Bearishness in the Global Sulphur Market Prompts Price Drop Amid the Feeble Demand

In the global market, the price of Sulphur is experiencing an overall decline in its trend due to the demand for Sulphur from the downstream Agrochemical and Rubber Vulcanisation sectors being weak, and the stocks present are in sufficient amounts. However, the surge in the prices of the upstream Crude Oil market is observed to increase its production cost but due to the lacklustre demand, the prices of Sulphur are declining. Additionally, the process of destocking is equally playing its role as the traders are trying to clear out their inventories of Sulphur, taking the end of December 2023 as the target so that the upcoming fresh inventories could be accommodated in the storage facilities in January 2024.

In the Middle Eastern market, the price trend of Sulphur is following a bearish trend despite the incline in the upstream crude oil prices. Considering the market situation for Sulphur, the traders took the step to provide discounts on bulk purchases while squeezing their marginal profits to increase sales. In the UAE market, the prices are following a downward trend of 4.65% decline, reaching USD 82/MT (FOB-Abu Dhabi) on 21st December 2023. After analyzing the bearish market situation, the production rate for Sulphur was reduced to avoid flooding the commodity.

However, in the USA market, the prices of Sulphur are experiencing stabilization in their trend; therefore, the prices are the same as the previous week, USD 110/MT (CFR-Texas) on 21st December 2023. The equilibrium between supply and demand remains stabilized and unchanged, maintaining the appetite of the downstream agrochemical and rubber vulcanization markets for Sulphur. Therefore, the consumption of the existing inventories is constant, along with the simultaneous restocking of Sulphur in the storage facilities. Along with the traders, the buyers maintain their consistent purchasing activities to meet the demand for Sulphur from the downstream sectors and keep the supply and demand equilibrium intact. In terms of the upstream market, the prices of Crude Oil are following the upward price trend, but due to the rising demand from the domestic market, the trading activities from the Canadian market to the USA market are maintained steady.

In the Singapore market, the prices of Sulphur are following the same trend as in the USA. Stabilization in the supply-demand equilibrium is maintained by the traders and buyers, keeping the enthusiasm of the end users in mind. Therefore, the trading activities from the Qatar market to the Singapore market are consistent as well. Hence, it can be concluded that the supply chain is running smoothly and fulfilling the appetite of the downstream sectors.

As per the ChemAnalyst, it is anticipated that the prices of Sulphur might showcase an increase in its trend as the demand from the downstream agrochemical and rubber vulcanization sectors might show an incline, which may increase the trading activities among the major manufacturing industries.