Tampa: Mosaic’s planned solid sulfur melting facility, scheduled to go online at New Wales, Fla., remained a hot topic in the marketplace.
Recent claims of solid sulfur shipments secured and delivered ahead of the facility’s 2015 opening at a “substantial premium” to domestic levels were disputed by some in the industry, with sources stating that the internationally sourced cargoes were instead procured at price points on par with or below domestically sourced material.
The shipments were believed earmarked for pre-established commitments rather than to safeguard against potential supply irregularities.
Indeed, nearly all sectors report continued booming supply, and refinery outputs for the calendar year remained at record levels.
Refinery utilization for the week ending Aug. 1 fell to 92.4 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a drop of 1.1 percent from the week before. The rate represented the second consecutive week of falling outputs after having crested in the second week of July, the traditional operating peak of the U.S. refinery calendar.
The week’s 92.4 percent utilization of capacity beat the 90.9 percent posted for the same period in 2013, however, and outpaced the five-year average of 90.8 percent.
The price of molten sulfur delivered to Tampa was $136/lt DEL for the third quarter.
U.S. Gulf: Recent spot sales to Brazil carried reported netbacks of $145-$150/mt FOB, a bump up from the previous level of $140-$145/mt FOB.
Vancouver: Offshore sulfur sellers continued to assess the impact of the recent Chinese typhoon on the marketplace. As many as 260,000 mt of sulfur were reported to have been damaged or destroyed in the storms.
Sources reported the Chinese market to have stalled in the low $180s/mt CFR, and spot levels at Vancouver were believed to remain unchanged at $140-$170/mt FOB. Third-quarter contract prices were quoted in a range of $140-$160/mt FOB.
Sulfur sold from Alberta conceded netbacks of (-)$20-$80/mt.
West Coast: The price of West Coast sulfur was quoted in a range of $140-$145/mt FOB, an increase from the previous week’s $135-$145/mt.
Benelux: The third-quarter price of Benelux sulfur was $158-$172/mt.
ADNOC: The ADNOC price of sulfur climbed to $175/mt for the month of August, a $5/mt hike from the July price of $170/mt.
Bangladesh: BCIC has issued an international tender for 15,000 mt of rock sulfur/bright yellow sulfur/bright yellow sulfur crude CFR Chittagong Port. Bids are due on Sept. 22, 2014.