U.S. Gulf: Most continued to put prompt potash barges within the $340-$345/st FOB range, but others indicated pressure was starting to mount and thought prices might begin to slip with coming trades.
Eastern Cornbelt: Potash pricing was firm at the $370-$377/st level FOB regional warehouses in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low for red and the upper end for white granular tons.
Western Cornbelt: Potash in the Western Cornbelt remained at a firm $370/st FOB for red granular tons, with white granular quoted at the $377/st FOB level. The Carlsbad, N.M., potash market had reportedly firmed to $370/st FOB for new sales of granular tons.
Sources said rail deliveries of potash out of mine locations in Carlsbad were stalled for two days due to an April 10 bridge fire on the Southwestern Railroad shortline near Roswell, N.M. Rail service resumed on April 12 when it was determined that the bridge had not suffered structural damage from the fire. The shortline serves the potash mine operations of both Intrepid and Mosaic.
California: The potash market remained at $495/st FOB warehouses in California, with rail-delivered tons quoted at roughly the same level.
The sulfate of potash (SOP) market was steady at $670-$680/st FOB in the state for the last business, but sources reported extremely tight inventories due to production problems and brisk demand.
Crystalline potassium nitrate was unchanged at $950/st FOB for bulk and $1,020/st FOB for bags.
Pacific Northwest: Sources quoted the potash market at $425-$445/st rail-DEL or FOB in the region. Potash pricing FOB Utah mines was reported at the $385/st level, but sources said spot tons were essentially sold out and trains and trucks remained very tight.
The K-Mag market remained tight as well, with the market pegged at $461-$481/st FOB in the Pacific Northwest.
Western Canada: Potash pricing remained at $379/mt FOB Saskatchewan mines to Canadian customers. Warehouse prices in Western Canada were tagged at $400-$420/mt FOB, depending on location.
India: Rashtriya Chemical and Fertilizer Ltd. called a second MOP tender even before its first one closed April 15.
The second tender is to close April 23. RCF is looking for a total of 105,000 mt, with 95,000 mt firm and the rest at RCF’s option.
The MOP tenders are often a way to make prices public. At press time, sources say no award was made in the first tender that asked for 60,000 mt.
The general consensus, based on past experience, is that RCF will not award in these tenders, but will use the numbers to help in negotiating India’s much larger MOP needs.