickup in demand, propelled prices, marking the third straight week of gains.

Buying continued to improve, one producer said, adding he has done spot deals at around $1,850/mt so far in January and was willing to sell more volumes at this level.

Another supplier claimed to be sold out for January and was targeting to fix February supply at $1,900-1,950/mt.

"We're getting a lot of inquiries from Europe," he said, adding both fiber and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene markets, major ACN consumers, were doing well.

Fiber producers admitted seeing orders from end-users improving, with some already actively chasing February volumes.

"Our customers know that prices are going up so they want to [book their] orders now," a consumer said, adding US, Asian and Turkish markets were healthy, offsetting the slump in Europe.

Price indications from most buyers were heard at around $1,820-1,840/mt, though there were some who believed that spot levels should stay below $1,800/mt, given the European financial markets turmoil that could further weigh on demand.

"Demand is picking up, but overall I don't see a substantial change in the market," a consumer said, adding customers' reluctance to restock remained apparent because of heightened economic concerns.

Asian prices rose $80/mt Tuesday to $1,980/mt CFR Far East, a 15-week high.

In production news, Lukoil's 140,000 mt/year Saratov ACN plant continued to run normally despite the outage at the Stavrolen site, which supplies feedstock propylene to Saratov, sources said.

Stavrolen was shut early-December following a fire and is expected to restart in April.