Caustic Soda Prices in USA Continued to Surge Amidst Fears of Constrained Supply

As per the market expectations, USA has continued to experience a surge in Caustic Soda prices amidst fears of the restricted supply due to series of turnarounds scheduled in Q1 2022. The availability of Caustic Soda at a global level has suddenly narrowed as the supply from China and USA has fallen below the anticipated levels in the final week of January.

In January. a giant producer of chlor-alkali in US with a capacity of 550 MTPA Caustic Soda and 500 MTPA of Chlorine announced temporary outage at its plant in Alabama unit. Buyers kept purchasing cargoes at high premiums under expectations of a further drop in the supply at least till late February as the repercussions of Lunar holidays and Winter Olympic curbs are unlikely to abate for some more time. Besides, as various US and Asian players are already struggling with stuck orders, they have been compelled to implement a consistent revision in their prices in lieu of the soaring demand.

Another plant of Olin with a massive 3 million MTPA capacity, is up for a scheduled maintenance in Mid-March in Texas, this outage is likely to extend for a period of 1 month. Downstream buyers have been heard anxious over the upcoming supply crunch in February due to which they have been consistently seeking imports to cater to the overall demand. Caustic Soda flakes prices in USA have surged by nearly 10% in the whole of January. As per ChemAnalyst prices are expected to continue tracing an upward trajectory in the whole of February as the supply crunch is likely extend throughout Q1 2022.