U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Tampa and NOLA remained quiet last week.
July-April ammonia imports to the U.S. were off 22 percent, according to the Department of Commerce, falling to 4.69 million st from the year-ago 6 million st. April was off 21 percent, to 515,269 st from 654,401 st.
July NYMEX prices closed June 12 at $4.762/mmBtu, up slightly from the June 5 close of $4.701/mmBtu.
Eastern Cornbelt: Sidedress activity continued in the Eastern Cornbelt, although rainfall slowed the pace in northern Ohio at midweek.
Growers were still working to plant the last of the soybean crop last week. Planting progress as of June 8 was rated at 92 percent complete in Illinois, 88 percent in Indiana, and 85 percent in Ohio, with all three states tracking ahead of the five-year average. Corn emergence as of June 8 was 93-97 percent in Indiana and Illinois, compared with 81 percent in Ohio.
Sources continued to report the anhydrous ammonia market at $650-$660/st FOB regional terminals in the Eastern Cornbelt, although inventories were nearly tapped out in early June. Illinois sources continued to report product moving out of terminals last week.
Western Cornbelt: Anhydrous ammonia remained in a broad range at $570-$645/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low in Nebraska and the high FOB Palmyra, Mo. Delivered ammonia in the Missouri market was pegged in the low $600s/st from southern production points.
The region enjoyed much calmer weather last week after the prior week’s deluge of rain, hail, and powerful winds.
Although the early June storms caused extensive property damage in parts of Nebraska and Iowa and delayed the start of the winter wheat harvest in southern Missouri, they also brought much needed drought relief.
According to the June 10 U.S. Drought Monitor, Nebraska had undergone a transformation from just a few weeks earlier, with only the central portion of the state reporting moderate to severe drought. Drought had also receded in Iowa, with only the northwestern corner of the state still experiencing severe drought last week. A small portion of western Missouri remained in moderate drought last week, while the eastern counties were drought free.
Southern Plains: Thunderstorms pushed through northern Texas as the week advanced, helping to alleviate persistent drought conditions in the region. Sources also reported wet conditions in eastern Kansas last week, which slowed fertilizer movement.
Cotton planting in the region as of June 8 was tracking close to the average pace at 70 percent complete in Oklahoma, 82 percent in Kansas, and 85 percent in Texas. Kansas growers also had 82 percent of the soybeans planted by that date, but sunflower planting was lagging at only 34-36 percent complete in Kansas and Colorado.
Sorghum planting was also trailing the five-year average in the region, except in Texas, where fully 90 percent of the crop was seeded by June 8. Progress in the rest of the region was rated at only 30 percent in New Mexico, 38 percent in Colorado, 50 percent in Kansas, and 55 percent in Oklahoma.
Winter wheat growers in Oklahoma and Texas had 26-30 percent of the crop harvested by June 8, but crop conditions were dismal due to the ongoing drought. USDA assigned poor or very poor ratings to fully 76 percent of the Oklahoma wheat crop last week, along with 63 percent of the acreage in Kansas and Texas. Colorado’s winter wheat was rated 38 percent poor or very poor, and 34 percent good to excellent.
Ammonia pricing was down in the Southern Plains region. Sources quoted the low end of the market at $510-$520/st FOB regional production points, down $30/st from mid-May pricing levels, with Kansas pipeline terminals reported in the mid-$500s/st FOB.
South