U.S. Gulf: Prompt barges remained fairly strong last week, with only minor erosion. Most put the market between $380-$414/st FOB, with loaded and ready-to-go barges garnering the higher numbers.
Prills were reported to be slipping a little to $385-$395/st FOB. Some predicted a bigger drop farther out, with reports that $345/st FOB was doable for the end of April/May.
Eastern Cornbelt: The granular urea market was quoted at $450-$470/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low at Cincinnati, Ohio, and the upper end out of inland shipping points.
Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market was tagged in a broad range at $455-$470/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location. The upper end was quoted in Missouri on a spot basis, with sources reporting plenty of business at that level. An Iowa contact pegged the common dealer market last week at the $460/st FOB level in his trade area.
Southern Plains: Granular urea was quoted in the $455-$465/st range FOB the Tulsa, Okla., market, with supplies described as “very adequate.” The Houston, Texas, urea market was tagged at $455/st FOB last week.
South Central: The granular urea market remained at $445-$450/st FOB in the South Central region.
Southeast: Granular urea pricing was reported in the $440-$450/st range FOB port terminals in the Southeast, with most dealer quotes in the upper half of that range. Dealer reference prices remained as high as $460/st FOB on a spot basis in the region.
Strong thunderstorms pounded the Southeast early in the week, producing at least two tornadoes in North Carolina along with hail and heavy rainfall in parts of Alabama, Florida, the Carolinas, and Georgia. “We are extremely wet across the whole state,” said one Georgia contact at midweek.
Fieldwork was limited in the Southeast last week, but several sources said activity was brisk the previous week. Sources continued to report rail shipping delays for replacement tons, and some also talked of limited truck availability for prompt business from local terminals.
Indonesia: Pusri held an auction for 30,000 mt of granular on April 11. At the last minute it added two 5,000 mt cargoes of prilled.
In the end, the auction was a bust for Pusri. The highest bid for the prills was $306/mt FOB, while the highest bid for the granular was $302.50/mt FOB. These bids came against floor prices of $325/mt FOB for granular and $320/mt FOB for prills.
The lower price for granular confirmed for many in the industry that a glut exists in the current market. One trader noted that while $325/mt FOB for Indonesian granular might be a good price in other situations, the market now is much lower than that – and buyers around the world know it.
The higher prilled price was written off to the small lot size and an apparent dearth of prills in Asia, thanks to the MMTC/India tender awards.
Pusri scrapped the tender and called another for just the granular tons. The auction closed with bids running from $285-$291/mt FOB. Pusri then stepped in to announce a floor price of $315/mt FOB.
The Pusri intervention pretty much threw cold water on the bidding. Sources say nothing happened for some time until Liven stepped up at the last minute with a $315/mt FOB bid. It took the lot.
At that level, sources say Liven will be hard pressed to sell the product to any of the usual major buyers. At first sources thought Australia could be the final destination – the price works – but Liven has to pick up the tonnage by the end of the month, and Australia is not expected to get serious about buying until mid-May.
Sources report that Indonesian urea warehouses are pretty full. Pressure is