China's local sulfuric acid prices rise on maintenance, spring application season

China's domestic sulfuric acid prices have increased since the week of Feb. 24, market sources said, as several sulfuric acid production smelters are set to begin maintenance in the week starting March 10.

Domestic prices have risen across various regions in China. In Guangxi, prices increased to Yuan 630-680/mt ex-works, up week over week from Yuan 550-580/mt. In Fujian, prices went up to Yuan 440-540/mt ex-works, compared to Yuan 380-480/mt the previous week.

In Jiangsu, prices climbed to Yuan 550-600/mt ex-works, from Yuan 480-540/mt a week ago, while in Shandong, prices rose to Yuan 300-490/mt ex-works, from Yuan 240-410/mt the prior week.

Maintenance activities at key smelters, such as Daye Non-Ferrous Metals and Tongling Nonferrous Metals, are expected to continue until mid-April. Daye will start its maintenance March 11, while Tongling began its maintenance March 10. The smelters have an annual production capacity of approximately 1.2 million mt and 800,000 mt, respectively.

A trader based in China said the maintenance activities would further strain the already tight sulfuric acid supply in the domestic market.

"This maintenance period coincides with China's spring application season, which means end-users may have to accept higher prices from local producers. Producers are focusing more on the domestic market, which they find more attractive than the FOB/export market," another trader said.

Traders and suppliers in China said sulfuric acid export prices remained stable, noting that the high domestic prices were not translated to the FOB prices.

Offers from Chinese producers were heard higher around $65/mt FOB March 10. However, traders in the region consider these prices too high and difficult to negotiate, with most market participants saying the practical negotiation range remained at $55-$59/mt FOB China.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed sulfuric acid FOB China at $55-$59/mt on March 5, unchanged from the previous week.