Contractual demand strong  Downstream demand helped by high freight
costs



CIF ARA acrylonitrile spot
prices remained stable at $1,865/mt-$1,870/mt on February 15. According to sources, there was little activity in the spot
market for consumers who contracted last year due to the shortage. "No demand, a very, very quiet quarter," a trader
said. Contractual demand was heard to
remain healthy, with high freight costs limiting downstream imports and
resulting in strong demand and high run rates from domestic
acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene and acrylic fiber producers. The third week of a three-week turnaround was reported to
have been completed by a Mediterranean producer. However, further details were
not available. After several weeks of
outages, propylene supply was reported to have increased slightly upstream. However, sources indicated that the length could be
temporary as the spring turnaround season is rapidly...