Sulphuric Acid Prices
April 18, 2010 - Prices of sulphuric acid, a copper smelting by-product, have risen by half in China over the month, keeping operating rates high despite low copper treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs). Sulphuric acid prices have risen to touch 600 yuan ($89) per tonne, from an average of 400 yuan a month ago, delegates at the 2010 Beijing copper summit held by China Nonferrous Metals Industry Assn (CNIA) told MB. "Average prices could be around 500-600 yuan per tonne, thanks to rising demand for fertilizer".
Sulphuric acid prices held down by excess supply
April 7, 2010 - Purchasing of sulphuric acid has undergone a "dramatic turnaround" so far this year, according to CRU International, which says "rising demand is evident from the industrial sector, the phosphate fertilizer industry and copper leaching operations." However, inventories still are well in excess of renewed demand. So, near-term prices should stay around the $144/ton average of the first quarter and not approach the $200/ton average of 2009, according to the CRU report presented at this week's World Copper Conference in Santiago, Chile. While there is some tightness in the U.S. acid market, ICISpricing.com says production rates were slightly improved from a month ago. So, there is quite some debate whether spot prices will rise in the second quarter back to $150-$200, as sought by producers. Another issue is that phosphate fertilizer prices have begun to weaken, "undermining sentiment in the sulphuric acid market," says CRU. "It is too early to say whether the price boom-that brought U.S. market prices up from an average $107/ton in October and November-has come to an end, but market activity is very thin and there are growing indications that further increases may not be sustainable." The analysis suggests that supply of sulphuric acid is forecast to remain tight. So, drop in prices is unlikely for the next few months. However, the peak application season for phosphate fertilizers is almost over, and stocks of sulphuric acid are expected to gradually increase over the summer. "For this reason, the second half of the year will probably see prices coming down for both products," CRU forecasts. In another analysis of the world fertilizer market, TD Bank analysts also are cautious about offshore demand due to recent weakness in global crop prices, "which may limit the global demand fertilizer rebound volume and/or price gains." Source www.purchasing.com
Sulfuric Acid Goes From Worthless to ‘Crazy,’ Boosts Mine Costs
March 8, 2010 - The value of sulfuric acid, used to dissolve metal ore and produce fertilizer, has gone from worthless to “crazy” this year, increasing costs for mining companies, London-based researcher CRU Group said. “It all changed very quickly,” Joanne Peacock, an analyst at CRU, said in an interview in London today. “Fertilizer demand was suddenly much stronger than expected.” Rebounding market rates for the acid, a byproduct of copper processing, to more than $100 a metric ton may help smelters of the metal to boost output as they can profit from the sale of the residue. Stockholm-based Boliden AB was among operators that previously cited the slump in prices as part of the reason for curbing output. Miners, though, face rising costs, Peacock said. Demand from fertilizer makers, normally about half of world sulfuric acid consumption, has
risen as higher prices for their products prompted companies to rebuild stocks, Peacock said. “It’s all gone crazy,” she wrote in a separate e-mail today. Supply from metal smelters, oil refineries and burning elemental sulfur couldn’t keep up, she said. “The availability of sulfur has been much lower than expected,” Peacock said. “The refineries haven’t been able to increase their operating rates to full capacity yet because the U.S. consumer is not buying as much diesel and gas.” U.S. oil refineries operated at 81.9 percent capacity in the week ended Feb. 26, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Department released March 3. This time last year it was 83.14 percent and in 2008 output was 85.19 percent.
Surging market prices for acid will probably be temporary as demand dies down, Peacock said. “I still see the underlying demand picture as fundamentally weak and this situation may not last beyond the first half of this year,” she said. Fertilizer demand fell to its weakest in five years in 2009 as economic crisis and the credit crunch hurt farmers, according to CRU. Annual contract prices for this year fell to about $30- $60 a ton, from $110-$140 in 2009, Peacock said in December. Sulfuric acid demand, typically about 200 million tons a year, will probably increase from 2009, though is unlikely to reach levels before the economic crisis in 2008, she said.