U.S. Gulf: Granular prompt barge prices ran up last week, and were put within the $320-$360/st FOB range. They quickly stepped up to the $350-$360/st FOB range by the end of the week. While many sources attributed this to good demand from rice country, others cited the new STC tender in India as boosting overall price ideas.
Late June was called $315-$320/st FOB, with July and August reported at $310/st FOB.
Prills were called $320-$325/st FOB, though sources said July was higher at $335/st FOB. New prill imports were reported to be on the way, but sources said these tons will not be Yara Libyan product as originally expected. The Yara Libyan plant was back down due to local unrest.
April saw a surge in urea imports, with the month up 28 percent, to 1.06 million st from the year-ago 830,417 st.
July-April imports were still off 12 percent, however, falling to 6.61 million st from the year-ago 7.53 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing was quoted at $410-$420/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Western Cornbelt: Southern Missouri sources reported brisk urea movement on rice last week, with warehouse urea supplies described as snug. Sources quoted the granular urea market at $380-$385/st FOB in Missouri. Iowa sources continued to report urea pricing above the $400/st FOB level, but with limited new sales to test the market.
Southern Plains: Granular urea pricing was holding at the $375-$380/st FOB level out of the Tulsa, Okla., market last week. “Product has not been over-abundant,” said one regional source. “No one wants that last ton.”
South Central: Sources pegged the granular urea market in the $385-$395/st FOB range out of warehouses in the South Central region, with low inventories reported at many locations as the first application on rice swings into full gear. The Memphis urea market was quoted solidly at the $395/st FOB mark last week.
“Too much rain has caused some fields to go without herbicide, and in some cases the first application is going by air instead of ground,” said one contact. “Applications should run into the second-half July, and many terminals have been on the floor with supply.”
Southeast: Granular urea pricing was quoted at the $430-$435/st FOB level in the Southeast, with the low reported in Savannah, Ga., and the upper end out of Norfolk, Va., and Wilmington, N.C.
Many parts of the Southeast were hit with powerful storms last week, which slowed fertilizer applications and the completion of cotton and peanut planting in some areas. “We are still planting cotton and just beginning to apply nitrogen as sidedress,” said a Georgia source at midweek. “We have a good ways to go yet.”
India: The State Trading Corp. (STC) ended speculation about when India would buy more urea. The tender called June 11 will close June 18, with offers to remain valid through June 25. The shipping deadline is July 31. Sources expect STC to buy at least 1 million mt when the dust settles.
Just before the announcement was made, Indian contacts were saying offers should be in the $255-$260/mt CFR range. At that price level, say traders, STC could take as much as 1.5 million tons.
The tender documents posted on the STC website call for a two-step offering process. One sealed envelope must include commercial and technical information about the offering company, including the tonnage being offered, with the offering price removed. The second envelope is for the actual offer, with tonnage and CFR and FOB prices included.
One trader noted that Indian companies have long used this two-step pr