U.S. Gulf/Tampa: February ammonia business at Tampa moved down $18/mt, to $655/mt from January’s $673/mt. At the same time, players reported new NOLA barge business at $640/st FOB, down from the long-standing $685/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market was steady at $760-$775/st FOB in the region for spring prepay, with the low in Illinois and the upper end out of Indiana terminals.
Parts of the Eastern Cornbelt were hit with sub-zero lows in late January as a cold front moved across the upper Midwest. Wind chill advisories were posted for northern Illinois, northwestern Indiana, and parts of northern Ohio early in the week, with lows dipping to minus 17 degrees in parts of northern Illinois on Jan. 22.
The brunt of the freezing weather settled over northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas, with lows in northern Minnesota dropping to minus 30 on Jan. 22.
Indiana and Ohio were also in the mix, however, with wind chills falling to minus 10 in parts of northeastern Ohio on Jan. 22. Some areas north of Cleveland were also blanketed with 1-3 feet of lake-effect snow last week.
Western Cornbelt: The ammonia market remained at $740-$760/st FOB regional terminals for spring prepay, with the low in Nebraska and the upper end in Iowa and Missouri.
The bitterly cold weather that blanketed the Northern Plains last week also reached down into Iowa, with sub-zero lows reported in Iowa City on Jan. 22. Warmer temperatures were reported across the state as the week advanced, along with an increasing chance of snowfall.
The region is in desperate need of winter precipitation to alleviate long-term drought. Nearly all of Nebraska was in exceptional drought, according to the Jan. 22 U.S. Drought Monitor, while severe to extreme drought persisted across western Iowa. The western edge of Missouri was also labeled as a severe drought area last week, with the rest of the state experiencing abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions.
California: Anhydrous ammonia was steady at $825-$830/st DEL in California, with aqua ammonia referenced at the $220/st FOB level in the state.
Cold temperatures in mid-January resulted in frost damage to some citrus crops in the San Joaquin Valley. News reports said mandarins suffered significant damage when temperatures dropped to the 20s on successive nights. In Southern California, strong winds helped protect crops from low temperatures at mid-month.
Sources said the state saw little in the way of winter precipitation during the first half of January, but the dry weather came after an unseasonably wet December. As a result, moisture levels were still above normal in many irrigation districts, but only slightly. Fortunately, more rain was expected during the final days of January.
Pacific Northwest: Delivered ammonia was steady at $870-$900/st in the Pacific Northwest for rail or truck tons, depending on location. Aqua ammonia pricing remained at $210-$215/st FOB in the region.
Moderate drought was reported in southwestern Oregon, southern Idaho, and southern Montana in late January, with a sizable area of extreme drought persisting in south-central Montana. Most of Wyoming, too, was experiencing severe to extreme drought.
Mountain snow levels in much of the Pacific Northwest remained below average, but were ahead of last year at this time. Valley growers are counting on heavy snowfall in February, March, and April to provide adequate irrigation water for the 2013 growing season.
Western Canada: The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $942-$956/mt DEL in Manitoba, $956-$965/mt DEL in Saskatchewan, and $965-$987/mt DEL in Alberta, depending on location.
Western Canada was the scene of weather extremes