HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US acrylonitrile (ACN) spot prices were pushed to record highs due to tightened supply amid output-related issues, sellers and traders said on Friday.
I haven t seen it like this in all the years I ve been here, an ACN producer said.
Completed deals have been scant during the US summer months, as producers had little product available for spot transactions.
Even if the market becomes balanced, with no inventories it will be snug for a long time, an ACN producer said. We ve lost our ability to resolve any problems that might occur.
ACN spot prices were assessed at $1,750-1,810/tonne (Euro1,260-1,303/tonne) FOB (free on board), according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing. The assessment followed a deal at $1,810/tonne for more than 2,000 tonnes of ACN scheduled to lift from the US Gulf in September, heading for the Mediterranean.
Spot prices one year ago were $1,500-1,565/tonne FOB, according to ICIS pricing.
DuPont de-rated its ACN production in March when Lucite took over operations of its Beaumont, Texas, plant and ramped up production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN), lowering ACN production to about 140,000 tonnes/year from 200,000 tonnes/year.
In April, DuPont said that SNF FLOERGER had agreed to purchase all of its additional supplies of ACN, leaving DuPont out of the spot market.
When Invista declared force majeure on adiponitrile (ADN) in July due to a disruption at its Orange plant in Texas, Solutia began using most of its extra ACN to produce ADN since it was in high demand, sources said. This limited Solutia's transactions in the ACN spot market. ADN remained in force majeure at Invista's Orange plant.
Market sources said Solutia was planning a turnaround at one of its units in the near future.
Cytec Industries' 227,250 tonne/year plant in Fortier, Louisiana, underwent a planned turnaround in late May/early June.
There has been a flurry of market talk centred around production issues at DuPont s Beaumont plant since July, but a disruption was not confirmed. There is a scheduled turnaround at the plant later this month.
INEOS was running at reduced rates in late July due to a disruption in propylene supply from its Lima Husky Refinery in Ohio, but has since returned to normal production.
The largest downstream consumer of ACN, the acrylic fibre (AF) industry, was suffering due to the tight supplies and high prices, with AF plants in India and Asia cutting back on production or planning to shut down completely, traders and producers said.
($1.00 = Euro0.72)
I haven t seen it like this in all the years I ve been here, an ACN producer said.
Completed deals have been scant during the US summer months, as producers had little product available for spot transactions.
Even if the market becomes balanced, with no inventories it will be snug for a long time, an ACN producer said. We ve lost our ability to resolve any problems that might occur.
ACN spot prices were assessed at $1,750-1,810/tonne (Euro1,260-1,303/tonne) FOB (free on board), according to global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing. The assessment followed a deal at $1,810/tonne for more than 2,000 tonnes of ACN scheduled to lift from the US Gulf in September, heading for the Mediterranean.
Spot prices one year ago were $1,500-1,565/tonne FOB, according to ICIS pricing.
DuPont de-rated its ACN production in March when Lucite took over operations of its Beaumont, Texas, plant and ramped up production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN), lowering ACN production to about 140,000 tonnes/year from 200,000 tonnes/year.
In April, DuPont said that SNF FLOERGER had agreed to purchase all of its additional supplies of ACN, leaving DuPont out of the spot market.
When Invista declared force majeure on adiponitrile (ADN) in July due to a disruption at its Orange plant in Texas, Solutia began using most of its extra ACN to produce ADN since it was in high demand, sources said. This limited Solutia's transactions in the ACN spot market. ADN remained in force majeure at Invista's Orange plant.
Market sources said Solutia was planning a turnaround at one of its units in the near future.
Cytec Industries' 227,250 tonne/year plant in Fortier, Louisiana, underwent a planned turnaround in late May/early June.
There has been a flurry of market talk centred around production issues at DuPont s Beaumont plant since July, but a disruption was not confirmed. There is a scheduled turnaround at the plant later this month.
INEOS was running at reduced rates in late July due to a disruption in propylene supply from its Lima Husky Refinery in Ohio, but has since returned to normal production.
The largest downstream consumer of ACN, the acrylic fibre (AF) industry, was suffering due to the tight supplies and high prices, with AF plants in India and Asia cutting back on production or planning to shut down completely, traders and producers said.
($1.00 = Euro0.72)
