SINGAPORE-Acrylonitrile (ACN) makers in
Spot ACN prices have tumbled by more than $1,000/tonne (€720/tonne) from early May to $1,700-1,750/tonne CFR (cost and freight) northeast (NE) Asia in the week ended 21 October, ICIS data showed.
Regional ACN producers such as Asahi Kasei in
“We will continue to run at about 80% of our total production capacities at our plants in Japan and South Korea until demand recovers,” said a company source at Asahi Kasei.
Asahi Kasei can produce a total of 765,000 tonnes/year of ACN at its plants in
In
In Taiwan, China Petrochemical Development Corp (CPDC) has brought forward a 40-day turnaround at one of its two ACN lines in Kaohsiung to early October from its original date in November because of the current weak prices, a company source said.
CPDC produces 95,000 tonnes/year at the unit but is planning to expand it by 25,000 tonnes/year. The company also plans to shut its second 120,000 tonne/year ACN line at the site for 30-40 days of maintenance in late October.
“We are near the bottom [ACN] price now as demand from the derivative acrylic fibre (AF) producers is stable and when there is less ACN supply, given the production cutbacks, prices will stabilise and rebound,” an industry source said.
Weak demand and the availability of deep-sea cargoes from the US Gulf and
“Demand for ACN has been very weak, in particular from the downstream acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) makers because of the poor macro-economic outlook,” a trader said.
ABS is a raw material used in the production of a wide range of finished consumer products, including toys, household appliances and office equipment.
Europe’s ongoing debt crisis and the
In recent months, a number of downstream ABS makers in
“Although demand has weakened, the bearish sentiment is a major factor driving ACN prices downwards more than expected,” an industry source said.
Further fuelling the price downtrend are ACN cargoes of Europe and
($1 = €0.72)