U.S. Gulf: The granular urea market was on the way down last week, with most saying it fell below the $300/st FOB mark at midweek. Early-week trades were put at $300-$305/st FOB, but $295-$298/st FOB was reported for trades Wednesday onward. Sources continued to cite new imports, and Chinese tons in particular, for the move.
Prills were put at $330-$335/st FOB, which was relatively firm compared to the granular erosion.
While sources have been talking about a recent influx of imports, the DOC reported that imports for June were off 48 percent, to 114,132 st from the year-ago 219,956. For the fertilizer year ending in June, however, they were up 23 percent, to 8.13 million st from the prior year 6.62 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea remained at $335-$355/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low FOB Cincinnati, Ohio.
Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market had reportedly slipped to $345-$355/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt. Sources reported no new business to test the market, however, and also minimal interest.
Southern Plains: Granular urea pricing was pegged at $345-$350/st FOB out of the Tulsa, Okla., market, while Houston pricing had reportedly slipped to $375/st FOB.
South Central: Sources reported good crop conditions in the South Central region in mid-August, although some areas were dealing with too much moisture. One of those locations was southern Mississippi, which was hit with torrential rains and flash flooding on Aug. 13.
The corn harvest was underway in Louisiana, with exceptional yields reported. One source said irrigated fields there were bringing more than 200 bushels/acre, while non-irrigated crops were in excess of 150 bushels/acre.
Corn in other parts of the South Central region was equally impressive. USDA placed fully 87-88 percent of the corn acreage in Kentucky and Tennessee in the good or excellent categories last week, along with 83-87 percent of the soybeans.
Sources pegged the granular urea market last week at $350-$360/st FOB regional warehouses, with most locations at the bottom end of that range. The plentiful precipitation had reportedly spurred some movement of urea and ammonium nitrate on pastures in the region, but activity was limited.
Southeast: Southeast growers were taking advantage of a limited window of dry weather to begin the region’s corn harvest, with good early yields reported.
The wet summer has caused spotty crop quality issues in the region, particularly in fields with low spots. On the whole, however, crop conditions were very good.
The granular urea market continued to be quoted as high as $405-$415/st FOB port terminals in the Southeast. Sources acknowledged that those prices were high compared to other regions and a softening NOLA barge market, but that strength was attributed to tight supply and good demand that extended beyond the traditional spring application window.
Regional sources reported minimal buying activity to test the market, however. “People are focused on getting rid of what they have,” said one source.
Black Sea: With little to no activity taking place in Europe, Asia, Australia, or the Americas, sources say the paper market is plummeting.
Traders are saying the Yuzhnyy market is in the upper $280s/mt FOB. They are quick to point out, however, that the last real deal that involved actually moving a cargo was just under $310/mt FOB.
Sources say Yuzhnyy material is under pressure not only because of competition from China and Iran into areas east of Suez, but also because shipments out of Egypt are once again moving.
And then there is just a general lack of buying interest in many markets. Things might pick u