Sulphuric Acid Asia Methodology

Sulphuric acid (H2SO4) is a widely used chemical on a global basis. Pure sulphuric acid is a colourless, viscous liquid that can cause severe burns and serious eye and skin damage, and is therefore classified as corrosive or hazardous. Transportation of sulphuric acid requires special stainless steel tanks and vessels and is therefore very expensive. Sulphuric acid is soluble in water at all concentrations.

There are three main types of sulphuric acid, based on the different production methods:

• Sulphur-based sulphuric acid, which involves the burning of sulphur to produce the acid. Around 60% of the total global output of sulphuric acid is manufactured through this process.
• Smelter acid, an involuntary by-product of metal smelting operations.
• Sulphuric acid from pyrites Pyrite is an iron disulphide and is quarried extensively to produce sulphuric acid. The pyrite is burnt with excess oxygen to produce sulphur trioxide, which will form sulphuric acid when combined with water. Production by this process accounts for less than 10% of annual production and is most common in China.

The main use of sulphuric acid, around 60%, is for the production of phosphate fertilizers where the sulphuric acid is mixed with phosphate rock and other raw materials to produce phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is produced when sulphuric acid is manufactured using the ‘wet method’ of manufacturing. Phosphoric acid is then used as a raw material for the production of Diammonium phosphate (DAP), Monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and triple superphosphate (TSP) fertilizers.

Other uses include base metals leaching which requires sulphuric acid and is prevalent in Chile and the Pacific Rim while production of sulphuric acid from base metals smelting is found mostly in Asia and Europe. Industrial uses include the consumption of sulphuric acid for pulp & paper, battery and specialty chemical production.

There are many grades of sulphuric acid available based on concentration, including:

• 20-22%, which contains excess dissolved sulphur trioxide.
• 33% or electrolyte grade, used in car batteries
• 62-70% or chamber acid
• 98% or concentrated sulphuric acid

 

Frequency:

• ICIS PentaSul quotes Sulphuric Acid prices on a weekly basis worldwide on Fridays in the World Sulphuric Acid Weekly report.
• ICIS PentaSul quotes Sulphuric Acid prices on a monthly basis worldwide during the first week of the month in the World Monthly Review report.
• ICIS Pricing quotes Sulphuric Acid prices on a weekly basis for Asia Pacific on Fridays.

ICIS PentaSul

Weekly Price Assessments:

• CFR US GULF spot (USD/MT)
• CFR TAMPA spot (USD/ST)
• CFR SOUTH US contract (USD/ST)
• CFR NW EUROPE contract (USD and €/MT)
• FOB NW EUROPE spot (USD/MT)
• FOB MEDITERRANEAN spot (USD/MT)
• CFR CHILE contract (USD/MT)
• CFR CHILE spot (USD/MT)

Monthly Price Assessments:

• CFR US GULF spot (USD/MT)
• CFR NW EUROPE contract (USD and €/MT)
• FOB MEDITERRANEAN spot (USD/MT)
• CFR CHILE contract (USD/MT)
• CFR CHILE spot (USD/MT)

ICIS Pricing

Weekly Price Assessments:

• FOB CHINA spot (USD/MT)
• CFR SE ASIA spot (USD/MT)
• CFR INDIA spot (USD/MT)
• CFR NE ASIA contract (USD/MT)
• CFR SE ASIA contract (USD/MT)

General Information:

Assessment window:

ICIS PentaSul price assessments are based on information supplied by market participants through the week up to close of business on Thursdays at 1700 hours in Houston. Prices published in the most recent published issue of World Sulphuric Acid Weekly are used in World Monthly Review. ICIS Pricing price assessments are based on information supplied by market participants through the week up to close of business on Friday at 1800 hours in Singapore.

 

Specifications:

Prices are generally quoted in metric tonnes (MT) except for: the CFR Tampa and CFR SOUTH US prices which are in short tons (ST). Prices are quoted in USD except for European prices except for the NW Europe contract price which is also quoted in Euros (€).

 

Timing:

Contract prices quoted on a quarterly or semester basis. Spot prices are typically for cargoes loading prompt (four to six weeks).

 

Terms:

Prices are usually assessed on a cash basis. ICIS will report about specific credit terms when required.

 

Standard cargo size:

All cargo sizes are considered from 6,000 to 60,000 tonnes for all FOB and CFR quotes. Cargoes moving from northeast Asia into southeast Asia or intra-southeast Asia are typically 6-12,000 tonnes; cargoes moving from Asia into Chile are 18-20,000 tonnes.

 

Assessment basis:

Information about new sales, changes to supply/demand and any other factors that can have an impact on the sulphur market is collected through the week up to press time on Friday through telephone calls with producers, end-users, traders and shippers, plus email correspondence and web searching. Information received is carefully counterchecked with other sources to make sure the information is true and accurate and not in any way misleading.

Following are some price specific information:

 

ICIS PentaSul

Prices refer to most recently concluded contract, spot business or competitive offers. Prices are net of credit or other terms.

Spot prices are changed on confirmed business only – the supplier, consumer or both confirm origin, destination and price.

The Tampa price in US$/short ton delivered consumer tank Bone Valley is based on spot imports. Because of the thin import trade in the Tampa market, a US Gulf price range also is quoted, again for basis spot imports. The South US price series is for domestic industrial business CFR for a medium-to-large industrial consumer by rail or barge.

The NW Europe CFR consumer series represents the contract price range for medium-to-large sized consumers for both vessel and barge delivery within the region. The upper end includes sulphur-based product. This series is shown in €, the currency in which it is agreed and also in USD at the prevailing exchange rate. An overall range is shown as well as a division between quarterly and semester contracts.

The NW Europe export prices are for lots of 10,000 tonnes or larger for export into the international market. The Mediterranean export price is moved whenever the European price is adjusted, keeping a $5/tonne differential reflecting generally higher freights for long-haul destinations. The exception of course is if a specific export out of the Med region is heard, then that price is adjusted and European adjusted by the $5/tonne differential. Mediterranean prices are for export lots of 5,000–10,000 tonnes generally sold by traders into the international market, some of which are for destinations within the region. The prices are based on confirmed deals on the buy or supply side or ideally, both the buyer and supplier confirming business concluded. The spot price is not adjusted to reflect bids/offers which is why it can at times remain unchanged and not necessarily in line with price ideas. Discussion of price ideas is included in the text of reports.

The Chilean price series is for shiploads of 10,000 tonnes or larger landed at a northern (Region ll) terminal in the Mejillones area; spot is the prevailing price for prompt delivery. The contract price is for supply from Chile and Peru negotiated at an annual domestic price.

It is also important to note that there is business concluded in the market that is not reported or confirmed. This can influence price ideas. The ICIS PentaSul prices are intended to be an indication.

 

ICIS Pricing

The ICIS pricing Asia sulphuric acid report examines trade flows within northeast Asia, and from northeast Asia into southeast Asia, India and Chile. While business to northeast Asia and southeast Asia is covered comprehensively, the report focuses mainly on material originating in China, Japan and Korea as these represent the main export markets for sulphuric acid, although exports ex-Australia and the Philippines will also be reflected periodically in the report.

ICIS pricing Asia sulphuric acid assessments are derived from details of completed business reported during this period. In the absence of concluded business, the range would be assessed on a combination of price indicators including the last-detected transactions, firm bids and offers, buy and sell indications as well as notional discussions.

The report offers market commentary that includes prices in industry sectors related to sulphuric acid, details of traced transactions, news on the supply/demand balance, export/import information, contract price negotiations and general sentiment for price direction. Where applicable, there is production information, comments on up and downstream market developments and general market intelligence.

General Information:

Assessment Window:

Weekly assessments are based on information supplied by market participants through the week to close of business on Fridays at 1700 hours in London and Houston (US central time), and 1730 hours in Singapore. Information on domestic eastern China ex-tank quotes are assessed up to 1600 hours Singapore time.

Daily assessments are based on information gathered throughout the day to close of business at 1700 hours in London and 1730 hours in Singapore. Information on domestic eastern China ex-tank quotes are assessed up to 1600 hours Singapore time.

Specification:

ICIS pricing quotes styrene in Europe conforming to ASTM D-2359/90. In Asia and the US, styrene quoted conforms to ASTM D-2827. In the domestic eastern China ex-tank market, styrene quoted based on GB 33541 specification.

Timing:

In Europe, cargoes loading in the current month and in the forward month of the date of publication. In the US, cargoes loading or delivered four-six weeks forward from the date of publication.

In Asia-Pacific, Asian cargoes loading or delivered two to six weeks forward from week of publication. Deep-sea cargoes include parcels from the US, Europe and the Middle East to arrive within six weeks from week of publication. For domestic eastern China ex-tank price quotations, cargoes are delivered within 10 days from week of publication. Meanwhile, for the domestic eastern China ex-tank forward prices quotations, cargoes are delivered 2-8 weeks from week of publication.

Terms:

Credit terms of up to 30 days.

In Asia, FOB Korea quotes carry credit terms up to 30 days. For CFR China quotes, a 90-day credit term applies. For CFR NE Asia and CFR SE Asia quotes, terms are normalised to a 90-day credit basis, in line with the key Chinese spot market. For eastern China ex-tank quotes, terms for parcels are on a cash basis. As for domestic Chinese forward cargoes, payment includes a 0-30% deposit paid upon deal done with the remainder paid in cash upon delivery of cargo. 

CFR China quotes take into account information of cargoes moving into main ports of China. CFR NE Asia quotes reflects information of cargoes going into Taiwan, Korea and Japan. CFR SE Asia quotes include information of cargoes moving into Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Domestic eastern China ex-tank prices are based on information from Zhangjiagang, Jiangyin and Changzhou.

Standard cargo size:

In Europe, 1,000 tonnes for the bulk barge quotes (FOB and CIF). Trucks are of 20 tonnes to 25 tonnes. In Asia, cargoes are typically 2,000-3,000 tonnes. In domestic eastern China, assessments for spot market are based on parcels of 50-300 tonnes while assessments for forward market are based on 200-1,000 tonnes. In the US, spot prices are assessed for waterborne volumes of at least 1,000 tonnes.

Assessment Basis:

In Europe, where the weekly report includes the week’s spread, Friday close prices and a low bid / high offer range, these are quoted separately.

The bid/offer range for the week is shown in reports as {#) and is representative of the highest and lowest levels at which business has been talked for the week on a notional basis.

The price for the week is shown in reports as (+) and represents deals done. Deals done after the Friday close will be included in the following week's report.  In the unusual event that no deals are done, the (+) range will consist of the highest bid and lowest offer seen in the market that week.

The price at Friday close is shown as (*) and represents the bid/sell range at the Friday deadline at 1700 hours London time. In the absence of confirmed business, quoted spot prices may reflect discussion levels or the current levels of bids and offers.

The monthly contract price is quoted as soon as confirmation has been received from a representative number of arm’s length contractual partners. The average FD Barge quote is the median average of all confirmed contracts publically settled that month.

The market commentary will normally cover details of contracts, negotiations, spot prices, production issues, relevant logistics, derivatives markets and energy prices.

The Aromatics Daily (Europe) report includes styrene spot transactions in USD/tonne on a FOB Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Antwerp basis. The price window reflects business for the current month, which will be abbreviated next to the quote (eg. JAN, FEB). The month will switch to the following month around mid-month, at that point when the majority of trade is being done for the following month. Prices are assessed based on information gathered throughout the day, including the day’s bid-offer range and all deals done during the day, to close of business. On days with deals, the assessment will reflect deals alone. On days without deals, the assessment will reflect bids and offers alone and can only use the correlation between the current month and the forward month. On days with only one deal, the assessment will reflect that deal as well as bids and offers.

The ICIS Asia-Pacific styrene weekly prices are assessed both (*) at the end of the week up to Friday close, due to the volatile nature of the market, and (+) based on the whole week’s deals and discussion levels.

The published ranges represent a combination of the following price indications: the deals concluded, bids and offers, buy and sell indications and notional discussions.

In the absence of deals, assessments based on bids and offers will be made to accurately reflect the levels at which business would probably have taken place during the week or at the Friday close of business. Factors affecting price movements, including the supply and demand situation, plant operating rates, feedstock and derivative markets, cargo movements, and general sentiment, will also be taken into account.

In the US, in the event that no trades were heard on Friday, price indications heard from mid-week will be included in the Friday price assessment. Notional adjustments will be made to accurately reflect the levels at which business would likely take place by the close of business on Friday. In Asia, price indications, notional or otherwise, from the afternoon of Friday and at the close of business only will be included in the final price assessment.

The contract price quote in the US styrene report is updated on a monthly basis upon verification of full settlement. The published values may be subjected to discounts and other formulated instruments utilised by individual parties in their respective negotiations. Market settlements are more accurately defined by the delta, or unit change detected from month to month.

All regional reports offer market commentary that includes details of traced transactions, news on the supply/demand balance, export/import information, contract price negotiations and general sentiment for price direction. Where applicable there is product information, comments on up and downstream market developments and general market intelligence.

The Styrene Daily (Asia) report covers spot deals on an FOB Korea and CFR China basis. The assessment takes into account deals, bids and offers and price ideas heard throughout the day.

ICIS&CBI pricing quotes styrene in China.

Frequency:

ICIS&CBI styrene weekly report published on Fridays

Styrene (ICIS&CBI)

Weekly Price Assessments:

Styrene Spot Prices

• CFR CHINA (*) (USD/MT)
• EAST CHINA(ZJG) EX-TANK (*)(CNY/MT)
• EAST CHINA(ZJG) EX-TANK FORWARD (*) (CNY/MT)
• SOUTH CHINA(GZ) DEL (*) (CNY/MT)
• CFR CHINA (*) (+) (USD/MT)
• EAST CHINA(ZJG) EX-TANK (+)(CNY/MT)
• EAST CHINA(ZJG) EX-TANK FORWARD (+) (CNY/MT)
• SOUTH CHINA(GZ) DEL (+) (CNY/MT)

Note: (*) Price range at close of business Friday

 (+) Price range for the week

General Information:

Assessment Window:

Weekly assessments are based on information supplied by market participants through the week to close of business on Fridays at 1730 hours in Singapore and at 1530-1600 hours in Beijing for EAST CHINA quotes and 1400-1600 hours in Beijing for SOUTH and NORTH CHINA quotes.

Specification:

ICIS&CBI pricing quotes styrene in Europe conforming to ASTM D-2359/90. In Asia and the US, styrene quoted conforms to GB 33541, ASTM D-2827

Timing:

For Asia-Pacific cargoes loading/arriving to two to six weeks forward from the date of publication. US, Europe and Middle East cargoes are to arrive within six weeks from the date of publication. For China domestic prices (EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK and SOUTH CHINA (GZ) DEL) loading within 10 days forward from the date of publication. For the China domestic forward quotes (EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK FORWARD, the timing is 2-8 weeks from week of publication.

Terms:

For CFR China quotes, the standard 90-day credit term applies. For China domestic prices (EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK and SOUTH CHINA (GZ) DEL) quotes, the standard is prompt. As for the China domestic forward market (EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK FORWARD), the payment terms include a 0-30% deposit upon deal done and cash payment of remainder upon delivery of cargo.

Standard cargo size:

For CFR China cargoes are typically 2,000-3,000 tonnes. In China, 50-300 tonnes for the bulk barge quotes (EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK), 200-1,000 tonnes for bulk barge quotes (EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK FORWARD) and 50-100 tonnes for the bulk barge quotes (SOUTH CHINA (GZ) DEL).

Origins:

For CFR China quotes the origins for open. For China domestic prices (EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK and SOUTH CHINA (GZ) DEL) quotes the origins for domestic and import.

Locations:

For China domestic prices (EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK) quotes the location on ZHANGJIAGANG JIANGYIN CHANGZHOU and (SOUTH CHINA (GZ) DEL) quotes the location on GUANGZHOU. For CFR China mainly quotes the location on the ports of Eastern China, which including of ZHANGJIAGANG JIANGYIN CHANGZHOU NANTONG NINGBO ZHENGJIANG etc.

Assessment Basis:

Domestic SM transactions are dispersed. CBI assesses EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK according to the trades done during 16:00-16:30 Beijing time and SOUTH CHINA (GZ) DEL prices at 14:00-16:00 Beijing time. ICIS&CBI assess CFR China prices (mainly quotes East China) are assessed according to the transactions done during the day to market close at 17:30.  As long as there are no negotiations or transactions heard in the above periods of time, ICIS&CBI will take other negotiations or transactions for reference.

ICIS&CBI communicates with about 200 producers and end users to handle the whole market from every aspect to get fair and accurate prices.

As for the trading volume and market structure of the domestic styrene market, most transactions are done in 50-300 tonnes.  Prices will be assessed according to these trades.

EAST CHINA (ZJG) EX-TANK, SOUTH CHINA (GZ) DEL and CFR ChINA prices (East China) are assessed according to standard transactions and negotiations in the market.  As for non-standard transactions and negotiations, CBI will convert the traded prices/talks with a proper rate or will not take it into account.

Ex-tank prices (Zhangjiagang), delivered prices (Guangzhou) and CFR prices (mainly quotes East China) are assessed according to traded prices, bids and offers in the market.  In addition, ICIS&CBI will take other factors, such as supply-demand, feedstock, downstream and surrounding markets, into account.

As for ICIS&CBI pricing, the following will not be taken into account.

• Spot transactions between sellers and buyers in a regular contract
• Transactions done at a level which is higher than offers and lower than bids
• Transactions with high offers, low bids and complicated price terms

The Styrene Monomer weekly report includes both the week’s spread and Friday close prices, and these are quoted separately. The price spread for the week is shown in reports as (+) and represents deals done. On the infrequent occasions when there are insufficient deals in the week to establish a representative weekly range and relying on deals alone does not reflect the market fairly and objectively for the week, ICIS&CBI pricing reserves the right to make an editorial judgment based on a combination of: the correlation between the current month and forward month; and bids and offers for that month. Deals done after the Friday close will be included in the following week's report.

The price spread at Friday’s close is shown as (*) and represents the bid/sell range at the Friday deadline at 1730 hours Singapore time and 1600-1630 Beijing time. In the absence of confirmed business, quoted spot prices may reflect discussion levels or the current levels of bids and offers. The monthly contract price is quoted as soon as confirmation has been received from a representative number of arm’s length contractual partners. The market commentary will normally cover details of contracts, negotiations, spot prices, production issues, relevant logistics, derivatives markets and energy prices.