According to the price monitoring of business news agency, the price of sulfur in East China decreased slightly this week. The average price of sulfur production at the weekend was 1476.67 yuan / ton, down 0.89% compared with 1490.00 yuan / ton at the beginning of the week, up 7.52% compared with the beginning of the month.

This week, the domestic sulfur market was weak, the inventory of domestic refineries in various regions remained low, the downstream factories were not enthusiastic about purchasing in the market, and the market trading was quiet. During the week, the domestic refineries adjusted their prices according to their own shipment situation. Except for Sinopec’s sulfur quotation in East China, Sinopec’s solid-liquid sulfur quotation in North China and Shandong decreased by 20 yuan / ton, and the overall market quotation decreased slightly. As of the 28th, the regional price of sulfur in China is as follows:

28 March 2005

Sulfur (particle) 1430-1490 yuan / ton in East China

1360-1450 yuan / ton of sulfur (particle) in North China

Sulfur (particle) 1480-1510 yuan / ton in Shandong Province

In the downstream phosphate fertilizer market, the market of monoammonium phosphate and diammonium phosphate is weak and stable, and the fertilizer market is in the peak sales season. The demand of the downstream market is good, but the short-term rise is slowing down, and the future market is temporarily stable. In terms of sulphuric acid, the market in Shandong is volatile, with the price falling first and then rising, with an increase of 3.09% in the week. At present, the main acid enterprises in Shandong stop for maintenance, the market supply is tight, and the price rises flexibly. The downstream does not accept high prices, and the rising space is limited. It is expected that the sulphuric acid market will rise slightly in the future.

Sulfur analysts of business news agency believe that at present, domestic refineries’ inventory remains low, downstream demand is weak, on-site trading is weak, operators’ mentality is mainly wait-and-see, the market lacks effective information guidance, and supply and demand performance is stable. It is expected that the sulfur market will run stably in the future, and pay attention to the downstream follow-up situation.

1、 Price trend of lithium hydroxide

(Figure: p-value curve of lithium hydroxide product)

2、 Market analysis

According to the data of the business club’s block list, as of March 28, the average price of domestic industrial lithium hydroxide enterprises was 75000 yuan / ton, which was the same as that at the beginning of the week, increased by 15.98% compared with February 28, and increased by 31.58% compared with the same period last year. This week, the market of industrial grade lithium hydroxide was stable at a high level, with enterprises mainly delivering early-stage orders, and the downstream demand was relatively stable.

According to customs statistics, in February 2021, China’s lithium hydroxide import volume was 3.5 tons, the import amount of the month was about 59600 US dollars, and the average import price of the month was 17007.71 US dollars / ton. According to customs statistics, in February 2021, China’s lithium hydroxide export volume was 4879.79 tons, the export amount of that month was about US $42.36 million, and the average export price of that month was US $8680.15/ton.

According to the price monitoring of upstream lithium carbonate, the market price of lithium carbonate in East China continued to rise steadily in March 2021. As of March 26, the average price of industrial grade lithium carbonate in East China was 86600 yuan / ton, up 11.6% compared with the average price at the beginning of the month (the average price of industrial grade lithium carbonate in East China was 77600 yuan / ton on March 1). On March 26, the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate in East China was 90200 yuan / ton, up 8.94% compared with the average price at the beginning of March (the average price of carbon in East China was 82800 yuan / ton). Until the 26th, the comprehensive price of industrial grade lithium carbonate was between 82000-89000 yuan / ton, and that of battery grade lithium carbonate was between 86000-92000 yuan / ton.

According to the price monitoring of the business community, in the list of commodity prices in the 12th week of 2021 (3.22-3.26), there were 24 kinds of commodities in the chemical industry sector that rose month on month, of which 2 kinds of commodities increased by more than 5%, accounting for 2.2% of the number of commodities monitored in the sector; the top 3 commodities were liquid ammonia (8.00%), potassium chloride (5.78%) and n-butanol (industrial grade) (4.93%). There were 33 kinds of commodities with a month on month decrease, and 4 kinds of commodities with a decrease of more than 5%, accounting for 4.3% of the number of commodities monitored in this sector; the top 3 products with a decrease were crude benzene (- 9.03%), calcium carbide (- 8.91%) and chloroform (- 5.86%). The average rise and fall this week was – 0.21%.

3、 Future forecast

Business community lithium hydroxide analysts believe that in the near future, the upstream lithium carbonate is relatively strong and the demand side is stable. It is expected that in the short term, the domestic industrial lithium hydroxide market may run stably at a high level, and the specific trend needs to pay more attention to the market information guidance.