Three Japan chlor-alkali units to shut in May, June

02 May 2007 07:12  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Three major chlor-alkali producers in Japan plan to shut their caustic soda plants for scheduled turnarounds in May and June, market sources said on Wednesday.

Tosoh Corp, Japan’s largest chlor-alkali producer, will shut its 1.15m tonne/year plant in Nanyo from May 22 for a three-week turnaround, while Kashima Chlorine and Alkali plans to turnaround its 400,000 tonne/year plant in Kashima from the first half of May for a two week shutdown.

V-Tech Corp, meanwhile, plans to shut its 180,000 tonne/year plant in Mizushima from May to June for a two month turnaround, which is longer than usual.

With second half contract negotiations approaching, market players said the turnarounds are aimed to provide support for contract talks.

Producers are expecting the second half contract prices to slightly increase or rollover from current $265/dry tonne FOB (free on board) NE (northeast) Asia.

Asian caustic soda spot prices have been on a recovery trend for the past few weeks after a fall due to stock liquidation in China during the Chinese New Year holiday.

Spot prices in northeast Asia firmed to $255-270/dry tonne FOB from $240-260/dry tonne in March, while prices in southeast Asia climbed back to $300-315/dry tonne CFR (cost and freight) SE (southeast) Asia from $290-300/dry tonne in March, on tight supply and renewed demand.

The market is expected to remain healthy and prices will remain steady in the coming months, sources added.

By: Yao Wang
+65 6780 4359

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