For the Quarter Ending March 2022
North America
During the first quarter of 2022, Acetonitrile prices in North America showed mixed sentiments. Because of the high price of the feedstock Propylene, Acetonitrile prices increased in the month of January. In the face of increased demand from end-user industries such as pharmaceuticals, a lack of inventories in the domestic market failed to meet surging domestic needs. Although, throughout the mid-quarter, the price of Acetonitrile in the United States fluctuated significantly. Along with the gloomy market sentiment, downstream demand appeared to be sluggish. Acetonitrile prices increased modestly toward the conclusion of the quarter. With the ease of the pandemic, feedstock prices remained stable, and despite the shrinking demand-supply gap, domestic dealers were concerned on satisfying clients' contract purchases rather than selling on the spot market. During March, the price of Acetonitrile Pharma Grade FOB Texas was estimated to be approximately 3295/MT.
Asia Pacific
Acetonitrile prices increased in the Asia-Pacific region during the first quarter of 2022. Due to higher feedstock Acetone and Propylene prices in the region, the Acetonitrile market remained positive during the first quarter. Feedstock Acetone prices in the local market continued to grow following the rise of the Omicron variant, owing to increasing demand for Sanitizer manufacturing in Asia and Europe. The manufacturing pace dropped in March due to a upsurge in COVID cases. Furthermore, the Chinese government implemented a Zero Covid Policy in a number of Chinese cities, which had an impact on downstream end consumers. Due to a paucity of supplies in the domestic market, demand for Acetonitrile from downstream pharmaceutical firms was not met. The price of acetonitrile was fixed at USD 2920 per metric tonne (MT) FOB Qingdao, Pharmaceutical Grade (Contract).
Europe
Acetonitrile prices in Europe rose during Q1 2022, owing to an increase in the price of the feedstock Propylene, which was followed by a steady rise in natural gas costs. In response to high feedstock prices in the European region, which resulted in high production costs for Acetonitrile at the end of the first quarter. Due to the low availability, supplies in the region were constrained, affecting downstream. The downstream industry, such as analytical and pharmaceuticals, continued to demand Acetonitrile as a solvent. Furthermore, increasing freight charges owing to container shortages disrupted supply chains, resulting in a supply shortfall in the region. The CFR Antwerp negotiations for Belgian Acetonitrile Industrial grade settled at USD 3421/MT during the month ending in March.
For the Quarter Ending December 2021
North America
Throughout Q4 of 2021, the North American Acetonitrile market shown unparalleled constancy in trend. Following a supply-short third quarter, during which refinery production was affected and supply networks were interrupted along the Gulf Coast due to hurricanes, the early half of Q4 remained a seller's market. The trend shifted in the second half of Q4, with feedstock propylene prices beginning to fall in the first week of November and continuing to fall until the end of December. The average price of Acetonitrile was estimated to be USD 1475/MT FOB Illinois.
APAC
Acetonitrile prices have showed decline in the Asia pacific region during Q4. Acetonitrile prices fell sharply after varying somewhat near the end of November. The Acetonitrile futures market remained bearish due to increased supplies of feedstock Propylene because of oversupplied crude oil market fundamentals. Apart from the decrease in the price of domestically produced acetonitrile, the resumption of trade activities aimed at resolving the container shortage issue has resulted in a decrease in the price of Acetonitrile imports. On the other hand, there was no apparent increase in demand from pharmaceuticals, while demand for laboratory-grade Acetonitrile remained unchanged. Due to limited offtakes, Acetonitrile negotiations settled at INR 307200/MT Ex-Mumbai in the week ending December 10th.
Europe
During the fourth quarter of 2021, European markets saw a steady shift in imports from regional markets to Asian Acetonitrile due to increased arbitrage margins. According to ChemAnalyst's market Intelligence unit, feedstock Propylene was cheaper by at least 50 to 60 USD/Mt throughout Q4. thus the acetonitrile market showed declining trajectory. Downstream demand remained sluggish, keeping the market sentiments bearish.
For the Quarter Ending September 2021
North America
During the third Quarter of 2021, the industrial market in the North American region experienced mixed sentiments after the occurrence of climate calamities during Q1 and Q2 in the US Gulf Coast (USGC). The Acetonitrile market outlook reached a level of stagnancy as the supply fundamentals were improving since the beginning of Q3 after weather related disruptions in Q2. There was a surge in the demand from the downstream industries such as pharmaceutical and solvent. The improvement in the production of Acetonitrile was witnessed in the North American region in Q3 owing to the high availability of upstream Propylene.
Asia Pacific
Logistical issues continued to weigh on the Asian petrochemical market during the third quarter due to port congestion issues heard in China. Record high container freight rates continue to escalate the import prices of several petrochemicals. However, the demand for Acetonitrile in the Asia Pacific region was seen improving by leaps and bounds. FOB Shanghai prices of Acetonitrile in the Chinese domestic market rose from USD 2350/MT to USD 2840M/T during Q3. Upstream Propylene supplies were ramping up, as propane dehydrogenation plants were expected to start up in Shandong and Ningxia during mid-September. In India, after the uncertainties caused by the second wave of COVID-19 in India, the demand for pharma grade Acetonitrile rose from China.
Europe
In Q3, the market outlook of Acetonitrile in the European market observed mixed sentiments. The petrochemical market in the European region struggled with a divergence of pricing and supply and demand fundamentals between feedstocks and downstream industries during the third quarter. In the feedstock market, substantial increases were seen in contract prices in July, driven by a continued build up in the upstream energy complex, which caused feedstock producers to lower their margins and pass on the costs to downstream players. The supplies of Acetonitrile ramped up as import from the US was bolstered after the storm conditions in Q3.
For the Quarter Ending June 2021
North America
After the reeling impact of the winter storm Uri, the industrial infrastructure in the US Gulf Coast (USGC) showed recovery. Steam cracker, propane dehydrogenation (PDH), metathesis and refinery operation rates improved ensure sufficient availability of feedstock Propylene to produce Acetonitrile. Hence, the production of Acetonitrile improved in the North American region during the second quarter. Mass vaccination program throughout the region boosted the economic and commercial activities throughout the region, thereby supporting the demand from the downstream pharmaceutical and solvent industries, hence the overall demand market outlook was firm. Consequently, the pricing trend observed a constant downfall throughout the quarter with FOB Texas discussions settling at USD 1510 per tonne showing a decrement of USD 100 per tonne from the prices in Q1 ending.
Asia Pacific
Demand of China’s pharma grade Acetonitrile peaked by the mid of the second quarter as the enquiries registered strong gains from India with the country facing devastating second wave of COVID, hence the offtakes from the pharmaceutical sector in Southeast Asia remained high. Whereas in China, the production rates were curtailed due to the rising inflation on the raw material front. Offtakes by the Chinese traders were usually on demand due to lacklustre export enquiries. As a result, the prices of Acetonitrile in the Chinese domestic market observed a steep downtrend with FOB Dalian prices settling around USD 3597 per tonne in mid-June, at a decrement of 18.55% from the prices in previous quarter.
Europe
The supplies of Acetonitrile in the European market recovered as imports from the US improved after observing severe tightness in the previous quarter. However, some supply constraints took long to normalise as manufacturers reported depleted inventories, further supported by longer than awaited turnaround at INEOS nitriles facility. As shipping freight to the region surged enormously, the overall regional supply demand outlook remained in doldrums. Overall demand remained firm from the downstream pharmaceutical and solvent industries
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For the Quarter Ending March 2021
North America
Supplies of Acetonitrile in North America decreased amid disruption in supply chains during the first quarter of 2021. Downfall in the production of Propylene affected the overall plant operating rates in the region. INEOS and Ascend announced temporary shutdowns at their Texas facility in mid-February as the severe freeze weather condition hampered production activity in the US Gulf region. Demand increased as downstream industries ramped up the production to balance the rebounding demand across the end-use sectors, supported by the recovering economic activities as vaccination roll out progressed.Cornerstone is expected to announce declare force majeure in April following mechanical issue and raw material shortage that has reduced the production rates since mid-March.
Asia-Pacific (APAC)
During the Q1 2021, Acetonitrile supplies to the Asia Pacific region showcases mixed sentiments, owning to the turnaround in Taiwan's Formosa Plastic Corp and Sinopec plant in Anqing China. The supply crises were extended by the delays in the deep-sea cargoes from the US and Europe. Shandong Haili plant postponed its restart; however regional suppliers operated at the maximum efficiency to cover up the supply gap in the first quarter. Demand remained balanced due to improvement in the offtakes from the downstream sector. FOB Shanghai prices of Acetonitrile for the April deliveries settled at USD 4150 per tonne.
Europe
The European regional Acetonitrile market witnessed extreme tightness on the supplies as the Turkey's Petkim, a major production plant in the Mediterranean region and INEOS Nitrile facility in Germany remained shut throughout the quarter. The affected imports from the USA due to bad weather conditions further exacerbated the tightness in the regional market. Demand surged as the offtakes from the downstream pharmaceutical sector gradually improved.
For the Quarter Ending December 2020
Asia-Pacific (APAC)
Asia pacific is the largest producer of Acetonitrile, holding more than 50% of the total market share in terms of production and leading in terms of consumption. The regional supply remained tight due to planned and unplanned turnarounds and reduction in the supply from the northeast Asian region in October. Tight supply and robust demand drove the product realizations in India with the elevation likely to sustain even in Q1 2021. Firming raw material further triggered an upward push in the pricing curve which was averaged around USD 4650 per tonne for pharma-grade Acetonitrile in India.
Europe
The Q4 turned out to be largely tight in terms of Acetonitrile supply as major pharmaceuticals industries across Europe faced shortage in the graded Acetonitrile supply, while the agrochemical sector sought supplies from the overseas to deal with the material shortage. The quarter observed unexpected turnarounds by major Acetonitrile producers in response to the second lockdown imposed due to new COVID variant. Sentiments were bolstered towards the end of the quarter as the news of construction of Nouryon and INEOS nitriles’ new Acrylonitrile and Acetonitrile unit in Germany is in its final construction phase and is expected to be fully operational in FY 2021-2022.
North America
The supply of Acetonitrile in the Americas remained tight as major players announced turnaround during the first half of the 4th quarter, while some key players announced force majeures triggering low production of upstream Acrylonitrile which led to decrement into the production of Acetonitrile. Buyers turned active for the procurement of product, but persistent tightness made it tough to strike bulk deals. Buoyant demand and firming upstream rates increased the price of Acetonitrile across the US market. Some petrochemical producers turned optimistic after Joe Biden emerged victorious from the US presidential elections which escalated the expectations of several industrialists regarding smoothening of US-China relationship and bilateral trade.
