U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Mosaic concluded a new spot deal last week at the $415/mt CFR mark for late January/early February. Sources put the quantity at 15,000-20,000 mt, and most tabbed Koch as the likely supplier.
While some sources said they were expecting some sort of price drop in the next round of trading, the $35/mt drop took them by surprise. One source said the U.S. fall season was disappointing and had caused an inventory back-up. In addition, reports have circulated in the past few weeks that NOLA ammonia inventories have been building, and more product and pressure might come from that locale, with some exports from the U.S. Gulf reported in late December and early January.
Recent trades from the U.S. and Caribbean to Morocco have been reported in the $425-$435/mt CFR range, and netted back to the Caribbean as low as $365/mt FOB.
February NYMEX gas settled Jan. 16 at $4.382/mmBtu, down from Jan. 9’s $4.005/mmBtu. Prices held firm earlier in the week as cold temperatures gripped the country, but slackened off as the week progressed.
Eastern Cornbelt: The previous week’s deep freeze gave way to much warmer temperatures in the Eastern Cornbelt last week, with highs reported in the mid-40s in northeastern Ohio early in the week. Cooler weather was in store as the week advanced, however, with light snowfall and gusty winds reported in central Indiana at midweek.
Sources reported minimal change to the regional ammonia price, and little new activity to test the market. The anhydrous ammonia market was quoted at $520-$540/st FOB in the region, with the low in Illinois and the upper end in the Indiana market.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonia pricing was quoted at $480-$520/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low in Iowa and Nebraska and the upper end in Missouri for spring prepay. Most sources continued to talk of average to below average spring prepay business in the region.
Delivered ammonia was pegged in the $490-$500/st range in Missouri for prompt material.
Although the bitterly cold temperatures of the previous week had largely subsided in the Western Cornbelt, winter kept its grip on the region last week.
Blizzard warnings were in effect for northwestern Iowa on Jan. 15-16, with severe winds and snowfall reported, and temperatures expected to fall to minus 10-20 degrees by early Jan. 17. High winds and cold weather also battered Nebraska at midweek, with gusts of more than 50 mph recorded in Omaha.
Southern Plains: The anhydrous ammonia market in the Southern Plains was down from last report, with sources quoting the dealer market at $405-$415/st FOB regional production points last week. The upper end of the regional range was pegged at $430-$435/st FOB Kansas pipeline terminals.
Mild temperatures settled over much of the Southern Plains last week, reflecting a drastic change from the previous week’s arctic blast.
One Kansas source said temperatures in his area dipped to a frigid 12 below zero during the peak of the “polar vortex” in early January. By last week, however, temperatures had moved up to the 40s and 50s across Kansas and Oklahoma, with fire weather warnings posted for portions of Oklahoma at midweek due to gusty winds and dry conditions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor for Jan. 14 continued to show severe to extreme drought conditions across eastern Colorado, western Kansas, western Oklahoma, and northern Texas. The entire state of New Mexico was also locked in some form of drought last week, ranging from abnormally dry in the western counties to patchy areas of exceptional drought in central and northeastern New Mexico.
South Central: The South Central region enjoyed much warmer weather last week after experiencing a brutal freeze during the previ