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Weak inquiry activity with a clear downward trend in market prices (Sep 11–17, 2026)

Published on 2026-09-17
  1. Key Market Focus for the Week

① Domestic sulfur production in China during this week (September 11–17, 2026) was approximately 208,500 tons, representing a week-on-week increase of 0.90%.

② Domestic sulfur consumption in China during this week (September 11–17, 2026) was approximately 286,700 tons, up by 0.56% compared to the previous week.

③ National port inventory levels stood at 939,000 tons, an increase of 2.82% from last Thursday.

④ The industry capacity utilization rate for monoammonium phosphate (MAP) this week was 48.78%, rising by 0.87 percentage points from last Thursday. For diammonium phosphate (DAP), the capacity utilization rate was 44.11%, up by 0.16 percentage points from last Thursday.

  1. Weekly Market Analysis

This week, the domestic sulfur market trended downward. As of now, the mainstream granular sulfur price at Zhenjiang Port is 7,200 RMB/ton, down 500 RMB/ton from last Thursday, representing a decline of 6.49%. Regarding international markets, following reports of deals concluded in Indonesia at CFR $960/ton, rumors emerged suggesting that bid intentions below CFR $1,000/ton appeared from buyers in both China and India; however, suppliers did not accept these offers. Subsequently, there were rumors of transactions closing near CFR $1,050/ton in India, while no substantial updates have emerged from the Chinese side.

Domestically, after prior market adjustments, traders lack confidence in the market direction and tend to adopt a wait-and-see approach based on prevailing conditions. This has resulted in a subdued market atmosphere with little volatility. As time progresses, most merchants maintain their passive stance, leading to widespread negative sentiment. Sellers continue to adjust prices downward to facilitate shipments, causing sustained declines in market prices. Despite several days of significant drops, spot trading sentiment has not improved. The "buy on rises, not on falls" mentality dominates the market, placing continuous pressure on seller psychology. With sporadic buyers aggressively pressing for lower prices, the central price level has been further dragged down.

Table 1: Comparison of Domestic Sulfur Port Prices (Unit: RMB/ton)

Market Grade 2026/9/10 2026/9/17 Change Change (%)
Zhenjiang Port Granular 7,700 7,200 -500 -6.49%
Dafeng Port Granular 7,680 7,180 -500 -6.51%

Source: Chempricehub Information

  1. Analysis of Market Influencing Factors

① Pugong Wanzhou has temporarily suspended external quotations.

② As of September 17, port inventories in the Yangtze River region totaled 306,200 tons, a decrease of 3.16% compared to the previous week.

  1. Next Week's Price Forecast

Under the influence of policies prioritizing domestic resource supply guarantees and restricting exports of sulfuric acid and phosphate fertilizers, demand for sulfur from fertilizer enterprises remains weak. Additionally, some holders of long-term contract resources are selling their allocations in the spot market, continuing to exert pressure on port market sentiment. There are very few active buyers in the current market environment; under these circumstances, sellers are likely to capitalize on this weakness to push prices down. Therefore, it is expected that the domestic sulfur spot market will likely continue its downward trajectory over the coming week.

Comments

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  • Olivier Dupont 2026-09-17 20:09
    Sulfur prices dropped 6.49% amid weak downstream demand and rising port inventories. With MAP/DAP capacity utilization under 50%, I expect continued margin pressure on producers until fertilizer consumption picks up or s..
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