Phosphorus: market price rises again, the benchmark price is CNY23,712/t(+200/t). Supply is limited as multiple electric furnaces in Yuxi (Yunnan), Mianyang and Ya’an (Sichuan) suspend for facilities maintenance, while only a few resumed in Fuquan (Guizhou). Market purchases are active at first but later turn to cautious. Stable phosphate rock cost and electricity cost will enhance thermal phosphoric acid competitiveness, boosting yellow phosphorus demand indirectly.. The market is expected to maintain high-level volatility in short-term.
Sulfur: the market shows high-level fluctuating uptrend with tight supply-demand balance. The benchmark price rises again to CNY4,210/t(+1.3%). Shandong refineries quotes at CNY3,950-4,130/t for liquid sulfur, while Yangtze River granular sulfur trading price is CNY4,300-4,370/t. Global tight supply supports sulfur prices. FOB price from Qatar and UAE is USD517-520/t, it’s about CNY4,340-4,380/t CIF China. Port inventory continues to decline. Downstream phosphate ammonium and compound fertilizer enterprises stocked up actively before Spring Festival. A slight price pullback showed up later as some buyers slowed purchases, but the market remains strong generally.
Urea: Urea spot prices: Shandong CNY1,772/t (+30), Henan CNY1,742/t (+15), Jiangsu CNY1,800/t (+10), Xinjiang remains a price depression at CNY1,310-1,550/t. Futures: UR2605 closed at CNY1,790 (+0.11%), fluctuates at CNY1,772-1,822/t. Urea weekly output is 1,455kt with a high operation rate of 88.3%(+1.9%). In-factory inventory is 944.9kt(-1.1kt), port inventory is 144kt(+10kt, about +7.5% WoW). Compound fertilizers operation rate is 41.34%(-1.62%), melamine operation rate is 66.45%(+2.8%). The FOB China price is USD420/t(+15/t). Intl’ market price keeps flying high with quotes at USD390-480/t.
Amsul the market shows a strong upward trend with narrowing price gap. The benchmark price rises from CNY1,103/t to CNY1,153/t(+4.53%). Caprolactam-grade is CNY1,120-1,160/t, and coking-grade is CNY1,038-1,090/t in Shandong. The operation rate is 70-80%, keeping supply tight. Demand side, domestic industrial/agricultural demand is stable. Intl’ inquiries increase as urea price stands. Compressed granular is USD177/t FOB Tianjin.
Potash: KCl supply tightened due to Qinghai’s facilities maintenance(operation rate is 47.62%) and reduced imports. Winter reserves and upcoming spring plowing boosted market demand, lifting prices by CNY30-80/t weekly. Port inventory is 2.55-2.6 mln tons, in-factory inventory is 56% lower YoY.
SCFI is 1,316 (-141), CCFI is 1175(-2.7%).
