Acetonitrile Price Trend and Forecast

Acetonitrile Regional Price Overview

Get the latest insights on price movement and trend analysis of Acetonitrile in different regions across the world (Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa).

Acetonitrile Price Trend for the Q3 of 2024

Asia

In the third quarter of 2024, the price trajectory of acetonitrile closely mirrored the price trends of its feedstocks. Acetonitrile is produced by oxidizing propylene in the presence of ammonia through a process called ammoxidation. This makes ammonia and propylene key feedstocks, and their prices and supply directly influence acetonitrile’s pricing and production. The price of propylene declined during this period, pulling acetonitrile prices down as well, with limited cost support from the fluctuating ammonia prices.
 

Acetonitrile Price Chart

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Acetonitrile is a crucial industrial solvent and feedstock used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, the primary demand sectors for the commodity. The already strained acetonitrile prices were further impacted by weak demand from the chemical sector. As a result, companies had to adjust production to maintain profits. Overall, acetonitrile prices followed a fluctuating trajectory, with limited support from its feedstocks.

Europe

The acetonitrile market in Europe experienced positive sentiment throughout the third quarter of 2024. Acetonitrile’s price trajectory closely resembled that of its feedstock materials in the European market. Propylene prices were higher in Europe due to a constrained supply, caused by reduced domestic production and lower availability of import cargoes. This impacted acetonitrile prices but also tightened profit margins for production plants.

North America

The North American acetonitrile market followed the trends of the Asian market in the third quarter of 2024. Sentiment in the market was weak, driven by the declining prices of propylene in late August. While the market was expected to recover after the Federal Reserve announced interest rate cuts, their impact on the chemical sector had yet to be felt. Additionally, logistical challenges arose from seasonal hurricanes, causing temporary production halts at some plants. Fortunately, the impact of these disruptions was limited, and normal supply was quickly restored.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price of acetonitrile is expected to fluctuate in the coming quarter, influenced by the prices of its feedstocks and upcoming logistical challenges in the winter months.
 

Acetonitrile Price Trend for the Q2 of 2024

Acetonitrile holds crucial industrial significance in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries as a potent solvent and feedstock. Therefore, its demand and orders from these downstream industries primarily drive the acetonitrile market trends. Concurrently, the production side also dictates the pricing outlook for acetonitrile. Since the ammoxidation of propylene yields acetonitrile, the market performance also relies greatly on the feedstock materials ammonia and propylene. Based upon these factors the acetonitrile market performance was mostly sub-satisfactory during the second quarter of the year 2024.

In both India and China, crude oil prices also registered a downward movement in prices which further fueled the degradation in the acetonitrile market. The inventories were already charged up with excess product accumulation. Along with that, a modest demand trajectory further maneuvered the trend southward. Overall, a wavering price-performance was observed for acetonitrile during Q2’24 in the Asian markets.

Europe

The European acetonitrile market behaved no differently than the Asian markets; the prices were found to be oscillating at the lower end of the curve here as well. The acetonitrile market was facing inventory pressure and oversupply amidst a degraded demand dynamic.  Other than a weak crude market, the logistical disruptions also rendered the acetonitrile prices low. These forces imbalanced the supply and demand equation and eventually led to the piling up of stocks in inventories. Overall, a dull market performance was witnessed in Q2’24.

North America

Mimicking the global outlook, acetonitrile prices were found to be swinging around the lower levels of the price curve throughout the said period. The downstream sectors were already operating with very limited end-consumer queries, and the upstream factors were also not able to drive the prices positively. Both feedstocks, ammonia, and propylene, saw a consistent downfall in market rates that further led to a decline in manufacturing cost support. To placate the falling market sentiments, suppliers have acquired a wait-and-watch approach in order to manage the markets going forward.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, some stabilization in Acetonitrile prices is expected going forward as the market stakeholders are trying to manage the situation from the supply’s end.
 

Acetonitrile Price Trend for the Q1 of 2024

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Asia

In Q1 of 2024, acetonitrile prices inclined due to increased downstream inquiries and reduced inventories among suppliers and traders. The Chinese Lunar New Year celebration also had a significant impact on the Asia Pacific supply chain, leading to disruptions in acetonitrile production and pricing movement. Further, labor shortages after the New Year holidays additionally halted the production rates and dried the inventories in the first months of the quarter.

Amid this, the feedstock prices in the region remained stable, ensuring market stability until late February. In the later months of the quarter, in view of steady demand from the acetonitrile sectors, concerns about low import volumes eventually forced the traders to quote even higher prices of acetonitrile. Additionally, transportation delays and freight costs strained the supply chains, favoring the uptick in the prices of acetonitrile.

Europe

The loss of imports from the Asian countries due to the disruption of the Red Sea route and a limited number of shipments reaching the European ports through the Cape of Good Hope quickly dried up the inventories, leading to the scarcity of the product in the EU region, raising its price bar in the first quarter of 2024.

The downstream, however, increased their consumption quantities with the revamp in the region's industrial growth. In addition to this, the inclination in the feedstock, such as acetic acid prices, also increased the operational cost of the commodity, resulting in an uptick in the prices of acetonitrile. However, the end-user pharmaceutical and rubber industries encountered a number of challenges with the rise in inflationary pressure and the influx of costly Asian imports, causing fluctuations in the market momentum of acetonitrile.

North America

The sudden rise and fall in the prices of crude oil was evident in the pricing movement of acetonitrile during the first quarter of 2024. The volatility in acetonitrile pricing during this phase was also carried forward from the previous quarters.

The acetonitrile price graph clearly showed the impact of the oscillations in the cost of feedstock materials and operational rates. The acetonitrile market also had to endure the negative effects of the drop in export volumes due to the loss of traditional trading routes and the limited interest of overseas players in North American produce.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Acetonitrile is expected to attain stagnancy in the upcoming quarters as the downstream demand of the commodity seems weak and the global industrial growth is estimated to showcase a slow recovery rate.
 

Acetonitrile Price Trend for the October - December of 2023

Asia

The Asian countries witnessed oscillations in the prices of acetonitrile with fluctuations on a monthly basis. Among the downstream industries, the rubber sector showcased a noticeable depreciation in its demand for acetonitrile, while the upstream acetic acid market also failed to present the market with the required momentum. Due to a number of challenging factors, the acetonitrile market was forced to end the year on a bearish note.

Europe

The pessimistic behavior of acetonitrile prices continued in the fourth quarter of 2023 as well. The traders estimated that the European industrial sector would take a long time to overcome the pressure of rising rates of interest and inflation. The downstream pharmaceutical and rubber industries were a suitable example of this, as, despite the steady recovery of the economy, the industries struggled to maintain the required demand for acetonitrile in the last quarter of 2023.

North America

The volatility in the acetonitrile prices in the fourth quarter was based on the trajectory of prices in the last quarter. The influence of the decline in the cost of upstream and downstream materials, such as acetic acid, etc., was evident in the acetonitrile price graph. During the end phase of the quarter, the acetonitrile market also suffered the ill consequences of the decline in the cost of crude oil, which in turn led to a fall in the cost of production and overall dynamics of the acetonitrile market.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Acetonitrile are expected to follow the trend adopted by the downstream industries and cost trajectory of crude oil around the globe.
 

Acetonitrile Price Trend for the July - September of 2023

Asia

Acetonitrile price trend observed mixed patterns during the said period of the third quarter of 2023. After a gradual rise in prices in the first half of the quarter, the Acetonitrile market took a downturn in the latter half. In July, the supply and demand dynamics were supportive of the market trend; however, as the mid-Q3 arrived, the saturated inventory levels started dominating the Acetonitrile market trend. With excess unused products piling up, the general market sentiment remained disappointing. Overall, fluctuating price trend were observed for Acetonitrile during the said period.

Europe

The European Acetonitrile markets continued their discouraging market run in the third quarter of 2023 as well. The Acetonitrile prices didn’t get any chance to get back up again during the entire period of three months. Dull demands coupled with diminished upstream cost support from the feedstock section forced the prices to remain tottering at the lower end of the Acetonitrile price index. A hike in domestic interest rates forced companies to operate below their means. Overall, negative market sentiment was observed.

North America

Following in the European footsteps, the North American price trend also oscillated throughout the said period. The beginning of the third quarter was relatively stronger as the price oscillations were still in the positive region of the price graph. However, as the inventories started growing, the glutted supplies pushed the market trend down by the middle of Q3’23. Overall, mixed market sentiments were observed.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, Acetonitrile prices are likely to continue fluctuating in the coming months as well. Downstream demands will continue to be the primary driving factor for Acetonitrile.
 

Acetonitrile Price Trend for the First Half of 2023

Asia

The weak market dynamics in the first quarter of 2023 kept the price trend of Acetonitrile on the negative side. In addition to reducing the number of offtakes, slow demand and weak support from the feedstock prices also negatively impacted the acetonitrile market. In the second quarter, the volatility in the upstream markets, a significant drop in the number of inquiries, and a remarkable drop in the exports from China to overseas nations further aided this decline in the prices of Acetonitrile.

Europe

A declining trend in the prices of Acetonitrile was observed in both the first and second quarters of 2023. In the first quarter, the prices were affected by the gradually falling prices of feedstock materials and declining demand from the downstream sectors.

The decrease in feedstock cost led to a reduction in the imports from the Chinese region, and consistently dropping demand from domestic and international buyers posed a problem for traders. In addition to this, the rising level of inventories and feeble market dynamics fueled the downfall of the prices of Acetonitrile in the European region.

North America

The first quarter of 2023 suffered from the rising stockpiles of Acetonitrile amid the falling demand from the downstream sector. Due to this, the manufacturers had to cut their production costs and to overcome the recession that shadowed the US economy; they also had to constrict their profit margins. But the second quarter proved to the favorable for the prices of Acetonitrile.

From the middle of the second quarter, the positive consumer outlook increased demand and a rise in the inquiries from the downstream market led the trajectory of the prices of Acetonitrile to move upwards.

Analyst Insight

According to Procurement Resource, the price trend of Acetonitrile is estimated to showcase a mixed trend given the erratic demand dynamics from regional markets.

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