Italian HCl prices down €20-25/tonne on improved supply

15 January 2010 16:06  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Italian hydrochloric acid (HCl) prices have declined around €20-25/tonne ($29-36/tonne) due to an improved supply situation, market sources said on Friday.

During December offers from distributors and French suppliers had been as high as €140/tonne FD (free delivered) on the back of tight availability in the domestic market due to production problems for some producers.

HCl was being sourced from outside of Italy which added large logistical costs to the price.

However, French suppliers were reporting few orders from Italy for January and as such prices have been quoted at €120/tonne FD.

They said the lack of orders from Italian buyers was indicative of sufficient domestic production to cover requirements.

Meanwhile, offers from Italian suppliers and distributors were reported at €115/tonne FD for January deliveries.

Buyers said that their suppliers had no problems with production and sufficient supplies at present. They also noted that distributors were only offering Italian, rather than foreign, HCl this month.

However, some supply sources noted that availability could tighten again in February.

They said that Italian suppliers had been able to build up stocks over the quiet Christmas holiday period and as such had sufficient availability for now.

But they added that Italian demand levels were not back to normal levels yet and once they were, the market would begin to tighten as it was structurally undersupplied.

French suppliers said they expected to receive more enquiries from Italy for February deliveries.

($1 = €0.69)

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By: Rebecca Clarke
+44 20 8652 3214

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