Trading Points: China, Sulfur & Silver 银
- Apr 28
- 5 min read
April 29, 2026 | 银 | The growing awareness about the massive “oil shock” that is inundating the global economy echoes loudly in our April 1st discussion (“John Dizard: Watch for Rationing of Oil, Gas & By-Products”). The remarkable part is that many observers in America still do not fully appreciate the scale of the inflationary tsunami that is gradually but relentlessly impacting the US economy. We saw it this week in rising diesel prices as we migrated down I-81 and then I-75, through the mystical fog of southern Georgia. Everybody will figure out affordability by the second week in November.
Road Dogs/Knoxville TN /April 2026
Given the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the elimination of Iranian exports of energy and by-products from the global economy, the supply situation for primary and secondary products is going to get even worse. The United Arab Emirates, by no coincidence, just announced that it was leaving the OPEC oil cartel, abandoning any price/volume discipline in oil as the market devolves into a free-for-all.
One word sums up the biggest threat to the global economy: Sulfur. John Dizard spoke about the importance of sulfuric acid for many industrial products in our interview. He noted:
"Most, around half, of traded sulfur in the world goes through the Strait of Hormuz. It's a byproduct of refining very sulfurous, or “sour”, crude. They take out the sulfur and export it. Sulfur wasn't being considered as a pain point in the past. Now it is. You need sulfuric acid in order to produce copper, steel, nickel and many other products. Apart from fertilizer, you really need it to keep an industrial society running. The White House didn't take that into account."
China is the world's leading producer of sulfur (19 million metric tons in 2025), but already faced tight supply and rising prices in January. China has since implemented a ban on sulfuric acid exports starting in May 2026. Along with a 37.67% year-over-year drop in Q1 2026 imports, China is restricting global supply of sulfuric acid dramatically. What does this mean for stocks and precious metals?
Want to read more?
Subscribe to theinstitutionalriskanalyst.com to keep reading this exclusive post.
