The costs of three important chemicals used in crude-oil refining changed very little during the period 2000-02 while the costs of two others varied significantly.
The three stable chemicals were sulfuric acid, with Nelson-Farrar index ending with 380.8; hydrofluoric acid with an index constant of 414.9; and sodium hydroxide, with an index average of 529.6.
Platinum varied from 539.4 in the first quarter of 2000, to 570.6 in the last quarter of 2002. However, the average for the year of 2000 was 556.7, while 524.9 was the average for 2002.
The chemical with dropping costs was sodium carbonate.
Over the 2000-02 time span, sodium carbonate showed a maximum index value of 341.3 and a minimum index of 315.0.
The Nelson-Farrar overall inorganic chemical index showed a slight increase throughout the period, varying from 446.3 in the first quarter of 2000 to 473.7 in the fourth quarter of 2002.
