All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

Phosphoric Acid

Eastern Cornbelt, India, Market Watch, Phosphoric Acid, U.S. Exports, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Exports:

Wet-process phosphoric acid exports slipped 9.3 percent in July-August, to 43,658 st from the year-ago 48,140 st. August exports softened 87.5 percent, to 5,070 st from the year-ago 40,464 st.

Eastern Cornbelt:

The phos acid market for October was reported at $14.90/unit rail-DEL in Illinois and Wisconsin, and $15.05/unit rail-DEL in Ohio, up $1.55/unit from September.

Western Cornbelt:

Phos acid pricing for October was pegged at $14.80/unit rail-DEL in Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri, up $1.55/unit from September.

Southern Plains:

Phos acid pricing in the Southern Plains firmed $1.55/unit on Oct. 1, to $14.80/unit rail-DEL in Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming; $14.90/unit rail-DEL in Oklahoma and Texas; and $15.05/unit rail-DEL in Louisiana.

India:

Phosphoric acid sold into India was contracted at $1,160/mt P2O5 CFR for the current quarter, sources noted, up $162/mt from $998/mt CFR in the prior quarter.

Ammonium Polyphosphate

Ammonium Polyphosphate, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Southern Plains, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

Sources reported no current price quotes for 10-34-0 in the Eastern Cornbelt.

“We get limited product on a monthly basis, like everyone, and production problems have slowed shipment,” reported one source. “Plus it isn’t priced until right before shipment, so we and a lot of people have very little in inventory, thus are not offering, not knowing what the next price is.”

Western Cornbelt:

In the wake of the rapidly firming ammonia and phos acid markets, sources reported no 10-34-0 prices being offered in the region during the week.

Southern Plains:

The 11-37-0 market in Texas reportedly jumped from $690/st up to $750/st FOB early in the week, with 10-34-0 priced at a roughly $50/st discount to 11-37-0 in the Southern Plains, where available.

Muriate of Potash

Brazil, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Potash Muriate, South Central, Southeast, Southern Plains, U.S. Gulf, U.S. Imports, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf:

NOLA potash barges were reported in the $640-$675/st FOB range, up from the week-ago $615-$640/st FOB. Sources were talking about $680/st FOB for the next round of business.

U.S. Imports:

August MOP imports were off 2.5 percent, to 1.10 million st from 1.12 million st in the prior year. Imports were up 5.2 percent for July-August, however, to 2.27 million st from 2.16 million st.

Imports from Canada led the field for July-August at 1.88 million st, a 2.4 percent decline from the year-ago 1.93 million st. Russia added 138,289 st, a 1.9 percent increase from the prior-year 135,648 st, while material loading from Belarus was up 114.8 percent, to 140,966 st from 65,632 st during the same period last year.

Eastern Cornbelt:

The potash market had reportedly jumped to $695-$725/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, up another $45-$50/st from the prior week. The high was confirmed at Ottawa from some suppliers, with the Cincinnati market pegged at $695-$710/st FOB during the week.

Western Cornbelt:

Potash pricing jumped to $700-$715/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, up from the prior week’s $650-$690/st FOB range.

Southern Plains:

Potash pricing soared to $685-$745/st FOB in the Southern Plains, up from $640-$660/st FOB the previous week, with the low confirmed at Catoosa/Inola and the high at Houston. By midweek, sources said several Catoosa/Inola suppliers had reportedly pulled offers.

Intrepid raised its potash postings at Carlsbad, N.M., in late September. New levels include $675/st FOB for 60 percent white granular and $695/st FOB for 62 percent white standard, up from the previous list prices of $620/st for 60 percent white granular and $627/st for 62 percent white standard. The company told Green Markets on Oct. 7, however, that it has pulled its most recent pricing offers for potash while it assesses the changes in the market.

South Central:

The potash market had reportedly firmed to $680-$715/st FOB in the South Central region, with the low reported at Memphis and the high at Little Rock.

Southeast:

Potash was quoted at $630/st or higher FOB Wilmington for the last offers, while new pricing FOB Fairless Hills firmed to $720/st for Q4 tons.

Brazil:

The price for MOP at Paranagua settled to $780/mt CFR this week as more shipments begin unloading their cargoes.Sources said while more tons are beginning to arrive at the ports, the supplies inland are still lacking. The price at Rondonopolis moved up to $900-$952/mt FOB ex-warehouse.

The barter rate for 1 mt of MOP out of Sorriso moved to 103 bags of corn, up from 102 bags the week before.

Imports for January through September 2021 were up 9.5 percent, according to Trade Data Monitor, to 9 million mt from 8.2 million mt during the same period last year.

Third-quarter imports for this year were up 13 percent, to 4 million mt from the 3.5 million mt imported in the third quarter of 2020.September 2021 imports jumped 35 percent, to 1.2 million mt from 897,000 mt imported in September 2020.

Sulfur

ADNOC - Abu Dhabi, Alberta, Brazil, China, Market Watch, Qatar, Sulfur, Tampa, U.S. Exports, U.S. Gulf, U.S. Imports, Vancouver, West Coast

Tampa:

Genscape on Oct. 5 reported multiple unit restarts at the PBF Energy refinery in Toledo, Ohio, including a sulfur recovery unit (SRU), a 94,000 barrel/d crude distillation unit (CDU), and a 30,000 barrel/d catalytic reformer. Operational ramp-ups of an 82,000 barrel/d fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCC) and a 52,000 barrel/d hydrocracker were ongoing. The facility was noted experiencing a plant-wide shutdown on Oct. 2.

Fourth-quarter Tampa molten contracts were pegged at $183/lt CFR, a $12/lt decline from $195/lt CFR in the third quarter.

Refining capacity in the U.S. increased for the week, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Refiners operated at a combined 89.6 percent capacity for the week ending Oct. 1, a 1.5-point increase from the prior week’s 88.1 percent, and also leading both the year-ago 77.1 percent and the 85.9 percent five-year average.

Daily crude inputs also moved up, the EIA noted, lifting to an average 15.744 million barrels/d, a 329,000 barrel/d increase from 15.415 million barrels/d at last report.

U.S. Imports:

Sulfur imports were up 25.6 percent for the July-August period, to 719,419 st versus the year-ago 572,774 st. Import totals were up 16.0 percent in August, to 259,322 st from 223,577 st in August 2020.

U.S. Exports:

August sulfur exports fell 61.1 percent year-over-year, to 68,402 st from 175,732 st. July-August volumes dropped 57.3 percent, to 121,114 st from 283,418 st noted one year earlier.

U.S. Gulf:

Phillips 66 has signaled an intent to repair and restart operations at its hurricane-damaged Alliance, La., refinery, Reuters reported. The 255,000 barrel/d facility was among those hardest hit by Hurricane Ida, suffering widespread flooding throughout the facility following a break in the refinery’s floodwall.

The company was reportedly considering a permanent shutdown of the facility due to the enormous cost of repairs. Reduced availability of electricity has hindered the cleanup so far, slowing efforts to pump out water from flooded areas. In total, repairs have been estimated to require up to seven months.

An oil leak reported at the Marathon refinery in Galveston Bay, Texas, on Oct. 6 was expected to be fully controlled by 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 7, Bloomberg reported. A failed valve flange was noted releasing crude oil into a containment dike starting around 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 6. An estimated 5,000 pounds of material were expected to discharge in the incident.

Genscape reported the successful restart of a 174,000 barrel/d CDU and an 85,000 barrel/d vacuum distillation unit (VDU) at the Citgo refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Sept. 30. The units were noted going offline on Sept. 29 following a round of heavy flaring.

Price ideas in the Gulf export market continued to be heard in the $190-$200/mt FOB range, steady from the prior report.

Brazil:

Last-done Brazil spot prill imports were noted at $244-$246/mt CFR for the week, unmoved from the prior report. Sources reported fourth-quarter contracts at $234/mt CFR, up from $221-$223/mt CFR reported for the prior quarter.

Vancouver:

Market players reported recent Vancouver values in the $180-$192/mt FOB range, unmoved from one week earlier.

Alberta:

Alberta sulfur netbacks remained in the $68-$122/mt FOB range for the week.

West Coast:

Price ideas on West Coast prills continued at $180-$192/mt FOB, unchanged from week-ago levels.Molten sulfur contracts stood at a reported $160-$170/lt FOB for the fourth quarter, rising from $150-$155/lt FOB in the prior period.

China:

With the China markets effectively shut on Oct. 1-7 due to the country’s national Golden Week holiday, spot sulfur values continued at the week-ago $230-$240/mt CFR level, sources said.

ADNOC:

Solid sulfur loading from the UAE was noted firming to $193/mt FOB Ruwais in October, a $13/mt increase from $180/mt FOB in September.

Qatar:

Muntajat prills were posted at $192/mt FOB Ras Laffan for loading in October. Pricing was noted at $178/mt FOB in September, a $14/mt difference.

Sulfuric Acid

Brazil, Gulf Coast, Market Watch, Midwest, Sulfuric Acid, U.S. Exports, U.S. Gulf, U.S. Imports

U.S. Gulf:

Sulfuric acid price ideas in the U.S. Gulf were reported at $245-$250/mt CFR.

U.S. Imports:

Sulfuric acid imports were down 15.4 percent in August, to 298,046 st from the year-ago 352,111 st. July-August totals dipped 11.5 percent, to 628,033 st from the prior-year 709,586 st.

U.S. Exports:

Export totals for August were up 308.5 percent year-over-year, to 74,765 st from 18,304 st. July-August shipments rose 143.2 percent, to 104,027 st from 42,769 st reported one year earlier.

Gulf Coast:

Material delivered to the Gulf Coast was quoted in the $85-$110/st DEL range for 2021 contracts.

Midwest:

Annual Midwest market pricing remained even with the Gulf Coast at $85-$110/st DEL.

West Coast:

West Coast contracts for the current year were noted at $100-$130/st DEL.

Brazil:

Brazil spot vessel pricing was quoted at $250-$255/mt CFR for the week.

Ammonium Thiosulfate

Amthio, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, South Central, Southern Plains, Specialty, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

The low end of the ammonium thiosulfate market was quoted at $395/st FOB Terre Haute, Ind., for limited prepay offers, with the order window closed by the end of the week. The Cincinnati market had reportedly firmed to $425-$430/st FOB for new offers.

Western Cornbelt:

The ammonium thiosulfate market was pegged at $375/st FOB Waterloo, Iowa, for limited prepay offers, but sources said the order window closed as the week progressed.

Southern Plains:

New ammonium thiosulfate pricing from IOC on Oct. 1 included $350/st FOB Houston and $410/st FOB Lubbock, Texas.

South Central:

The last ammonium thiosulfate prices were quoted by Kentucky sources at $425/st FOB Ohio River terminals. No current offers were confirmed at Memphis in early October.

Calcium Ammonium Nitrate

Benelux, Calcium Ammonium Nitrate, Germany, Market Watch, Specialty

Germany/Benelux:

Yara on Oct. 4 posted new list prices for November deliveries of CAN-27 (YaraBelaNitromag) in Germany and Benelux. The new prices are set at €468/mt bulk CIF for both destinations, up €60/mt from Yara’s Sept. 27 list prices, which were pulled a couple of days after posting (GM Oct. 1, p. 19).

Yara has also announced new list prices for November deliveries of its YaraBelaSulfan product to Germany and Benelux. The postings are €478.50/mt bulk CIF for Germany and €480/mt bulk CIF for Benelux. The new prices are also up €60/mt from Yara’s Sept. 27 postings for November deliveries of YaraBelaSulfan to the two destinations.

Sulfate of Potash

Iran, Market Watch, Southeast, Specialty, Sulfate of Potash, U.S. Exports, U.S. Imports

U.S. Imports:

July-August SOP imports firmed 520.7 percent year-over-year, to 45,249 st from 7,290 st. August imports moved up 925.3 percent, to 42,665 st from the year-ago 4,161 st.

U.S. Exports:

August exports were noted at 2,705 st, up 32.3 percent from the year-ago 2,045 st. Exports totaled 3,818 st in July-August, however, off 28.9 percent from the year-ago 5,367 st.

Southeast:

SOP pricing in the Florida market jumped to $750/st FOB for all grades, up $75/st from last report.

Iran:

Agricultural Support Services Co. (ASSC) has issued a tender for the supply of 2×40,000 mt of granular SOP. The tender closes on Oct. 11, and submissions will be opened the following day at 2:00 p.m. local time.

Iran has imported only 9,764 mt of SOP this year through August, according to Trade Data Monitor, down sharply from 44,554 during the same period in 2020. China remains the top supplier to Iran, but its share has been declining and is reflective of China’s reduced SOP exports.

Iran imported 3,695 mt of SOP from China during the first eight months of the year, accounting for 38 percent of total imports. Imports from China during the same period last year totaled 40,733 mt, or 91 percent of the total, according to Trade Data Monitor.

Germany, Italy, and Turkey accounted for much of the balance in the same periods. Egyptian SOP imports have been absent in Iran so far this year.

SOP Magnesia

Market Watch, Southeast, Southern Plains, Specialty, Sulfate of Potash Magnesia

Southern Plains:

Intrepid’s reference prices for Trio remained at $370/st for standard, $405/st for granular, $420/st for premium, $445/st for OMRI standard and fine standard, and $480/st for OMRI granular. The company reportedon Oct. 7, however, that it had pulled its most recent pricing offers for Trio while it assesses the changes in the market.

Southeast:

No current pricing was reported for SOP Magnesia in Florida in early October.