Tampa: Supply and demand appeared to be in relative balance last week, and there was nothing to indicate a change in that situation anytime soon.
Some see a tendency toward an excess in supply, while others thought it was tilting the other way. Whichever it is, it’s not much. That may be why there has not been a lot of talk about new second-quarter contract prices – and prices, like the market, may not change much.
About 60,000 mt of prill will be exported this month from the Gulf in two vessels. The product was said to be owned by Shell and Valero.
Refinery capacity operating rates were lower last week – about 0.3 percent, from 83.9 percent the previous week to 82.7 percent, according to the U.S. DOE.
Vancouver: Spot prices at China have increased since the beginning of the month, but that had not transferred to the Vancouver market last week, and should boost prices $5-$10/mt FOB very soon.
The timing was good for sellers, because quarterly contracts were coming up for renewal and that would be a good bargaining chip.
West Coast: West Coast prices continued to track the Vancouver market, and any change in prices will be the result of the situation in China.
U.S. Imports: Imports were off 6 percent in January, to 181,348 st from the year-ago 193,612 st. However, July-January imports were up 3 percent, to 1.39 million st from 1.35 million st.