Potassium thiosulfate pricing was unchanged at $730/st FOB Terre Haute, Ind., for the last confirmed offers
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Sulfur
Tampa:
Third-quarter Tampa molten sulfur contracts settled at $55/lt CFR, falling $48/lt from the second-quarter $103/lt CFR contract, a 46.6% decline. Players described the updated contract as a reflection of the current market, while others expressed surprised at the steep declines reported this year.
US Imports:
Sulfur imports for May moved 22.3% lower year-over-year, to 188,533 st from 242,720 st. July-May exports softened 14.0%, to 2.52 million st from 2.93 million st in the prior-year period. Cargoes shipped from Canada totaled 1.31 million in July-May, followed by Mexico with 259,170 st. Iraq sent 199,309 st, narrowly beating 196,298 st from Saudi Arabia.
US Exports:
May sulfur exports totaled 60,331 st, a 40.9% decrease from the year-ago 102,056 st. Exports firmed to 1.88 million st in July-May, however, up 30.3% from 1.44 million st in the prior July-May. US sellers sent 931,568 st to Brazil in the fertilizer year-to-date, followed by 433,774 st to Mexico and 166,084 st to New Caledonia.
US Gulf:
US Gulf prices remained stable at $57-$61/mt FOB, unchanged from the prior report.
Brazil:
The CMOC tender was expected to land pricing around $80-$90/mt CFR, sources said. Demand from other importers for second-half August arrival carried buyer expectations of pricing in the $70-$75/mt CFR range, though some players described that level as below the current market.
Vancouver:
Prices continued at the week-ago $60-$70/mt FOB level.
Alberta:
Alberta prices softened to an estimated (-)$60-$0/mt FOB, falling from the prior (-)$12-33/mt FOB range. Molten sulfur cargoes contracted into the US market set the low end of the range, while solid tons sold internationally through the Vancouver export market were responsible for the high.
West Coast:
West Coast prills were indicated on par with Vancouver in the $60-$70/mt FOB range, unchanged from the prior report.
Molten sulfur contracts for loading in the third quarter were reported at $45-$50/lt FOB, falling from $98-$106/lt FOB in the prior period.
China:
Prices at China increased $10/mt to $90-$95/mt CFR, matching levels seen just three weeks earlier.
ADNOC:
Prilled sulfur produced by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) was contracted at $65/mt Ruwais for the third quarter, sources said, while the posted price for June continued at $86/mt FOB Ruwais. No new price posting was reported for July.
Qatar:
Muntajat solid sulfur cargoes were posted at $63/mt FOB Ras Laffan for July loading, a 26.7% drop from $86/mt FOB in June.
Sulfuric Acid
US Gulf:
With no changes reported, sources continued to estimate the US Gulf spot market in the $55-$65/mt CFR range.
US Imports:
July-May sulfuric acid imports softened 5.1% year-over-year, to 3.14 million st from 3.32 million st. May imports were 291,964 st, however, up 6.4% from the year-ago 274,300 st. July-May imports from Canada totaled 1.82 million st, followed by Mexico with 627,123 st. Spain sent 246,952 st.
US Exports:
Sulfuric acid exports for May stood at 18,594 st, falling 42.0% from the year-ago 32,049 st. July-May exports totaled 842,128 st, however, up 174.4% from 306,918 st logged in the previous July-May. July-May exports to Mexico totaled 535,211 st, ahead of 148,022 st to Canada. Saudi Arabia took 112,647 st.
Brazil:
Despite reports of length beginning to appear in the Northwest Europe market, Brazil prices remained at $70-$75/mt CFR, unchanged from last week. Players continued to describe balanced fundamentals in Brazil.
MMTC Releases Urea Tender Numbers
Ameropa came in with the lowest prices in the MMTC urea tender for East Coast and West Coast deliveries at $356.99/mt CFR and $358.99/mt CFR, respectively. The lowest price from a producer was $348/mt FOB from PIC. Sources had expected prices to be in the mid-$360s/mt CFR going into the tender. The lowest offered prices reflect a drop of $23/mt for East Coast deliveries and a $21/mt drop for West Coast deliveries. All told, 2.2 million mt to 2.58 million mt were offered in the tender. Sources still expect to see MMTC take more than 1 million mt with Chinese urea dominating the supply.
K+S Secures New Injection Permit
K+S Group said today the Kassel Regional Council has granted the company a new permit under the water law, providing the Werra and Neuhof-Ellers plants with further security for the production of mineral fertilizers and high-purity salt products. The previous permit expires at the end of this year.
The new permit is initially limited until the end of 2021. An amendment to the previous injection permit concerns the lowering of the limit value for chloride from 2,500 to 2,400 milligrams/liter by the approvals authority, advancing a reduction in the salt concentration planned by K+S by one year, the company said.
Ammonia Accident at IFFCO in UP
There are multiple reports of an ammonia leak at an IFFCO plant in Uttar Pradesh indicating two fatalities and up to 16 injuries.
A tweet from IFFCO CEO US Awasthi on Wednesday indicated the accident occurred yesterday around 10:30 pm due to a mechanical failure at the Phulpur unit in Prayagraj. The two deaths were employees who fought to contain the accident.
DOC Corrects Math, Amends OCP’s Ad Valorem Rate
The U.S. Commerce Department amended OCP’s preliminary ad valorem rate down to 16.88% in a memo filed on December 21. The DOC had initially calculated the OCP Group subsidy rate at 23.46%.
The reduction was in response to a November 30 filing alleging that Commerce made significant ministerial errors in the Preliminary Determination with respect to OCP’s subsidy rate.
Mosaic’s shares were trading down 4.88% today at $22.01 per share. ITC Final Determinations are scheduled for January 21, 2021.
K+S Partners With Remex On Waste Management
K+S Aktiengesellschaft and Remex GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Remondis SE & Co. KG, have agreed today to bundle their waste management activities in a new joint venture, REKS GmbH & Co. KG, in which both companies are equal partners each with 50 percent participation.
The contribution of the K+S stakes to ‘REKS’, which is to be consolidated at equity, will enable K+S to realize a significant book gain, while at the same time generating a cash inflow of about €90 million before taxes with closing, said K+S.
The transaction remains subject to antitrust authorities’ approval, with transaction closing expected in summer 2021.
Canpotex Fully Committed On Sales Into February
Due to continued strong demand for potash in key offshore markets, Canpotex has said it is fully committed on volumes for potash sales for shipment into February 2021. This demand is being strongly supported by solid fundamentals for agricultural commodities in numerous growing regions, with the focus on food security continuing in a number of Canpotex’s offshore markets, the export organization said.
Nutrien Announces Another Potash Price Increase
Nutrien Ltd. announced late on Nov. 12 that its Midwest terminal dealer reference prices for potash are moving to $285-$290/st FOB, and its NOLA barge price to $255/st FOB. The Midwest change reflects a $20/st increase from Nutrien’s Oct. 26 postings, and a $50/st increase from summer fill levels.
“Nutrien is getting close to fully committed on potash orders for the rest of the year, and on this basis announces a $20/st price increase effective immediately for all new orders and not guaranteed for delivery before Dec. 15,” the company said. “Nutrien has been overwhelmed by fall season demand, with all customers exceeding their forecasts.”