Calcium Carbide Prices Demonstrate a Northwards Trend in the Global Market

The price trends of Calcium Carbide have gained upward momentum and surged significantly in the global region. The strong market fundamentals from downstream Acetylene and PVC amid a revival in the construction sector have boosted the market growth of Calcium Carbide.

In China, the price realization of Calcium Carbide has witnessed a surge of approximately 2.5% on July 15th compared to the price observed in the first week of July 2022. The prices of essential input materials such as pet coke have risen in the domestic market, prompting upstream cost pressure on the market values of Calcium Carbide. The market is still combatting the significant challenges brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak and hostilities between European nations. As a result of stagnant domestic consumption and uncertainties in the terminal sector, the Chinese economy has experienced a W-shaped recovery.

The strong demand from the downstream construction sector has pushed the spot offers of Calcium Carbide to witness a surge of nearly 5% last month. The supply-chain imbalance in the global region after the production outfall in China and ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine has created ample opportunities for Indian exports in major economies like Europe, the USA, and the Middle East, broadening the market outlook for Indian manufacturers.

On the other hand, the German government decided to impose a ban on importing Russian coal from next month onwards, which will cause a massive gap in the energy requirements for domestic manufacturers. In addition, the nation has also faced constrained supplies of natural gas due to a fire incident in the USA. However, LNG terminal construction activities have stepped up in Germany to avoid winter gas shortages. As a result of hiked input costs, the price realization of Calcium Carbide witnessed an inclination of nearly 3.5% last month.

As per ChemAnalyst, the price trends of Calcium Carbide are unlikely to change their upward trajectory, witnessing the active procurement enthusiasm from the downstream Acetylene and PVC markets. In addition, the active COVID cases in China may again incite the government to impose a "Zero COVID" policy, hampering global trade activities. Additionally, the fluctuating energy costs will further pressurize the spot dynamics of Calcium Carbide in the forthcoming weeks.