The slump in demand and lower feedstock propylene cost dragged spot acrylonitrile in Europe down this week, with prices shedding a further $25/mt to $1,725/mt CIF Med, the lowest level in 22 months, Platts data showed.
The propylene contract price for November was fully settled Thursday at Eur1,013/mt ($1,375) FD NWE, down Eur55/mt from October.
The lack of traded deals, owing to the absence of buyers and producers' resistance to accept prevailing spot levels, have pulled price views from consumers and sellers far apart.
Many consumers, who were mostly covered for the rest of the year, felt the $1,650-1,700/mt CIF Med range reflected the current market. Suppliers' indicative prices meanwhile were heard at around $1,800-1,900/mt.
A producer said he has retreated from the spot market and will instead focus on his contractual commitments.
He noted that contract supply to his European customers was coming from his company's US production site.
"To supply our customers, we have been able to use US-produced material. Production economics did not make sense from Europe, so we decided to supply from our US assets," he said.
Both fiber and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene markets, ACN's major consumers, were struggling with slow order intake, sources said, adding the outage at Styrolutions' ABS plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany exacerbated the demand weakness.
Production cutbacks and sagging margins remained the theme in the November market as the global financial and commodity markets continued to be rattled by the eurozone debt crisis, sources said.
"No one knows when demand will pick up again. I don't see much business done for the rest of the year," a buyer said, adding he believes spot values could be around $1,650-1,700/mt CIF Med.
Another consumer said he has yet to see the bottom of the market despite the recent steep price falls.
"It's becoming more and more difficult to sell because of the uncertainty in Europe," he said. He added he would be willing to pay $1,700/mt if he needed spot material.
A trader said spot prices in Europe and Asia could be "closer to $1,600/mt", but added he was not offering spot supply at the moment.
"The market is so slow, you can't move any material," he said.
Turkey's Petkim was heard to have offered 5,000 mt to European buyers but there were no takers, sources said.
Ineos' 300,000 mt/year Cologne plants in Germany are currently running at a reduced rate of 80%, while the 280,000 mt/year Seal Sand plant in the UK remained shut for turnaround.
Force majeure at Styrolutions' ABS plant in Ludwigshafen is expected to remain until the end of the year, a company source said Wednesday.
In Asia, ACN prices were steady this week at $1,705/mt CFR Far East Asia, $1,685/mt CFR Southeast Asia, and $1,675/mt CFR South Asia.
