AMMONIA
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Nothing new was reported in the market last week.
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources reported brisk movement of preplant ammonia in Illinois, Kentucky, and parts of the Indiana market last week. Ammonia pricing was pegged at $675-$695/st FOB in the region, with the low out of Illinois terminals and the upper end in Indiana. Suppliers continued to field inquiries for fall ammonia tons, and some were reportedly offering fall ammonia at the $675/st FOB level in the Illinois market. Any actual buying for fall was limited to small blocks only, however.
Western Cornbelt: Sources said preplant ammonia was moving briskly in parts of the region last week, with long lines reported at some truck terminals. The ammonia market was tagged at $635-$660/st FOB, with the low out of Nebraska terminals and the upper end quoted in the Iowa market to the dealer.
Southern Plains: The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $590-$605/st FOB regional production points for prompt tons, depending on location. The dealer market out of pipeline terminals in Kansas was pegged at the $620/st FOB level for prompt tons. Sources reported long truck lines as preplant movement on corn ground kicked into gear in the Kansas market.
Sources reported brisk preplant fertilizer movement on corn ground in the Kansas market, and on corn and cotton ground in parts of Oklahoma and Texas. A northern Kansas source said growers started planting corn in his location on April 4, and the pace picked up steadily as the week progressed. Several sources said planting in eastern Kansas was limited to areas north of Kansas City, as weekend storms left fields too wet in areas south.
South Central: The anhydrous ammonia market was steady at $660-$675/st FOB terminals, with the low reported out of Memphis, Tenn., and the high at Henderson, Ky.
Fieldwork was slowed by rain in many locations last week. “We’ve gotten a couple attempts at a pretty good start, but then rain slows things down,” said one contact. Newly planted corn was coming up in some southern locations in the region. Fertilizer application activity had transitioned from wheat topdressing to preplant movement, and sources said growers continued to fertilize pastures in the region.
Trinidad: Sources report that that gas supplies have returned to normal in Trinidad. However, Yara does have one plant (900 mt/d) offline for a turnaround from March 20-April 20.
Black Sea: Ammonia prices remained strong. Sources report there is nothing from Yuzhnyy available below $500/mt FOB. One Asian trader said the market is now pegged at $500-$510/mt FOB.
To back up the idea that Yuzhnyy has strengthened, sources pointed to prices from the Baltic ports at $515/mt FOB, and referred to the latest prices out of the Arab Gulf, which are also put at $500-$515/mt FOB.
>All in all, the ammonia market is expected to remain strong for the next month or so.
Middle East: Sources pegged the Arab Gulf price at $500-$515/mt FOB based on the results of the FACT/India tender that closed at the end of March.
Even though the Indian buyer has not yet made an award, sources say the public declarations of pricing from the producers is a fair assessment of where the market has moved to.
Until the FACT tender, industry sources only had speculation and guess work when talking about the price from the area. As a result, the official price was stuck in the doldrums around $460/mt FOB.
Now, with the FACT tender in hand, sources say their earlier speculation that the price was moving into the $500s/mt FOB is vindicated.
India: FACT closed a 7,500 mt tender March 31