U.S. Gulf:
The TSP barge market was noted softening to $690-$695/st FOB, below the prior week’s $690-$700/st FOB range.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The TSP market was pegged at $725-$745/st FOB Cincinnati, down $10/st at the high end of the range.
Western Cornbelt:
The TSP market remained at $770-$775/st FOB in Missouri.
Eastern Cornbelt:
August phos acid postings in the Eastern Cornbelt remained at $14.00/unit rail-DEL.
Western Cornbelt:
Phos acid prices were steady at $14.00/unit rail-DEL in the Western Cornbelt for August tons.
Northern Plains:
Phos acid pricing for August shipments remained at $14.00/unit rail-DEL in the Northern Plains, unchanged from July.
India:
Contracts for the sale of phosphoric acid from Jordan to buyers in India were quoted at $1,715/mt P2O5 CFR for the second and third quarters, a $185/mt hike from $1,530/mt P2O5 CFR in the first quarter.
Eastern Cornbelt:
10-34-0 pricing was unchanged at $665-$675/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt.
Western Cornbelt:
10-34-0 prices were pegged at the $665/st FOB level in the Western Cornbelt for fill tons.
Northern Plains:
10-34-0 offers in the Northern Plains continued to be reported at $665-$700/st FOB in late August.
Northeast:
The10-34-0 market in New York was quoted at $725/st FOB in late August, unchanged from last report.
U.S. Gulf:
NOLA potash barges were reported to be on the table at $645/st, down from the week-ago $670-$680/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The potash market was quoted at $715-$745/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, down from the last reported range of $740-$760/st FOB, with both the high and low end of the range confirmed at Cincinnati during the week.
Western Cornbelt:
Potash was quoted at $710-$740/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the upper end confirmed in the Iowa market. St. Louis potash prices were pegged at $710-$730/st FOB in late August.
Northern Plains:
Sources quoted potash pricing at $730-$750/st FOB and $770-$775/st rail-DEL in the Northern Plains. The latest prices FOB Saskatchewan mines were reported at $728-$740/st after netbacks, depending on grade and destination.
Northeast:
The potash market was pegged at $720-$750/st FOB in the Northeast, with the low confirmed at East Liverpool. Rail-DEL pricing was reported at the $775/st level in Pennsylvania.
Eastern Canada:
The potash market in Eastern Canada reportedly firmed to C$1,056-$1,110/mt FOB warehouses, with the upper end reflecting an increase for post-fill offers.
China:
Imports of MOP for January-July 2022 were reported at 4.8 million mt by Trade Data Monitor, down 7% from the 5.1 million mt imported during the same period in 2021.The main suppliers for China are Russia, Belarus, and Canada. Of the 4.8 million mt imported so far this year, those three accounted for 3.7 million mt of the total volumes.
July 2022 imports were reported at 693,000 mt, up from 547,000 mt in July 2021.
Brazil:
The price of MOP tightened to $800-$860/mt CFR in Brazil. Sources said the full warehouses and steady stream of vessels with cargo are providing a downward push on prices.
Following the imposition of sanctions on Belarus by the US and then the Russian invasion of Ukraine – two major suppliers of potash to Brazil – buyers picked up what they could at higher prices. With Russia sending Brazil all the potash it needs, warehouses are now full of product purchased at prices higher than current levels.
One international trader commented that eventually there will be a “night of the long knives,” when holders of the product face financial losses to clear out their holdings.
Rondonopolis is reported at $910-$970/mt FOB ex-warehouse. Full warehouses remain an issue for local distributors. One possible ray of sunshine for the Brazilian market is that if the Chinese crop production is down because of the drought and high temperatures, China may turn to Brazil for its soy and corn. If that happens, the ratio between crops and fertilizer might improve enough to ease some of the pain in the market.
Tampa:
Genscape reported restarts from a 53,000 barrel/d crude distillation unit (CDU), a 16,000 barrel/d vacuum distillation unit (VDU), and the 11,000 barrel/d Reformer 1 catalytic reformer at the Marathon St. Paul Park, Minn., refinery on Aug. 20. The units had been offline since July 24 for planned maintenance. A 20,000 barrel/d hydrotreater restarted on Aug. 22, signaling the return of all monitored units from the turnaround.
Activity increases were observed on Aug. 21 from the 189,000 barrel/d CDU and a 71,000 barrel/d VDU at the Citgo refinery in Lemont, Ill., although the units remained below normal operational levels. The CDU and VDU were taken offline for planned maintenance on July 12.
BP’s Whiting, Ind., refinery suffered an electrical fire on Aug. 24, multiple news outlets reported, forcing the shutdown of a number of units. Genscape confirmed outages at the plant’s 255,000 barrel/d Pipestill 12 CDU, the 70,000 barrel/d Pipestill 11A CDU, a 70,000 barrel/d catalytic reformer, and a 24,000 barrel/d hydrotreater.
Third-quarter Tampa molten sulfur contracts were reported at $352/lt CFR, falling $129/lt from $481/lt CFR in the prior period.
Refinery capacity ticked up for the week ending Aug. 19, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported, with utilization described at a combined 93.8% for the period, up from 93.5% posted previously. The current rate topped the year-ago 92.4% and the 92.3% five-year average.
Daily crude inputs moved lower, however, to an average 16.255 million barrels/d for the period, a 168,000 barrel/d decrease from 16.423 million barrels/d in the prior report.
U.S. Gulf:
Marathon briefly suffered a complete shutdown at the company’s Garyville, La., refinery on Aug. 20, according to Genscape. The facility was observed successfully restarting one day later on Aug. 21.
LyondellBasell Ind. took a 57,000 barrel/d coker offline at its Houston, Texas, refinery during the morning of Aug. 22. A 149,000 barrel/d CDU and an associated 96,000 barrel/d VDU were shut for planned maintenance on Aug. 11.
A 110,000 barrel/d hydrotreater was noted going offline on Aug. 19 at the Valero Texas City, Texas, refinery.
Sources reported rising values on the US Gulf sulfur market during the week, with at least two cargoes reported changing hands. The first, a 10,000-12,000 mt payload slated for first-half September lifting, was quoted trading at $39/mt FOB, an increase from the market’s prior $10/mt FOB low. Players described an additional 10,000 mt vessel changing hands at $56/mt FOB, above the week-ago $50/mt FOB high. That cargo was also planned to load in September.
Based on reported trades, the Gulf sulfur market firmed to $39-$56/mt FOB, up from $10-$50/mt FOB in the prior report.
Brazil:
No new business was reported out of Brazil during the week, leaving price ideas unmoved from the previous $90-$100/mt CFR level.
Players offered widely variable outlooks regarding the market’s next turn. A recent tender in Argentina rumored to attract offers in the $130-$140s/mt CFR suggested Brazil pricing in the $120s-$130s/mt CFR, some argued. Others pointed to recent US Gulf FOB levels, extrapolating Brazil values closer to the $70-$80s/mt CFR.
Vancouver:
Last-done pricing out of Vancouver was reported up to $70-$75/mt FOB for the week, with most business heard tracking toward the upper end of the range. Further increases at China were expected to apply additional upside pressure in the next round of business. The market was last noted at $65-$70/mt FOB.
Alberta:
Alberta sulfur was indicated netting back in a wide $0-$282/mt FOB range, up from the last reported (-)$5-$282/mt FOB level.
West Coast:
West Coast sulfur pricing moved up in tandem with Vancouver to $70-$75/mt FOB, lifting from $65-$70/mt FOB in the prior report. Third-quarter molten sulfur contracts were reported at $370-$385/lt FOB. Contracts were noted at 375-$390/lt FOB in the second quarter.
China:
The China import market started the week at $110/mt CFR, nudging up from the week-ago $105-$110/mt CFR. Sources reported new business concluding around the $125/mt CFR mark on Aug. 25, leaving values in the $110-$125/mt CFR range for the full week.
ADNOC:
ADNOC prill levels were noted at $85/mt FOB Ruwais for August, down from $428/mt FOB in the prior period.
Qatar:
Solid sulfur offerings from Muntajat were heard at $77/mt FOB Ras Laffan for August, falling 82% from $428/mt FOB offered in July.
U.S. Gulf:
Based on available freights and FOB offers from applicable markets, price ideas for delivery to the US Gulf were seen falling below the $200/mt CFR mark, down from $260-$270/mt CFR at last report.
Gulf Coast:
Gulf Coast sulacid contracts were priced in the $195-$280/st DEL range for 2022 annual contracts, sources said.
Midwest:
Midwest agreements were valued even with the Gulf Coast at $195-$280/st DEL for the full 2022 contract period.
West Coast:
Annual West Coast contracts were tagged in the $185-$270/st DEL range for current-year deals.
Brazil:
Price ideas on Brazil sulfuric acid imports were heard in the $200-$210/mt CFR range, below the previously reported $270-$280/mt CFR level.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Ammonium thiosulfate pricing slipped to $390-$435/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low confirmed for fill offers at Cincinnati.
Western Cornbelt:
Ammonium thiosulfate in the Western Cornbelt was pegged at $400-$435/st FOB for spot fill ton offers in late August.
Northern Plains:
The ammonium thiosulfate market ranged broadly at $435-$610/st FOB in the Northern Plains, with the low reported for fill offers in Minnesota and the high for the last prompt business in central and eastern North Dakota.
Eastern Canada:
The ammonium thiosulfate market was unchanged at C$655-$705/mt FOB in Eastern Canada.
Cornbelt:
The NPSZ market fell to $850-$870/st FOB in the Cornbelt in late August, depending on location.
Eastern Canada:
The SOP market remained at C$1,395-$1,400/mt FOB in Eastern Canada in late August.
Eastern Canada:
The SOP Magnesia market slipped to C$950-$995/mt FOB in Eastern Canada, depending on grade, location, and supplier, with the low end reflecting a C$35/st drop from last report.
