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Sulphuric Acid - The 10 Year Outlook
Market Forecasts

The Market Outlook for Sulphuric Acid
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2010 February issue
2009 – Propped up by China; 2010 – precarious recovery?

We reported in our December Update Report that a more bullish attitude continued to prevail in the sulphuric acid market, despite the fact that no clear signs of sustained demand recovery had yet emerged. This trend continued into the final quarter of 2009, and the recovery continued to gain strength, particularly driven by Asia. Imports into China have continued to rise, holding up a number of commodity markets, and most notably, the markets for sulphur and sulphuric acid. China imported 2,826 million tonnes of sulphuric acid in 2009, 1.2 million tonnes more than in 2008. From the 2009 trade data available to date, it would appear that China supported the market almost single-handedly, as significant declines took place in other major importing countries such as the US, Chile, Brazil, Turkey and Australia.

Sulphuric Acid Ten Year Outlook


The production of sulphur-in-all-forms is driven primarily by demand for hydrocarbon fuels and base metals, and by HSE legislation. There is therefore no necessary correlation between the level of output of recovered sulphur and smelter acid, and demand for these products. This results in a volatile market in which there is always the possibility of major short-term variations in the balance of sulphuric acid production and demand, and of longer-term structural changes resulting from variations in the prices of sulphur and merchant sulphuric acid.


The Sulphuric Acid Ten Year Outlook offers a thorough analysis of the outlook for sulphuric acid supply, demand, regional balances and prices, and addresses the following questions:

·       How long will fertilizer demand remain weak and how will future demand influence sulphuric acid trade?

·       What level of influence will the South American copper market continue to exert on global sulphuric acid trade?

·       How will future demand for sulphuric acid for metal leaching stack up against the production of by-product acid from metal smelting?

·       Can investment in sulphur burning capacity now be justified in key import markets?

·       Will Chinese acid imports continue to absorb a high proportion of local surpluses or will supply rationalisation be required in the region?

·       How will the growing demand for nuclear energy impact on sulphuric acid consumption in uranium producing countries?

 

The Sulphuric Acid Ten Year Outlook will:

 

·         Keep you up-to-date with the latest industry changes and help you understand the impact these may have on your business in the future.

·         Help you effectively plan your future strategic capital investment, therefore optimising shareholder returns.

·         Aid in identifying the prospects for new and profitable alliances with suppliers and producers.

·         Anticipate the opportunities and threats to existing supply logistics.

·         Predict the likely emergence of new competition both regionally and globally.

 

The study provides an essential planning and decision-making tool for all those involved in the sulphuric acid market, as well as for those engaged in the production and trade of elemental sulphur. Update reports will be issued through the year, provisionally on a quarterly basis depending upon the pace of change.

 

Online access service

CRU’s password protected online service offers you unlimited access to downloadable files of the reports and the statistical data contained in chapters and appendices. The data is updated every quarter. As each new update is posted to the site, previous editions are archived, building into your own historical database.



Contact
For more information please contact:

email: marketing@crugroup.com
tel: +44 20 7903 2300

 
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Sulphuric Acid  -The 10 Year Outlook






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