In the United States, HCl prices declined by x.xxx, largely due to abundant supply and sluggish demand. The situation for feedstocks remained weak as Liquid chlorine spot prices also went down x.xx, helping to reduce HCl production costs. On the demand front, downstream sectors such as steel, food, and pharmaceuticals maintained steady consumption—steel benefited from stable raw steel output and capacity utilization, while food and pharma demand remained resilient. However, general sentiment was tempered by seasonal fourth-quarter slowdown and macro uncertainty, which put lid on speculative purchasing.
Logistical dynamics also impacted the U.S. HCl market. Although port operations were mostly under control, extended dwell times at several of the bigger gateways such as Houston, Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York and Savannah were disrupting the flow of product. As a result, the balance of strong supply, selective downstream offtake and distribution inefficiencies continued to keep...
