Europe January ACN settles up €50/t on higher propylene

22 January 2010 23:59  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--European January acrylonitrile (ACN) contracts settled up by €50/tonne this week, reflecting the rise in propylene feedstock values, market participants said on Friday.

Both major producers and several buyers confirmed the increase.

The range was accordingly assessed at €1,555-1,580/tonne ($2,190-2,225/tonne) FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) by global chemical market intelligence service ICIS pricing.

There was some surprise at the limited extent of the hike, given the extreme tightness in the European arena as a result of production problems in Germany and Russia.

However, supply-side sources said that it would have been very difficult to push for considerably higher prices given that one producer had declared force majeure on its ACN supply.

Moreover, a settlement at plus €50/tonne in early January was thought to have set the tone of the market.

Buyers were thus generally happy with the settlement as it largely only represented the €40/tonne increase in January’s propylene price.

It takes 1.1 tonnes of propylene to make a tonne of ACN.

($1 = €0.71)

For more on ACN and propylene visit ICIS chemical intelligence
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By: Mike Nash
+44 20 8652 3214

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