Global Sulphur Prices Remain Steady Despite Persistent Weak Demand

Abu Dhabi, UAE- The price trend of Sulphur was recorded to be stable in the past few weeks across the globe due to fragile demand from the downstream agrochemical enterprises. Despite the elevation in the price trend from its upstream crude oil enterprise due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, the prices of the Sulphur were stable amid weak demand from the downstream ventures, which was fulfilled by the existing inventories in the storage units.

In the Middle Eastern market, the price trend of Sulphur was monitored to be steady on the lower end. Nevertheless, the prices of its feedstock surged, leading to increased production costs, but sluggish demand for Sulphur from its downstream Food Preservation market situation resulted in a weak price trend. The trading activities from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar to the overseas market were reported to be moderate since the demand from the downstream Agrochemical enterprises was low. Therefore, the producers decided to reduce the production rate of Sulphur, resulting in the cautious running of the plant, and the suppliers declined their offers and bids to improve their profit margins. The discussion remains open from the suppliers for the negotiation on the bulk purchases to the buyers, an attempt to clear their inventory level and sustain the market for the fresh stocks. With the week ending on 13th Oct, the price of Sulphur in the UAE stabilized at USD 89/MT (FOB-Abu Dhabi).

In the USA, the stability in the Sulphur market was observed with a price trend of  USD 115/MT (CFR-Texas) during 2nd week of October 2023. This price trend stability could be due to several factors, for instance, an ample amount of stocks in storage units with weak demand from the downstream Agrochemical and Oil Refinery enterprise along with its derivative market, supporting the sluggish  Sulphur market. Despite the increase in the price trend of the upstream crude oil market due to the Israel-Hamas war, the prices of Sulphur continued to be stable due to the feeble demand from the downstream sectors. In Morocco, the price trend was also stable with the previous week, and buyers in the region delayed additional material purchases since they had sufficient inventory levels in their warehouses. Furthermore, the freight charges continued to showcase a significant dip due to the ports' low consumer demand for goods and adequate container availability.

However, in the Chinese market, the price trend of Sulphur showcased a significant decline due to the Golden Week in the first week of October 2023 due to limited purchasing activities and limited demand for the commodity from the end-use industries. Prior to this National Holiday, the trading activities for Sulphur were done at a higher rate to accumulate the product for the upcoming weeks. Sufficient inventories were stored in the past few weeks, which led to delayed purchases from the buyer's end, leading to the bearish price trend of the commodity. This forced the suppliers to decrease or stabilize the Sulphur prices to clear out the existing inventories for the fresh stocks.

According to ChemAnalyst, the Global Sulphur market is anticipated to showcase a bullish price trend in the forthcoming weeks amid cost support from the upstream crude oil prices, raising operational costs for production. Due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, the increase in crude oil price trend is anticipated to increase the production cost for Sulphur and its derivative. Along with this, recovering demand fundamentals from the downstream Agrochemical and food preservation market is anticipated to boost Sulphur prices. The derivative Sulphuric Acid market is also rebounding, which will further provide cost support to the commodity market.