Tampa: Sources noted a slow week thanks to the Friday holiday. “My phone hasn’t rang in over an hour,” said one trader.
Third-quarter negotiations for the price of molten sulfur delivered to Tampa had largely been put on hold thanks to an abundance of vacation days taken industry-wide. Talking points have purportedly centered on current supply and demand conditions worldwide, which in North America meant strong drive-time production from refineries and newly resumed shipments from Alberta Oil Sands-based producers buttressing market quantities.
Rising international prices have factored in as well, sources said, with one point of contention centering on the sustainability of those ballooning levels.
Negotiators for domestic end-users have reportedly argued that international price increases are the result of trader-to-trader speculative sales rather than actual end-user demand, and therefore are a nonfactor in determining prices closer to home. Suppliers, however, are likely to push for domestic increases to edge levels closer to parity with the international markets.
U.S. refinery operating capacity spiked for the week ending June 27, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA), as a greater number of refineries completed the shift into summer drive time gasoline production.
The USEIA put refinery utilization at 91.4 percent, a jump of 2.9 percent from the previous week’s 88.5 percent. The rate was lower than the 92.2 percent recorded for the same week in 2013, but beat the five-year average of 90.4 percent.
The second-quarter price of sulfur delivered to Tampa was $133/lt.
U.S. Gulf: The Gulf export market remained in a range of $130-$140/mt FOB, though suppliers expected short-term sales to push levels closer to $135-$145/mt FOB.
Vancouver: Rising international levels were reportedly keeping prices firm at Vancouver, where sources said Chinese bidders represented a hefty percentage of current demand. Prices were steady in a range of $140-$160/mt FOB.
The price of sulfur shipped from Alberta was pegged in a wide range at (-)$20-$80/mt, depending on location.
West Coast: Sulfur sold from the West Coast was called $130-$140/mt FOB, though sources speculated that prices could rise in coming weeks based on increases in the Vancouver market.
Benelux: Benelux sulfur was listed at $158-$172/mt for the second quarter.
ADNOC: The June price of ADNOC sulfur was $150/mt. An updated price for July is anticipated shortly.