The traders were ambitious sellers recently in anticipation of new units and restart of Haili in September

The traders were ambitious sellers recently in anticipation of new units and restart of Haili in September. By the end of the Aug, traders almost sold out of the stock. However, the delay in the start of new units and restart of Haili led to an extended period of supply shortage in September. The traders with limited sources had to wait for the delivery from plants to guaranteeing the supply to downstream contract customers. However, it is believed most market players still expected the increase is limited and were unwilling to rashly store up.

In terms of demand, ABS plant operating rate has picked up since the end of August, and prices were adjusted up. Although the profit was moderate, demand for raw materials ascended. Driven by the restart of Shandong Haili's ABS unit, domestic ACN demand increased, which intensified the supply tightness of ACN market. For acrylic fiber, operating rate kept at around 65%, although some plants cut run rate due to the weak demand and the inventory kept at above half a month. In order to keep stable production and sales, acrylic fiber plants slightly lowered the demand for ACN. Generally, the overall demand had no big change.

In conclusion, the limited inventory of ACN plants and the positive mentality of traders are expected to continuously support the upturn of ACN market until the settlement for Sep. During this period, even if new units are put into production, the price may not decline under the background of high settlement expectation.