NewsFlashUS Dec caustic soda jumps $50/DST

24 January 2008 23:01  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US caustic soda contracts settled in the $470-520/DST (dry short ton) range for December, up $50/DST from November on tight supplies, buyers and sellers said on Thursday.

While some producers maintained that the full nomination of plus $75/DST free on board (FOB) was implemented for December/first-quarter contracts, other producers said the hike was implemented on a $50-75/DST scale depending on such factors as the amount purchased and the grade of product.

Relatively small consumers of caustic soda reported contract settlements at or near $520/DST, while contracts for some of the largest non-alumina sector buyers were heard settled at $470/DST, before discounts.

Market participants expressed relief that the difficult negotiation session had ended. The $75/DST price hike initially irked some buyers when it was announced in late October.

Many participants complained that such a large hike had not been proposed since Hurricane Katrina disrupted production on the US gulf coast in 2005.

However, producers maintained that caustic soda supply has been similarly constrained by the US housing crisis and a prolonged slump in new home construction, a key consumer of chlorine derivatives and the driving force behind US chlorine demand.

By: Greg Holt
+1 713 525 2653

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