Acrylonitrile producers in Europe have ramped up output to meet a rebound in demand in January following the cutbacks triggered by the dramatic market slowdown over the past months, sources said this week.
DSM's 285,000 mt/year Geleen plant in the Netherlands is now "operating at 100%," a company source said.
"Demand for January is very strong with a solid demand outlook for 2012," the source added.
Ineos' plants -- the 280,000 mt/year Seal Sands in the UK and 300,000 mt/year Cologne in Germany -- have also started operating at maximum rates since last week, a company source said.
Bullish price outlook, driven by firmer feedstock cost and Asian market, was seen to have helped buoy buying, industry sources said, although they noted that it would be too early to say whether the pick up could be sustained.
"The market is better (than Q4 of 2011), but there's no recovery yet in demand," a trader said.
DSM and Ineos, two of Europe's major ACN producers, scaled down their production run rates to 70% for Geleen and 85% for Cologne in November, in line with demand.
Seal Sands was shut for a month-long turnaround until late November, though its restart was delayed to the second half of December due to bad weather and other issues.
