China’s Acid Move Could Trigger the Next Silver Squeez
1/
Everyone is watching silver charts.
Almost nobody is watching sulfuric acid.
That may be a mistake.
China’s reported move to restrict sulfuric acid exports from May 2026 could quietly become one of the most important silver supply stories of the year.
Not because it targets silver.
Because it targets the metals that produce it.
2/
Sulfuric acid is not some minor chemical input.
It is critical for copper leaching and SX-EW production — the process used to extract copper from oxide and lower-grade ores.
According to Reuters, around one-fifth of global primary refined copper output comes from SX-EW operations using sulfuric acid.
3/
Chile is the pressure point.
The world’s top copper producer is already facing an acid supply crunch. Reuters reported that Chinese sulfuric acid shipments to Chile fell to zero in March 2026.
1/ Michael Oliver’s message is simple: headlines are not the trend. Tariffs, war, panic, “the world is ending” narratives — all of that can jerk markets around for a while.
But the real long-term move is building underneath.
That is what stackers should be watching.
2/ His core point:
the stock market may be going through a long, grinding topping process, similar to 2000 and 2007.
The final turn does not always arrive with one giant media headline.
Very often the headline comes later, when the damage is already underway.
3/ Now the important part:
while equities may be rolling toward trouble, gold and especially silver appear to be in a very different regime.
Not just another cyclical trade.
A repricing into a new reality.