USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2024 reports Tampa contract sulfur began 2023 around $90 per long ton, rose to $130 per long ton in mid-January, then fell to $55 per long ton by mid-July. Fourth-quarter 2023 prices were $102 per long ton, volatile but far below the 2022 peak. The PDF is at https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2024/mcs2024-sulfur.pdf.
The 2022 peak was $481 per long ton in early April. Fourth-quarter 2022 had already settled at $90. 2023 opens where 2022 closed, spikes briefly, then finds the year's floor at $55. That is a surplus year with a memory of scarcity. Phosphate plants that had paid $481 could wait. They did, until mid-July.
Alberta recovered sulfur still leaves mainly through the Vancouver stem. US molten at $90 to $130 in January is the Florida contract Canadian rail delivered into. Pacific solid would fade to $72 FOB by 14 December, Argus. Two hubs, one direction after the mid-January spike: down, then a modest fourth-quarter bounce. Basis remained freight and form.
China phosphate inspections from January, Argus, and IFA's still-below-2020 MAP and DAP, are the demand side of the slide from $130 to $55. US Gulf production about unchanged at 8.6 million tonnes, Alberta January-October production up 11 percent, Kazakh and Saudi stock draws, are the supply side. Nickel HPAL's 2.7 million tonne Indonesian sulfur import year was not enough to prevent $55.
Argus expected 2023 North American output to damp 2022-style volatility. The $90-$130-$55-$102 path is less violent than $282-$481-$352-$90 in 2022. It is still a $75 range inside the year. Stability is relative. Licensed weekly grids are not restated. These Tampa figures are USGS contract prints.
Vancouver's 3.10 million tonne sulphur year, up 11 percent, grew through this price path. Volume and price disconnected. Early-2023 remelt to pace exports used the $90-$130 window. Late-year remelt slowdown used the $55-$72 window. South Cheecham started 1 July, the same week as the $55 trough. Forming capacity arrived as the contract found its floor.
2024 would open at $69, USGS MCS 2025, inside Argus's mid-$60s to low-$70s expectation. 2025 would open at $116 and reach $270 in early April. January 2023's $90 is the start of the soft chapter, not the 2025 rally. The $130 mid-January spike is a reminder that even surplus years can squeeze for a fortnight.
Figures follow USGS MCS 2024. The $90 / $130 / $55 / $102 Tampa path is the 2023 price file for the North American desk.