New Delhi, India: The rise in procurement from the downstream construction industries amid resilient manufacturing activities in India been observing in Q1 of 2023 has kept the market sentiments of Calcium Carbonate bullish in March 2023. Upstream Pet coke FOB prices increased despite falling coal prices due to a relatively limited supply and dropping freight costs. Spot prices were higher regardless of limited operations due to the reduction in capacity at the USGC and RIL, India, which were manufacturing gasification for internal use only at the moment. The ChemAnalyst database has shown that the price trends of Calcium Carbonate have demonstrated an increment of approximately 3% in the week ending 17th March.

Furthermore, one of the five container handling facilities at state-owned Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals (BMCT), has been experiencing some congestion as it deals with an unexpected increase in export cargo as a result of the closure of berths in other terminals at the port and the missed vessel schedules brought on by the developments in China.

On the other hand, in February 2023, the prices of Calcium Carbonate demonstrated a significant inclination in the Chinese domestic market. With improved manufacturing across the nation, production activities of Calcium Carbonate also gathered pace. Along with the subsided COVID-19 effect, the construction sector has also started to function normally, and the construction phase of significant projects has begun in East China. Downstream cement demand had recovered, and the market was expanding, leading to a rise in upstream raw material, including Calcium Carbonate costs. As per the market sources, the material supply was tight in the domestic region, and some manufacturing firms were also expected to reduce production. In addition, with improved container availability and unimpeded port movement, the movement of Calcium Carbonate has stabilized. The Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) settled at 52.6 in February from 50.1 reported in its last month.

According to the pricing intelligence of ChemAnalyst, the price of Calcium Carbonate might progress in a northward direction in the APAC region. The market players are optimistic that a boost in the construction sector is likely to generate more sales of upstream raw materials. Thus, a hike is anticipated in the Calcium Carbonate prices in the forthcoming weeks.