US Gulf:
Sources noted declining values in the NOLA TSP barge market. Prices were quoted in the $600-$610/st FOB range, off from $640-$650/st FOB the week before.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The TSP market was quoted in a broad range at $755-$785/st FOB Cincinnati, depending on supplier.
Western Cornbelt:
The TSP market remained at $750-$760/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt.
Eastern Cornbelt:
November phos acid postings in the Eastern Cornbelt remained at $14.00/unit rail-DEL.
Western Cornbelt:
Phos acid pricing was steady at $14.00/unit rail-DEL in the Western Cornbelt for November tons.
Northern Plains:
Phos acid pricing for November shipments remained at $14.00/unit rail-DEL in the Northern Plains, unchanged from October.
India:
India phosphoric acid contracts were reported in the $1,100-$1,200/mt P2O5 CFR range for the fourth quarter, down $515-$615/mt from $1,715/mt CFR in the second and third quarters.
Eastern Cornbelt:
10-34-0 pricing was unchanged at $665-$675/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with pricing out of Michigan warehouses pegged at the $680/st FOB level in mid-November.
Western Cornbelt:
10-34-0 was quoted at the $655-$675/st FOB level in the Western Cornbelt for the last confirmed offers.
Northern Plains:
10-34-0 offers were quoted at $665-$680/st FOB in the Northern Plains, with delivered pricing pegged in a broad range at $700-$750/st in central and western North Dakota.
Northeast:
10-34-0 prices in New York were quoted at $700/st FOB, down $20/st from last report.
US Gulf:
NOLA potash barge prices moved down to $520-$525/st FOB from the week-ago $530-$535/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Potash pricing remained under pressure in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the market falling to $610-$630/st FOB from the prior week’s $630-$650/st FOB. New offers FOB Cincinnati were quoted at the $610/st level at midweek, down from last week’s $635/st FOB, with prices at Ottawa confirmed at the $620/st FOB level.
Western Cornbelt:
Potash prices fell to $595-$610/st FOB in the region in mid-November, down once again from the previous week’s $610-$640/st FOB in the region. The St. Louis market was pegged in the $595-$600/st FOB range, while offers at Catoosa/Inola, Okla., reportedly dropped to $590/st FOB during the week.
Northern Plains:
Sources quoted potash pricing at $610-$620/st FOB St. Paul, down from the previous $635-$640/st FOB level. The latest prices FOB Saskatchewan mines, based on current exchange rates, were reported at $643-$677/st after netbacks, depending on grade and destination.
Northeast:
Potash pricing remained under pressure in the Northeast. Spot offers at midweek were confirmed at $650/st FOB East Liverpool, $655/st FOB Fairless Hills, and $665/st FOB Lancaster, Pa., down from the $685-$700/st FOB regional range in late October.
Eastern Canada:
The potash market in Eastern Canada was pegged in a wide range at C$1,040-$1,110/mt FOB warehouses, down C$16/mt at the low end of the range.
Brazil:
MOP prices in Brazil edged down to $525-$580/mt CFR. Sources said the lower end of the range was mostly related to Russian tons. Rondonopolis tightened to $680-$735/mt FOB ex-warehouse.
Sources said there is some growing interest in taking a long position as buyers focus on the next application season.
India:
January-September 2022 imports of MOP were reported at 2.1 million mt by Trade Data Monitor, down about 20% from the 2.6 million mt imported during the same period in 2021. Of the four top suppliers, Canada and Israel showed an improvement, while Belarus and Jordan slid.
Canada and Israel provided a total of 1.22 million mt during January-September 2022, up from 866,000 mt during the same period in 2021. Belarus and Jordan sent 741,000 mt, against the 1.1 million mt the two jointly sent in 2021.
Third-quarter 2022 imports were reported at 221,000 mt, down 34% from the 335,000 mt imported during July-September 2021. September 2022 imports were reported at 221,000 mt, down 34% from the 335,000 mt imported during September 2021.
South Korea:
January-October MOP imports were reported at 588,000 mt by Trade Data Monitor, down about 11% from the 660,000 mt imported during the same period in 2021. The main suppliers were Canada with 432,000 mt, and Israel with 95,000 mt.
October 2022 imports were reported at 21,000 mt, down from the 88,000 mt imported during October 2021. Canada supplied just about all the tonnage with 20,000 mt.
Tampa:
With much of the domestic US industry focused on setting up 2023 agreements, players noted a quiet market for the week. Fundamental supply/demand conditions were generally seen in a balanced state.
The fourth-quarter Tampa molten sulfur contract was concluded at $90/lt CFR, a $262/lt decline from $352/lt CFR in the third quarter.
Refinery utilization tracked higher for the week ending Nov. 11, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Combined nationwide capacity firmed to 92.9% for the period, up from the prior week’s 92.1% and above both the year-ago 87.9% and the 87.2% five-year average.
Crude inputs were also noted higher at 16.153 million barrels/d during the week, a 64,000 barrel/d increase from 16.089 million barrels/d posted one week earlier.
US Gulf:
Players quoted recent US Gulf sulfur pricing in the $147-$155/mt FOB range, edging below last week’s $150-$155/mt FOB.
Brazil:
With nothing new reported, the recent Brazil import market continued at $185-$190/mt CFR. Fourth-quarter import contracts were quoted in the $119-$138/mt CFR range. Buyers were largely said to forgo longer-term supply agreements in the third quarter due to extreme market volatility.
Vancouver:
Vancouver prill cargoes were reported firming to $150-$160/mt FOB on the back of rising values at China. The market was previously observed at $145-$150/mt FOB.
Alberta:
Alberta sulfur indications firmed to (-)25-$90/mt FOB, up from (-)25-$80/mt FOB at last report.
West Coast:
West Coast prill market indications followed Vancouver up to $150-$160/mt FOB, above last week’s $145-$150/mt FOB range. Sources reported fourth-quarter contracts for molten tons loading from West Coast locations in the $75-$79/lt FOB range, below $370-$385/lt FOB in the third quarter.
China:
Refinery output at China averaged 13.80 million barrels/d for October, according to data compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and reported by Reuters, down slightly from 13.82 million barrels/d logged in September.
The NBS noted average throughput at 13.35 million barrels/d through the first 10 months of 2022, a 4.5% drop compared to last year. The decline was attributed to reduced production in response to COVID-related lockdowns occurring in the January-August 2022 period.
Players reported the China import sulfur market firming to $190-$195/mt CFR in recent trading, an increase from $180-$185/mt CFR in the prior report. Offers for the next round of business were noted lifting to $200-$220/mt CFR during the week.
ADNOC:
Solid sulfur offers from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. were heard at $140/mt FOB Ruwais for loading in November. October pricing was reported at $103/mt FOB, a $37/mt difference.
Qatar:
Muntajat prill offers for November were noted at $149/mt FOB Ras Laffan, up $45/mt from $104/mt FOB in the prior month.
US Gulf:
Gulf import price ideas remained at $100-$110/mt CFR, unmoved from one week earlier.
Brazil:
With nothing new reported, price ideas for sulfuric acid vessels imported to Brazil continued in the $120-$130/mt CFR range, unchanged from one week earlier.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Ammonium thiosulfate pricing remained in a broad range at $400-$450/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location and time of shipment.
Western Cornbelt:
Ammonium thiosulfate remained in a wide range at $350-$450/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low reported in Nebraska and the high in Iowa on a spot basis.
Northern Plains:
No current bids were confirmed for ammonium thiosulfate in the Northern Plains. The last business was reported at $435-$455/st FOB in the region, with the upper end in central North Dakota.
Eastern Canada:
The ammonium thiosulfate market remained at C$655-$740/mt FOB in Eastern Canada.
Cornbelt:
The NPSZ market remained at $850-$885/st FOB in the Cornbelt, depending on location.
Eastern Canada:
The SOP market in Eastern Canada remained at C$1,375-$1,480/mt FOB in mid-November, depending on location and supplier.
Eastern Canada:
The SOP Magnesia market was quoted at C$950-$1,020/mt FOB in Eastern Canada, depending on grade, location, and supplier, down C$15/mt at the high end of the range.
