Tampa: Sources were united in their perception of an exceptional “balance” present in the current domestic market. Supply was said to be steady, with neither shortages nor excesses seen in the marketplace.
As the calendar ticked closer to the third quarter, speculation naturally began to ramp up regarding the Tampa price of molten sulfur. While large sulfur consumers won’t open negotiations until the end of the month at the earliest, some sources predicted a modest price decline based on greater supply anticipated to hit the market.
BP’s multi-billion dollar Whiting, Ind., refinery expansion project, said to finally be producing, coupled with Syncrude’s return to production and reportedly operating at 100 percent capacity, were cited as supply-side factors that are likely to edge the market down.
In addition, the closure of PotashCorp’s Suwannee River phosphate plant at White Springs, Fla., will leave a substantial amount of previously spoken-for sulfur available in the marketplace.
Factors with the potential to minimize or even stem a third-quarter sulfur price decrease were continued strong phosphate demand, a stable sulfuric acid price, and international sulfur prices that have largely remained stable or risen over the previous two quarters.
U.S. refinery operating rates dropped for the week ending June 6, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA). Operating capacity fell 2.9 percent to 87.9 percent, down from the previous week’s 90.8 percent. The rate was still higher than last year’s 87.5 percent posted for the same week, but was short of the five-year average of 88.5 percent.
The second-quarter price of molten sulfur at Tampa was $133/lt.
U.S. Gulf: Sulfur sold from the Gulf Coast remained $130-$145/mt FOB.
U.S. Imports: April imports were off 35 percent, to 164,546 st from the year-ago 254,057 st. July-April imports were off 11 percent, to 1.74 million st from 1.96 million st.
Vancouver: The balanced nature of the domestic market extended to Vancouver, sources said, and virtually no spot activity was reported for the week.
Spot prices were unchanged at $135-$145/mt FOB. Second-quarter contract levels rose to $170-$190/mt FOB from the previously quoted $170-$175/mt FOB, though sources expected levels to follow the second-quarter spot price down for the third quarter.
Sulfur sold from Alberta remained steady at (-)$30-$85/mt.
West Coast: The price of West Coast sulfur was $125-$135/mt FOB.
Benelux: The Benelux sulfur price was $158-$172/mt for the second quarter.
ADNOC: ADNOC sulfur for June was $150/mt, $5/mt over the May price of $145/mt.