Market insights
Analysis of sulphur, fertilizer and industrial chemical markets: supply and demand, price drivers and the commercial implications for buyers and suppliers.
Demand Destruction Adds Spot Sulphur While Hormuz Flows Stay Thin
Middle East sulphur prices fell by $100-200/t within weeks, although only one to three sulphur vessels a week were clearing Hormuz. The article traces the extra spot supply to demand destruction, including rejected contract cargoes and idled consumers, and argues that fourth-quarter contract resets could end that flow.
Sulphur Is Still Scarce. Buyers Have Stopped Paying for Scarcity.
In the week a cargo ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz, sulphur prices fell across Asia, the Americas, Africa and the Mediterranean. The article argues that price-driven demand destruction and repeatable Vancouver supply have outweighed part of the scarcity premium, which has moved from the molecule to the loading port.
Sulphur Market Softens on Buyer Resistance Despite Persistent Supply Risk
Spot sulphur softened in early September 2026 as buyers in China and Indonesia stepped back, while supply risk around Hormuz and the Black Sea persisted. A reading of vessel movements, refinery data, phosphate filings and freight shows why a softer price does not mean a resolved market, and separates demand destruction from demand postponement.