Japan's Asahi Kasei raises Sept ACN contract nomination by $50/t

16 August 2010 06:23  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Japanese acrylonitrile (ACN) producer Asahi Kasei will increase its contract price nomination for September by $50/tonne amid limited availability and higher feedstock propylene costs, a company source said on Monday.

Asahi Kasei had announced that its monthly Far East Contract Price (FECP) nomination for September loading was $2,200/tonne (€1,716/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) Asia, up from Augusts’ FECP of $2,150/tonne CFR Asia.

“The feedstock propylene cost is higher and ACN supply/demand balance is tight,” the company source added.

Spot propylene prices had increased by more than $100/tonne since mid-July to around $1,150/tonne CFR northeast (NE) Asia, according to ICIS.

“ACN supply is limited as we are building up our inventories ahead of our turnaround in October,” the company source said.

Asahi was expected to shut down its 200,000 tonne/year ACN plant at Mizushima and 150,000 tonne/year ACN unit at Kawasaki, in October for a 40-day maintenance period, the source added.

ACN spot prices had dropped to $1,950-2,000/tonne CFR NE Asia, down $150/tonne since mid-July, due to ample deep-sea supply, buyers said.

“Offers above $2,000/tonne CFR Asia are not workable as we can easily get deep-sea cargoes below this price level,” a downstream acrylic fibre (AF) producer said.

($1 =  €0.78)

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By: Helen Yan
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