U.S. Gulf/Tampa:
Tampa for October remained at $255/mt CFR, with NOLA barges at $235/st FOB. Still fresh off of the $30/mt Tampa increase for October, most sources believe there is enough tightness in the market to merit another increase in November. Still, their optimism for the amount has waned a bit. As of this week, sources were predicting a rollover to slight uptick for November.
U.S. Imports:
July-August ammonia imports were down 21 percent, to 400,341 st from the year-ago 506,422 st, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. August imports were down 30 percent, to 183,801 st from 264,260 st.
U.S. Exports:
July-August ammonia exports were off 67 percent, to 46,863 st from the year-ago 140,537 st. August exports were off 24 percent, to 38,050 st from 50,096 st.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The ammonia market was pegged at a firm $390-$400/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low in Illinois and the upper end in Indiana and Ohio, depending on location.
Western Cornbelt:
Sources confirmed higher ammonia prices in the Western Cornbelt during the week. The market was quoted firmly at $380-$390/st FOB in Nebraska and $385-$390/st FOB in Iowa and at Palmyra, Mo.
Southern Plains:
The ammonia market was quoted at $280-$320/st FOB Oklahoma production points, with the higher end of the range quoted at Verdigris, Okla. “It seems like a good fall run ahead assuming it dries out a bit and crops get out on time,” said one regional contact.
South Central:
The ammonia market was quoted at $250-$270/st FOB South Central terminals for truck tons, with the low reported at Midway, Tenn., and the upper end at Cherokee, Ala. No current ammonia pricing was reported at Memphis, and sources said the terminal there will likely by down until the end of the year for maintenance.
Out of Gulf Coast production points, the truck ammonia market had reportedly firmed to $250-$260/st FOB, up roughly $30/st following the higher close for October Tampa ammonia.
Trinidad:
Nutrien confirmed on Oct. 9 that its No. 4 ammonia plant in Trinidad would be restarting over the next week. The company reported on Sept. 17 (GM Sept. 20, p. 3) that the cooling tower at the plant had collapsed.
The outage added to an already tight ammonia market, according to some sources, who said it, along with other outages, had a hand in the $30/mt increase at Tampa in October.