Acrylonitrile Prices Fall in Europe Amid Surplus Supplies and Weak Demand
- 30-May-2023 1:52 PM
- Journalist: Jacob Kutchner
A recent analysis shows no significant improvement in the demand for Acrylonitrile in the downstream industries. Acrylonitrile inquiries were stable from downstream Acrylic Fibre producers during May 2023. Concurrently, the orders for Acrylonitrile were moderate to low from the rubber and elastomers industries.
The production rates have improved amid surplus availability of raw materials, Ammonia and Propylene, and a reduction in input costs amid appreciable declines in the Natural Gas prices from the beginning of the year. Consequently, the supply rates were also firm amid ease in transportation costs.
The Naphtha costs have slipped consistently during the month amid the availability of high inventory levels and simultaneous reductions in Crude Oil prices in the past few weeks. It contracted the upstream cost pressure on feedstock Propylene prices in May 2023, reducing production costs of Acrylonitrile.
Simultaneously, the feedstock Ammonia prices contracted by 15% in Germany during the month due to weak upstream Natural Gas costs and sluggish offtakes from fertilizer manufacturers.
In the second half of the month, the Acrylonitrile price trend continued to showcase bearish movement, and prices fell substantially at the end of the month due to the reduction in production costs.
Overall, the Acrylonitrile prices declined during May and fell by almost 7% during the month. Conclusively, Acrylonitrile FD Hamburg prices hovered at USD 1519/MT.
As per the estimation, “The Acrylonitrile price will likely rebound in Europe from the final month of Q2, 2023. The feedstock Propylene prices will likely increase because of rising cost support from upstream Crude Oil. It will raise the production costs of Acrylonitrile. At the same time, feedstock Ammonia prices will remain low due to a consistent plunge in upstream Natural Gas prices and surplus availability of Ammonia supplies in the region. Furthermore, the demand for Acrylonitrile will likely remain moderate from the downstream buyers.”
