The sulphuric acid market in China and the US continued to showcase bullishness. This surge can be attributed to the rising production cost along with the rising demand from the domestic as well as overseas downstream agrochemical sectors.

The Sulphuric Acid market in the major exporting nation, China, continued to showcase bullishness. During the first week of April 2025, the sulphuric acid market in China experienced stability at a higher end. The high production cost and the strong demand for fertilizers in China continued to provide support to the bullish market sentiments. This week, the feedstock sulphur market showcased stability resulting in the maintenance of high production costs.

A shipment of 30,000 tons was sold at the current rate which is set to leave in the second half of April. The destination of this shipment is likely to be India where the demand for sulphuric acid is strong, especially from the East Coast of India. Moreover, one of the sulphuric acid producers, Tongling, has been under maintenance shutdown since the start of March and is anticipated to restart on April 7.

Therefore, amid the strong demand for sulphuric acid from the downstream agrochemical sector, and rising production costs, the sulphuric acid market in China continued to experience bullishness.

At the same time, the domestic sulphuric acid market in the US witnessed a surge of 3.12% after witnessing a declining trend throughout March amid the uncertainty of tariff implementation. The major factor pushing prices upwards is the availability of expensive feedstock, sulphur. In comparison to the previous quarter, the sulphur prices witnessed a significant hike of 64% in Tampa, Florida.

Furthermore, the demand for sulphuric acid from the downstream agrochemical sector showcased a surge as the market players increased their activities amid the start of the peak plantation season in the US. In addition, some refineries in the Midwest and East Coast are entering temporary maintenance shutdown which is anticipated to further tighten the supply availability in the US. In addition, the spread between sulphur and sulphuric acid widened signaling the bullish market sentiments in the US.

Moreover, in terms of the feedstock market, the US imports most of its Sulphur from Canada. In 2024, the US imported 830,000 tons of sulphur from Canada and 60,000 tons from other countries. On April 2, President Trump announced the implementation of new tariffs on many imports, however, a lot of mineral and energy products were excluded.

However, Sulphur was not specifically listed as exempt, but it is anticipated that the sulphur from Canada can be imported without tariff as Canada is a part of the USMCA. Nevertheless, the imports of sulphur from other countries will be subjected to a 25% import tax.

As per ChemAnalyst, the sulphuric acid market in China and the US is expected to continue with bullish market sentiments amid the strong demand for fertilizers from the domestic and overseas downstream agrochemical sectors. The demand for sulphuric acid continued to rise from Chile and India amid a lack of spot supplies from key suppliers.