Mumbai, India: In India, the prices for Calcium Carbide have entered an upward phase amidst high input costs and revamped downstream demand. Various applications of Calcium Carbide and its derivatives in the construction industry to accelerate infrastructure projects brought on by rapid urbanization amid a broader recovery in the Indian economy are responsible for the commodity's market expansion in the domestic region.

As per the latest insights, the price trends of Calcium Carbide have significantly surged by approximately 4.5% in June FY2022 from the previous month's prices. The cost of crucial energy materials such as Pet Coke has pushed the manufacturing costs up and substantially weighed on the increase in profit margins on Calcium Carbide's market values. The market participants are planning to expand their production capacity in a phased manner to meet the domestic and global market opportunities.

On the other hand, in recent months, the terminal demand has also been uncertain because of the fluctuation in raw material costs caused by the onset of hostilities in Eastern Europe and growing inflation. In addition, due to China's Zero COVID Policy, breaks in export-import chains have dramatically increased freight costs and severely disrupted supply chains, inflicting the downstream market demand. However, with the revival of the automotive and construction sectors, the subdued demand is also gradually improving, supporting the uplifted price realizations of Calcium Carbide in the domestic market. Furthermore, the prices of downstream Acetylene have also witnessed a surge of nearly 4% in June and shown an increment of approximately USD 228 per ton from the prices observed in May 2022.

According to ChemAnalyst, the price discussions of Calcium Carbide may follow an upward trajectory because of volatile raw material costs in the forthcoming weeks. Additionally, the upward pressure from downstream Acetylene and the construction sector will maintain overall buoyancy in the Calcium Carbide market value in the domestic Indian market.