Inventories of Soda Ash Stay At A Lower Level

(China Glass Network) Transactions of soda ash in domestic market tend to slow. Major manufacturers of light soda ash descend their ex-factor rates from 1,900-2,100 yuan per ton to current 1,800-2,500 yuan per ton with the dropping rate of 3.75 percents. The numbers of cold repairing lines keep increasing, which leads to the demands of heavy soda ash decrease. Quotations of heavy soda ash in Qinghai drop evidently to 2,100-2,300 yuan per ton.

Inventories of soda ash continue to keep at a lower level since September. Lacking of market confidence is the direct reason for causing this round of rates dropping. With quotations decreasing, inventories go through a small round of increasing. At middle of this month, total inventory reaches to 274,000 tons.

The major factors influence current soda ash market are as below.

1.Operation ratio of soda ash manufacturers stays low. The operation ratio keeps at 82 percents: Xiangtan, Gansu, Dalian, Huainan factories maintain to take break. Haihua receives a production restriction since end of November. Output of soda ash slides down compared with last year.

2.Downstream market prepares goods before festival. In order to keep normal productions, downstream market starts to purchase goods. Some manufacturers adopt flexible quotations to push deliveries. Therefore, the market inclines to stay normal.  

3.Lacking of market confidence is one of the major reasons leading to current quotations falling. 

Approaching to Spring Festival, downstream demands become less and less, while some small-scaled manufacturing companies stop operating for having holidays. Recent quotations of soda ash continue to drop, which makes the purchasers become more conservative. Soda ash market is projected to go down for these days.