Pre-holiday Fluctuations Converge, Price Center Shifts to October [SMM Sulphuric Acid Weekly Review]

       For the week ending September 30, China's sulphuric acid market continued to trend downward, though the decline narrowed notably. The SMM China copper smelting acid index stood at 1,218.5 yuan/mt, down 29 yuan/mt from the previous Friday (1,247.5 yuan/mt), a weekly decline of 2.3%, marking the thirteenth consecutive week of pullback since July 10.

       Regional performance: prices continued to drift lower, showing three main characteristics.First, the regions where mainstream quotations fell below 1,200 yuan/mt expanded further—mainstream smelting acid quotations in Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Shanxi, and other provinces have generally broken below 1,200 yuan/mt, driven mainly by rising inventory pressure at enterprises combined with concentrated destocking ahead of the holiday.Second, tentative price adjustments before the holiday were prominent—multiple enterprises in the Chifeng area adjusted prices successively in the final two days before the holiday.Third, prices in areas with concentrated maintenance still have expectations of phased support—the concentrated production cuts from enterprise maintenance in October will become a key support for local prices.

       Specific regions with price adjustments this week include: Sichuan currently quoted at 1,150-1,300 yuan/mt, averaging 1,225 yuan/mt (-35); Qinghai quoted at 1,230-1,250 yuan/mt, averaging 1,240 yuan/mt (-290); Jiangxi quoted at 990-1,080 yuan/mt, averaging 1,035 yuan/mt (-175); Yunnan quoted at 1,140-1,300 yuan/mt, averaging 1,220 yuan/mt (-45); Inner Mongolia quoted at 1,220-1,470 yuan/mt, averaging 1,345 yuan/mt (-175).

       Sulphur prices stopped falling and stabilized, edging higher. Sulphur (EXW Shandong) was quoted at 7,300-7,800 yuan/mt on September 30, averaging 7,550 yuan/mt, up 41.5 yuan/mt from the previous Friday, a gain of 0.55%. Low-priced cargoes in the market decreased, and downstream purchases before the holiday were mainly restocking for essential needs.

       Looking ahead, October will replace the pre-holiday period as the main window of contention in China's sulphuric acid market. National sulphuric acid prices in October are expected to remain in a weak bottom-seeking pattern, with the decline narrowing compared with September, focusing on the actual pace of winter stockpiling and the supply reductions actually brought by refinery maintenance.