Sulfur

Tampa:

Third-quarter Tampa molten sulfur contracts continued at $55/lt CFR, a 46.6% decline from the previous $103/lt CFR contract price.

US Imports:

July sulfur imports were 283,988 st, up 7.7% from the year-ago 263,716 st. Cargoes shipping from Canada totaled 130,560 st, followed by Saudi Arabia with 68,429 st. Mexico sent 24,844 st, topping 17,579 st from Iraq.

US Exports:

July sulfur exports fell 24.4%, to 161,231 st from the year-ago 213,269 st. Morocco bought 82,120 st of US sulfur in July, ahead of 59,602 st sold to New Caledonia. Brazil took 10,562 st.

US Gulf:

US Gulf export prices strengthened to $90-$100/mt FOB from the week-ago $85-$90/mt FOB. Small lots are reportedly available from multiple refineries, with offers for fresh product reported at the top of the range.

Brazil:

Multiple transactions were heard settling in the $120-$130/mt CFR range into Brazil, below the prior $130-$135/mt CFR level. Both Mosaic and CMOC were reported making purchases during the week.

Vancouver: 

Vancouver solid sulfur prices continued at $90-$95/mt FOB, unmoved from last week.

Alberta:

Alberta netbacks were estimated at (-)$60-$25/mt FOB. The wide range included both molten sulfur cargoes contracted into the US market and solid tons sold through the Vancouver export market.

West Coast:

West Coast prills remained even with Vancouver in the $90-$95/mt FOB range.

Molten sulfur contracts were unchanged at $45-$50/lt FOB for loading in the third quarter, off from $98-$106/lt FOB in the prior period, a decrease of 53.4%.

China:

Import prices at China were steady at $120-$125/mt CFR. Players continued to express concerns about economic difficulties in the region, as well as high sulfur inventories at ports.

ADNOC:

Prilled sulfur produced by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) was posted at $103/mt FOB Ruwais for September. Spot prices have been reported closer to $115/mt FOB.

Qatar:

Muntajat sulfur offers for September were steady at $102/mt FOB Ras Laffan, an increase from $82/mt FOB in August.