China ACN rises $143/t on tight supply

25 April 2008 08:04  [Source: ICIS news]

SHANGHAI (ICIS news)--Chinese acrylonitrile (ACN) prices have spiked by more than yuan (CNY)1,000/tonne ($143/tonne) since March and are likely to rise further due to tight supply and a surge in demand ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August, buyers and traders said on Friday.

ACN was pegged at CNY16,500-16,800/tonne ex-tank east China, they added.

The Chinese government planned to restrict the production and transportation of petrochemicals during the Games, spurring end-users and traders to build up stocks, producers said.

"I expect the ACN prices will still rise further in near term, given the tight market as Jilin Petrochemical will shut down for maintenance next month," a purchaser in northeast China said.

"The price increase is also due to speculation by traders who see the Olympics as an opportunity to hike offers," said a company source from Nantong Chemical&Light Industry Co Ltd, located in Jiangsu province, adding that the uptrend was likely to continue into August.

"The latest bulk of cargoes we bought is at CNY16,700/tonne ex-tank, up CNY300-400/tonne from last week, a Chinese trader said.

A spate of ACN plant turnarounds in the US and Asia had tightened supply and pushed up the import values, closing the gap between domestic and import prices, a trader in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province said,

Import prices have surpassed $2,000/tonne CFR (cost and freight) China, according to traders.

Cytec and Solutia in the US as well as Asahi Kasei Chemicals in Japan were scheduled to shut down their plants for maintenance in the second quarter of this year while Jilin Petrochemical was scheduled to turn around its 212,000 tonne/year plant from 14 May to 20 June, which would exacerbate the current tight market.

($1=CNY6.99)

Helen Yan contributed to this article

For more on ACN visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Judith Wang
+65 6780 4359

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