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.