Central Florida: Dealers in the eastern U.S. continued to be overly cautious in their purchases of phosphate products last week, with most relying on trucks to bring material to feed their nearly empty bins.
Meanwhile, railcar and truck prices for phosphate from Central Florida were down last week, dropping to levels closer to NOLA prices for barges. However, the cost of shipping by rail is significantly higher than for barges, so the price would have to fall even more before it becomes competitive.
Harvesting continued in the nation last week, but it was not clear exactly how large yields were or how many acres had been harvested because the publication of USDA’s weekly and monthly crop reports was put on hold during the government shutdown.
The Central Florida DAP market was pegged at $380-$390/st FOB last week, down from $410st FOB the previous week. With little business being done in either the international or domestic markets, prices appeared to be weakening.
MAP prices continued to bring a $20/st premium over DAP in the Central Florida market.
U.S. Gulf: Despite what may be a record or near-record harvest coming in from some areas of the Cornbelt, business on the river system was extremely quiet last week and few trades were concluded.
Activity at warehouses was definitely on the upswing, however, and prices were starting to firm. Meanwhile, heavy precipitation in some key areas that feed the Mississippi River was expected to significantly raise water levels on the river, by as much as 10 feet at Memphis. Both that city and Blytheville, Ark., were having loading problems as a result of the low water levels.
Regardless, the Mississippi River was getting very close to closing for the winter season, and barge companies will soon decline to send vessels north and risk having them spend the winter months out of service.
Farmers were wondering how to price their crops because USDA had not issued its monthly report for October due to the government shutdown. There are several private organizations that also provide estimates, but farmers rely more heavily on USDA’s report to make their decisions on crop prices.
On the futures market, prices for corn were down a little from the previous week, soybeans were mixed, and prices for wheat were either up or flat, depending on the period.
Corn for December 2013 was $4.3825/bushel, down slightly from $4.3925/bushel the previous week, while corn for December 2014 moved to $4.8025/bushel from the prior week’s $4.8075/bushel.
The soybean price for November 2013 was $12.88/bushel, almost flat with the previous week’s $12.8825 bushel, while soybeans for November 2014 firmed slightly, to $11.7225/bushel from the prior week’s $11.70/bushel.
Wheat for December 2013 remained at $7.555/bushel, the same as the previous week, while wheat for July 2014 firmed slightly, to $7.385/bushel from $7.3125/bushel the previous week. Wheat for July 2015 was also up, at $7.1925/bushel compared with $7.1550/bushel at last report.
Warehouse and terminal DAP prices were reported in the $410-$430/st FOB range, depending on location, with MAP running approximately$20-$25/st FOB higher. The price gap between the two will likely shrink as fresh OCP product, imported by Koch and Helm, flows into the market.
The NOLA DAP barge price range for the week came in at a narrow $374-$376/st FOB, compared with the previous week’s $372-$380/st FOB range. NOLA MAP barges were in the $391-$393/st FOB range last week, but were anticipated to fall as new imports arrive.
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources reported a slight increase in DAP pricing in the Eastern Cornbelt. The low end of the regional range was reported at $415/st FOB Cincinnati, up $5/st from the previous week, while the upper end rema