China sulphuric acid prices fall below 1,000 yuan

The decline below the 1,000 yuan threshold is especially significant for producers because it raises the risk of margin compression for smelters and acid suppliers that rely on by-product acid sales to offset processing costs. With demand from the fertiliser industry showing no clear improvement, buyers appear to be keeping inventories lean and waiting for either a seasonal pickup or a policy-backed rebound in agricultural demand.

The absence of any sign that sulphuric acid or phosphate fertiliser exports can restart is another drag. Export restrictions or logistical limits typically leave domestic producers more exposed to local oversupply, while also reducing the likelihood of a quick price floor. That leaves the market heavily tilted toward buyers in the near term and weakens the case for a sharp rebound even if input costs elsewhere stabilize.

For investors, the message is that the pain is most acute for sulphuric acid producers, copper smelters with acid by-product exposure and phosphate fertiliser makers facing weak end-demand. The beneficiaries are industrial users that consume acid as an input, but even they may not see much relief if downstream demand remains subdued and the market continues to price in sluggish activity.

The broader picture is one of a Chinese industrial chemicals market still struggling with muted demand and limited export relief. Unless fertiliser buying improves or policy changes reopen export outlets, sulphuric acid prices look likely to remain under pressure, keeping a lid on margins in the sector and reinforcing a cautious stance on the near-term earnings outlook for related producers.