Market Performance for Three Inorganic Chemicals in June        

Caustic soda   

The caustic soda price in Chinese market fell steadily in June. Domestic supply was surplus, and the inventory at manufacturer's sides increased continuously in mid and late June. The demand from downstream sectors was slack too. Moreover, the continuing price decrease of caustic soda in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and the USA brought high pressure on China's exportations, and then affected production.  
    The price of caustic soda in eastern China dropped RMB110-130 per ton throughout June, with a sharp decrease in the last week. In late June, the ex-factory price of ion-membrane process caustic soda (with a concentration of 30%) in Jiangsu province dropped to RMB410-420 per ton from around RMB530/t in early June.
    The caustic soda price will remain low in July although many domestic enterprises are planned to cut their production.

Soda ash   

Some enterprises lifted their offering prices of soda ash by RMB20-30 per ton since May 26th, but the trading volume decreased in response to the price lifting. As to the decreased demand in downstream sectors, some soda ash manufacturers stopped production for overhaul.
   The price in northeastern China was relatively stable in June, around RMB1 150-1 200 per ton for light soda ash, and RMB1 250/t for heavy soda ash. The price in northwestern China was the lowest in the country, RMB760-820 per ton for light soda ash and RMB950-1 000 per ton for heavy soda ash. In northern China, the ex-factory price of light soda ash was RMB1 000-1 150 per ton, and inventory in this region grew up due to slow sales.
   Due to the overhauls of many soda ash manufacturers in July, China's output of soda ash will drop, so the price has an opportunity to go up slightly in July.

Liquid chlorine   

Liquid chlorine manufacturers in China have hardly got profit in June. There was a big price fluctuation in northern region. After a price slump of RMB400-500 per ton in May, the price of liquid chlorine in Hebei and Shandong provinces rebounded to RMB800-950 per ton in early June, up RMB100-150 per ton from late May, and in mid-June, the price in these two provinces went up again to RMB1 000-1 100 per ton. But, in late June, the bulk ex-factory price fell back to RMB800-900 per ton in Hebei province, and touched RMB660/t in some regions of Shandong province.
    It is estimated that the price of liquid chlorine in some regions will still be close to the production cost in July or possibly has a slight increase, because overhauled enterprises are unlikely to resume production in such hot weather and many chlor-alkali enterprises may lower their operating rate to prevent further price drop of caustic soda.