U.S. Gulf/Tampa:
June Tampa ammonia prices continued to be called $535/mt CFR.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The ammonia market was steady at $615-$625/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported at Illinois and Indiana terminals and the high at Lima, Ohio.
Western Cornbelt:
Ammonia pricing was unchanged at $600-$620/st FOB terminals in Iowa and Nebraska, depending on location, with the Palmyra, Mo., market pegged at the $615/st FOB level. Sources also continued to report delivered offers for as low as $585-$590/st into Missouri for limited tons from Oklahoma.
Southern Plains:
Ammonia pricing remained at $575/st FOB Verdigris and Pryor, Okla., with the low end of the regional market pegged at $540/st FOB Enid, Okla., and Beaumont, Texas. The Coffeyville, Kan., market was pegged at $570-$575/st FOB in early June. Sources reported no current truck offers out of Beaumont, Texas.
South Central:
Limited offers for ammonia truck pricing were reported at $575/st FOB El Dorado, Ark., $575-$595/st FOB Memphis, Tenn., $590/st FOB Donaldsonville, La., and $600/st FOB Cherokee, Ala. Sources said the Waggaman, La., plant was planning another restart for the June 1-3 timeframe, but that was not confirmed by press time.
Black Sea:
Ammonia prices remained stable, but with some strong upward pressure. Sources said supplies are limited to covering contracts rather than any new spot deals.
New orders in Asia could push up prices once tons become available for spot sales. Sources said the current price in Asia equates back to a $500-$550/mt FOB level, if any tons were available.
India:
Unconfirmed reports had an India buyer taking a cargo from Algeria at $650/mt CFR. If true, this price would represent a jump of more than $50/mt in the spot ammonia price into India.
There have been reports of Indian buyers looking far and wide for their needed material. International traders said the price is possible given the recent run-up in prices in Southeast Asia and dwindling supplies available from Black Sea and Arab Gulf suppliers.
Middle East:
The Ma’aden shutdown will continue through June, according to international sources. The shortage created by maintenance closure has prompted buyers who normally looked to SABIC and other Arab Gulf suppliers to look farther afield.There are reports that agents for Ma’aden even went looking for ammonia as far away as the U.S. to cover the ammonia needs for its own increased DAP production.
Sources looked at the prices in Asia and estimated the netback to the Arab Gulf at around $550/mt FOB, which represents a steady price from last week.
Northwest Europe:
The ammonia price has held even in the area at $520-$530/mt C&F. Sources pointed to conflicting data to try to discern a path forward.The Baltic price came down to $430/mt FOB, while prices out of Asia and North Africa are showing increases. Traders figure it will take a couple of weeks to sort things out.
Southeast Asia:
A sale into China was reported at $675/mt CFR. Sources said the unconfirmed price indicated a netback to Yuzhnyy of around $550/mt FOB.
The limited ammonia tons out of the Arab Gulf are allowing producers in Malaysia and Indonesia to move up their prices. Adding to the upward pressure are reports that some Indonesian production is down for the next few weeks, further tightening the supply side of the market.
North Africa:
Algeria reportedly sold a cargo to India at an unconfirmed price of $650/mt CFR. The fact that an Indian buyer had to go to Algeria for ammonia was not surprising, as sources noted the limited tons available out of the Arab Gulf and Southeast Asia.
Morocco is reportedly in the market for more material as well. Sources said OCP is looking to step up its DAP production as demand begins to grow.
Turkey:
Ammonia imports for the first four months of the year were down about a third compared to the same period in 2020, according to Trade Data Monitor. Imports for January-April 2021 were pegged at 313,000 mt, compared with 466,000 mt in 2020.
April imports were down about 40 percent, to 71,000 mt from 116,000 mt in April 2020. The main supplier this year was Russia with 33,000 mt, which was down 60 percent from its April 2020 total of 83,000 mt.