BC Insight's 15 September market insight described global sulphur prices as broadly flat on the week while stressing that logistics still dominate delivered economics.
The note cited Kpler data estimating roughly 450,000 tonnes of sulfur waiting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a backlog figure that quantifies why Gulf FOB contract cuts do not restore seaborne flows overnight.
Reuters and Kpler-linked shipping accounts through September 15 and 16 put daily commodity vessel transits through Hormuz in single digits, far below pre-conflict norms near 125 large commercial vessels per day.
Chinese port inventories were put at about 884,000 tonnes in BC Insight's account, described as an eleven-week high, which adds bearish weight to domestic spot even when import costs stay elevated.
Indian import offers were quoted in a 1,050 to 1,100 dollars per tonne CFR band in the same release, aligning with SunSirs' granular China import top near 1,050 dollars for the week of September 15.
The combination of flat headline global prices, rising Chinese stocks, and double-digit India CFR offers is the same pattern open SunSirs reviews documented in wide China import CFR ranges.
Middle East monthly contract postings such as QatarEnergy's September 880 dollars per tonne FOB remain reference points, not delivered prices, once Hormuz insurance and freight surcharges are applied.
Russia's industrial sulfur export ban through 31 December 2026 keeps a second large traded source off the market alongside the Hormuz impairment described in TFI and CRU accounts since March.
US phosphate curtailments linked to sulfur above 1,000 dollars per tonne in farmdoc and Mosaic WARN reporting remain the Atlantic demand-side response, with third-quarter Tampa molten still cited at 705 dollars per long ton in open Argus news.
Salalah corridor summit plans deferred on September 14 and conflicting EL GAIA accounts on September 15 added geopolitical noise without clearing bulk sulfur crossings in open trade trackers.
For Alberta recovered sulfur, a 450,000 tonne Hormuz backlog means Pacific stems continue to absorb swing tonnes from Canada even when Chinese benchmarks correct.
Canadian exports through Vancouver totalled 3,507,428 metric tonnes in the port authority's 2025 overview, with China still the largest listed destination at 1.30 million tonnes despite a lower share of a larger harbour total.
Alberta provincial sulfur stocks at 11.66 million tonnes in July 2025 remain the last verified_public inventory anchor in the absence of a fresher public AER headline table this month.
Desk read: BC Insight 15 September is the logistics-and-stocks frame for a flat global price headline. Until Kpler backlog falls and Hormuz bulk sulfur transits normalize, Pacific netbacks stay freight-driven.