Since the beginning of April, Acetonitrile prices have witnessed an upward trajectory in the global market. The critical factors behind the price surge were rising Crude oil, growing demand from the downstream pharmaceutical industries as an intermediate product, and disruption caused by the Covid outbreak in China and other parts of the globe, which hampered trading and shipping.  

The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in substantial changes in the market trends, including an increase in the Upstream Crude oil prices, which has impacted the price of feedstock Acetic Acid, putting cost pressure on petrochemical such as Acetonitrile. Apart from the war, the rampaging spread of Coronavirus and the shutdown in China with strict lockdown restrictions have pushed up Acetonitrile prices, leading to an increase in demand from the regional market and causing the price to rise steeply. These crises are having a vast effect on the global economy. 

Furthermore, India relies on China for Acetonitrile imports. However, commercial operation in China was impeded, resulting in the high freight charges due to container shortage, which led to the supply shortage in the Indian market. As per the ChemAnalyst database, the prices in India were inclined by 1% on a week-on-week basis as witnessed on 15th of April. Similarly, European market sentiments had shown an increasing trend in the Acetonitrile price due to the rising cost of crude oil. As Europe relies significantly on Russian oil gas, the expanding risk to Europe's gas and oil supply and variable raw material prices has become a significant issue for European Acetonitrile producers and customers. 

Acetonitrile is a clear and colourless liquid with a sweet odour and is obtained as a by-product with Acrylonitrile during distillation. It is utilized in the pharmaceutical industry and analytical industries as a solvent.  

As per ChemAnalyst, "The price of Acetonitrile is likely to climb in the next weeks due to rising demand from the end-user pharmaceutical sector. In the meantime, the price of upstream crude oil is projected to increase, thereby affecting feedstock prices, especially Acetic acid, in the worldwide market."