U.S. Gulf:
Sources continued to note last-done NOLA TSP barges in the $850-$860/st FOB range, unchanged from the prior report. New offers heard rising to $875/st FOB hinted at possible firming in the next round of business, sources said.
Western Cornbelt:
TSP pricing remained at $895-$935/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location.
U.S. Imports:
Phosphate rock imports for July-February were off 7.1 percent, to 1.99 million st from the prior year’s 2.14 million st. February imports were down 21.9 percent, to 227,407 st from 291,201 st in February 2021.
Russia:
Acron Group said its subsidiary, North-Western Phosphorous Co., will increase its apatite concentrate output to 1.3 million mt at the OleniyRuchey mine in northwest Russia by the end of this year, up from 1.25 million mt in 2021, due to continuing upgrades of equipment.
Last year, the Oleniy Ruchey mine extracted 6.6 million mt of ore, 1 million mt more than in 2020, according to the Russian fertilizer group. Acron Group consumes around 0.95 million mt/y of the apatite concentrate produced in-house.
Eastern Cornbelt:
April pricing for phos acid remained at the $17.50/unit rail-DEL level in the Eastern Cornbelt.
Western Cornbelt:
Phos acid prices were steady at $17.50/unit rail-DEL in the Western Cornbelt for April tons.
Northern Plains:
Phos acid pricing for April shipment was quoted at $17.50/unit rail-DEL in the Northern Plains.
India:
The India phos acid contract continued to be reported at $1,530/mt P2O5 CFR for the first quarter. Firming values were expected in the next round of contracting.
Bangladesh:
BCIC closes a tender for the purchase of 30,000 mt of 52-54 percent P2O5 phos acid on May 24. The tender calls for the shipment in three lots of 10,000 mt each for delivery to Chittagong. The tender document does not specify the shipment schedule.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The 10-34-0 market was steady at $900-$910/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt at mid-month, with the low confirmed at Cincinnati.
Western Cornbelt:
Sources continued to report limited 10-34-0 offers in the $900-$910/st FOB range in the Western Cornbelt.
Northern Plains:
10-34-0 pricing remained at the $910-$920/st FOB level in the Northern Plains for spring tons, with similar prices noted for delivered tons in North Dakota.
Northeast:
The 10-34-0 market was quoted at $900/st FOB terminals in upstate New York, down $40/st from last report.
U.S. Gulf:
NOLA potash barges continued to be called $775-$820/st FOB.
U.S. Imports:
MOP imports for February moved down 13.5 percent, to 1.06 million st from 1.23 million st in February 2021. Imports totaled 8.96 million st in the July-February period, however, lifting 1.0 percent from the prior year’s 8.88 million st.
July-February imports loading from Canada totaled 7.45 million st, followed by Russia at 596,559 st and Belarus at 565,355 st.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Potash pricing in the Eastern Cornbelt was reported at $800-$820/st FOB during the week, depending on location, with the Cincinnati market quoted at the $815/st FOB level.
Western Cornbelt:
Potash pricing remained at $800-$825/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending in location, with the St. Louis market pegged in the $810-$825/st FOB range.
Northern Plains:
Sources quoted potash pricing at $800-$820/st FOB St. Paul at mid-month. The latest prices FOB Saskatchewan mines for 2Q tons were reported at $728-$740/st after netbacks, depending on grade and destination. No current delivered potash prices were confirmed in the Northern Plains.
Northeast:
Potash pricing was pegged at $800/st FOB Baltimore, $805/st FOB East Liverpool, and up to $900/st FOB Fairless Hills for April-June tons.
Eastern Canada:
Potash pricing in Eastern Canada firmed to a broad C$1,050-$1,108/mt FOB range for 2Q shipment, depending on grade and location, up from the last reported C$1,040-$1,056/mt FOB level.
India:
RCF closes a tender for 105,000 mt of white/pink standard potash on April 26, having earlier extended the closing to April 19 (GM April 15, p. 15; April 8, p. 15). RCF was reported not to have received a single offer into its tender as of the earlier close.
National Fertilizers Ltd. (NFL) is also closing its Request for Proposals (RFP) on April 26 for entering into a long-term agreement/MOU with producers for the supply of potash during FY2022/23. The deadline was extended from April 11. NFL is looking for firm quantities of 200,000 mt of standard pink/red potash.
Bangladesh:
The Ministry of Agriculture is understood to have closed a tender this week for around 250,000 mt of standard potash for delivery in the first weeks of the country’s new fiscal year, which begins on July 1.
China:
January-March imports of MOP were reported at 2.1 million mt, down from the 2.6 million mt imported during the same period last year, according to Trade Data Monitor.
March imports totaled 642,000 mt, about 43 percent lower than the March 2021 imports of 1.1 million mt. Belarus, Russia, and Canada remain the main suppliers for China, with Belarus supplying almost half of the MOP received in March. Laos jumped dramatically in its influence in China, with March 2022 imports reported at 70,000 mt, accounting for 11 percent of all MOP imports. In March 2021, Laos only supplied 3 percent of MOP imports.
South Korea:
January-March imports of MOP were reported at 81,000 mt by Trade Data Monitor, down from the 189,000 mt imported during the first quarter of 2021.
March imports of 79,000 mt were up 84 percent from March 2021 imports of 43,000 mt. Israel supplied 56 percent of the March imports at 44,000 mt, followed by Canada at 27,000 mt, for 34 percent of imports.
Brazil:
Prices of MOP softened marginally to $1,150-$1,250/mt CFR. Sources said the presence of Israeli product pushed the lower end of the range down.
Sources said there is limited talk about buying plans for the second half of the year. Buyers are concerned that the tons they want and need may not be available because of the sanctions against Russia and Belarus. Even with some tons still in the supply pipeline, sources said few regional buyers see Russia as a reliable source of MOP for the rest of the year.
Rondonopolis pricing was steady at $1,300-$1,360/mt FOB ex-warehouse. Buying is limited to just what is needed for immediate delivery.
Tampa:
Second-quarter contracts for molten sulfur delivered to Tampa were valued at $481/lt CFR, up $199/lt from $282/lt CFR in the prior period.
U.S. refining capacity firmed to 91.0 percent for the week ending April 15, up 1.0 percent from the prior week’s 90.0 percent rate and the sector’s highest run rate reported for the third week of April since 2017, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported. The current rate tracked above both the year-ago 85.0 percent and the 84.9 percent five-year average.
Daily crude inputs also pushed higher, the EIA said, lifting to an average 15.717 million barrels/d for the week, up 194,000 barrel/d from the prior week’s 15.523 million barrels/d rate.
U.S. Imports:
February sulfur imports totaled 215,628 st, off 13.1 percent from the year-ago 248,007 st. July-February volumes were counted at 2.20 million st, an 8.8 percent decrease from the prior year’s 2.41 million st.
U.S. Gulf:
Players noted increasing sulfur inventories at locations along the U.S. Gulf, leading some to suggest the build-up could lead to rising exports out of the region. Others believed the mounting inventories were largely confined to Louisiana, however, describing the tons as a marker of increased local supply and unlikely to find their way to the export market.
Gulf pricing continued to be noted in the $460-$480/mt FOB range, steady from one week earlier.
Brazil:
Sources noted last-done Brazil in a wide $510-$530/mt CFR range, unmoved from the prior report. Second-quarter Brazil contracts were reported in at $480-$485/mt CFR.
Vancouver:
Vancouver prill pricing was noted firming to the $405-$415/mt FOB range, up from $400-$410/mt FOB one week earlier.
Alberta:
Alberta sulfur netbacks lifted in line with Vancouver to an indicated $335-$411/mt FOB range, up from $330-$411/mt FOB at last report. Tons selling offshore from the Vancouver export market were expected to trend toward the bottom of the range.
West Coast:
West Coast spot tons followed Vancouver higher to $405-$415/mt FOB, up from $400-$410/mt FOB reported previously. Molten sulfur loading from locations on the West Coast were quoted in the $375-$390/lt FOB range for the second quarter, up from $230-$245/lt FOB in 1Q.
China:
Market watchers noted rising values in the China spot sulfur market, quoting recent prices in the $470-$475/mt CFR range, above the week-ago $465-$470/mt CFR.
ADNOC:
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. prills were heard at $420/mt FOB Ruwais for April loading, up $85/mt FOB from $335/mt FOB in March.
Qatar:
April solid sulfur loadings from Qatar stood at $430/mt FOB Ras Laffan, players said, a $97/mt increase on the March price of $333/mt FOB.
U.S. Gulf:
Gulf import price ideas were noted lifting to the $265-$270/mt CFR range, up $5/mt from $260-$265/mt CFR reported previously.
U.S. Imports:
February sulfuric acid imports totaled 219,689 st, down 14.4 percent from the year-ago 256,616 st. July-February volumes were counted at 2.30 million st, a 14.7 percent decrease from the prior year’s 2.70 million st.
Gulf Coast:
In the U.S. Gulf Coast rail-DEL market, annual contracts were quoted in the $195-$230/st range for 2022.
Midwest:
Midwest annual agreements ran even with the Gulf Coast at $195-$230/st DEL, players said.
West Coast:
Sources reported West Coast sulacid contracts in the $185-$220/st DEL range for contract-year 2022.
Brazil:
Price ideas on sulfuric acid delivered to Brazil were heard in the $275-$280/mt CFR range, up from $270-$275/mt CFR at last report.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The ammonium thiosulfate market remained at $685-$720/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, depending on location, with the Cincinnati price quoted at the $700/st FOB level.
Western Cornbelt:
Ammonium thiosulfate pricing was steady at $685-$725/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the high reported in the Iowa market on a spot basis.
Northern Plains:
The ammonium thiosulfate market was unchanged at $675/st FOB in North Dakota on a spot basis.
Eastern Canada:
The ammonium thiosulfate market was reported in a broad range at C$879-$970/mt FOB in Eastern Canada, depending on location and supplier.
Cornbelt:
The NPSZ market was reported in a broad range at $1,025-$1,070/st FOB in the Cornbelt, depending on location.
U.S. Imports:
February SOP imports were noted at 8,530 st, up 135.6 percent from 3,620 st in February 2021. July-February totals stood at 113,807 st, up 39.0 percent from the prior year’s 81,890 st.
Eastern Canada:
The SOP market was essentially unchanged at C$1,395-$1,400/mt FOB in Eastern Canada in mid-April.
