As May draws to a close, the industrial-grade acetonitrile market has seen prices slowly decline this month, with ex-works prices in East China dropping from 10,900 yuan/ton to around 10,400 yuan/ton. However, compared with past sharp market swings, the current decline is only about 500 yuan/ton, and the overall market fluctuation range has narrowed significantly this month. Factors limiting acetonitrile price volatility include, on one hand, supply differences between north and south China, with varying operating rates among by-product method producers; on the other hand, downstream demand diverges, with consumption in traditional pesticide and pharmaceutical sectors differing from that in high-purity solvent applications.

The direct factor behind the gradual price decline in industrial-grade acetonitrile this round is loose supply coupled with weakening demand. Although by-product method producers operated at low loads—less than 70% for most of May—synthetic method producers ramped up production during this period due to low costs, thus offsetting the positive support from reduced by-product supply. On the demand side, consumption in traditional pesticide fields has gradually weakened, while export orders have also decreased noticeably.

However, the gap in by-product acetonitrile supply cannot be fully filled by synthetic method products. This is mainly because, although demand in the high-purity solvent sector has been growing steadily since the fourth quarter of last year, it still primarily purchases by-product acetonitrile due to requirements for certain specifications such as heavy components. Additionally, by-product supply varies between north and south: major plants in East China are running at low loads, resulting in tight supply within the region, while the northern Shandong and surrounding markets are more relaxed. Moreover, the price trend of industrial-grade acetonitrile remains largely driven by by-product plants; synthetic method producers, despite low costs and sluggish sales, mainly follow by-product pricing. These multiple factors have sustained the divergence in supply and demand within the acetonitrile industry, thereby limiting market fluctuation.

However, starting in late May, by-product method producers have gradually increased operating rates to around 75%. Although supply has not fully recovered in the short term, the tight situation will gradually ease, and it is expected that the supply difference between north and south will also narrow in June. Furthermore, while high-purity sector consumption remains steady, other downstream demand will gradually enter the off-season. Overall, the supply-demand relationship in the industrial-grade acetonitrile market may further weaken, and prices are expected to continue declining.