Urea

U.S. Gulf: New prompt business spanned a broader range at $305-$319/st FOB last week, up from the prior week’s $305-$312/st FOB. January was put in the $315-$320/st FOB range, and February about $5/st higher.

Recent prills were put in the $315-$328/st FOB range.

Eastern Cornbelt: The granular urea market remained at $345-$365/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low end reported FOB Cincinnati, Ohio, and spot river locations in Illinois.

Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market was generally quoted in the $350-$360/st FOB range in the Western Cornbelt.

California: The granular urea market was tagged at $410-$415/st FOB in California. No current delivered prices were reported in the state last week.

Pacific Northwest: Granular urea was steady at $380-$390/st FOB coastal terminals in the Pacific Northwest. There were reports of poor quality Chinese tons available on a spot basis for as low as $365/st FOB, but sales at that level were not confirmed.

Delivered urea remained at $390-$420/st in the region, depending on location.

Western Canada: The granular urea market was tagged at $535-$560/mt DEL in Western Canada, up $25-$30/mt from last report.

India: Indian Potash Ltd. (IPL) closed a tender Dec. 3. The offers showed a marked reduction in pricing ideas from sellers.

More than 2 million tons were offered by 23 companies. Sources expect IPL to take about 1 million mt once the dust settles.

The lowest price came from Trammo at $299.97/mt CFR into Krishnapatnam, setting the base number for all east coast ports. A large group of other offers focused on the $302-$305/mt CFR range.

The tally from the tender follows.

Offering Company

US$/mt CFR

Quantity

Discharge Port

Firm

Optional

Trammo

299.97