Sulfur prices in China rose to 11,084.33 CNY per tonne on June 15, 2026, up 12.33% from the previous day, extending a sharp rally driven by tightening domestic supply and surging demand from the new energy sector.

Key Highlights

  • Sulfur rose to 11,084.33 CNY/T on June 15, 2026, up 12.33% from the previous day.
  • Prices have climbed 45.21% over the past month and are up 390.96% from a year earlier.
  • Chinese port sulfur inventories have fallen to multi-month lows amid insufficient import arrivals.
  • Refineries have prioritized sulfur supply to phosphate fertilizer producers, tightening availability elsewhere.

Sulfur prices in China extended a historic rally on June 15, 2026, climbing 12.33% on the day to 11,084.33 CNY per tonne. Over the past month alone, prices have risen more than 45%, and are now nearly four times higher than they were a year ago, reflecting one of the most pronounced commodity price surges currently underway in Chinese markets.

The rally has been driven primarily by a structural supply deficit that has been building for several years. Sulfur is produced mainly as a byproduct of petroleum refining and natural gas processing, meaning supply growth has lagged behind the rapid expansion in demand from downstream industries, particularly those tied to new energy production.

Demand from China's lithium iron phosphate battery and nickel hydrometallurgical processing industries has expanded significantly, adding substantial new consumption to a market that was already tightening. Combined with steady demand from traditional sulfur-consuming sectors such as phosphate fertilizers, sulfuric acid, and chemical manufacturing, the imbalance between supply and demand has widened considerably over the past year.

On the supply side, Chinese port inventories of sulfur have continued to decline, with recent data showing stocks falling to their lowest levels in months as import arrivals have failed to keep pace with consumption. In response to the shortage, major domestic refineries have implemented supply-guarantee measures that prioritize sulfur allocations to phosphate fertilizer producers, effectively reducing availability for other chemical manufacturers and forcing them to compete more aggressively for remaining spot market supplies.

The stakes of these allocation decisions extend beyond China's borders, given that phosphate producers globally, including The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS), rely on sulfur as a core input for the sulfuric acid used in fertilizer production, leaving their cost structures directly exposed to swings of this magnitude.

Global supply dynamics tied to the broader Middle East conflict have also played a role earlier in the year, as sulfur is similarly a byproduct of regional refining operations, and disruptions to those operations have at times tightened import availability into China from key overseas sources.

With new domestic sulfur production capacity additions remaining limited relative to the scale of demand growth from the new energy sector, market participants expect the supply-demand imbalance to persist in the near term, even as some downstream capacity additions in fertilizer and chemical production are expected to come online later in the year. The combination of low inventories, concentrated domestic production, and structurally rising demand suggests sulfur prices could remain elevated and volatile in the coming months.