US Gulf:
NOLA UAN barge prices were put at $450-$460/st ($14.06-$14.38/unit) FOB, although players said that most interest in the product will not come until closer to spring. NOLA pricing appears to have moved in reaction to inland prices, which have weakened considerably in recent weeks.
US Imports:
July-October UAN imports were noted at 697,577 st, off 21.6% from the year-ago 889,559 st. October imports were up 21.1%, however, lifting to 246,886 st from the prior-year 203,901 st.
Russia led July-October imports with 472,710 st, ahead of 143,011 st from Canada. Trinidad and Tobago sent 72,576 st.
US Exports:
October UAN exports moved 15,150.0% higher year-over-year, to 369,825 st from 2,425 st. July-October totals were up 290.5%, to 1.04 million st from 266,317 st noted one year earlier.
Eastern Cornbelt:
UAN prices continued to slip in the Eastern Cornbelt. UAN-32 offers for January shipment included $480/st ($15.00/unit) FOB Mount Vernon, Ind., and $495-$500/st ($15.47-$15.63/unit) FOB Cincinnati, down from the previous week’s $505-$520/st FOB. The upper end of the regional market was pegged in the $500-$515/st ($15.63-$16.09/unit) FOB range on a spot basis in Illinois.
Western Cornbelt:
UAN-32 prices in the Western Cornbelt remained under pressure in late December. The low end of the regional market was reported at $485/st ($15.16/unit) FOB St. Louis for January shipments, with the high confirmed at $520-$525/st ($16.25-$16.41/unit) FOB Muscatine, Iowa. Sources quoted the Port Neal, Iowa, market at the $520/st ($16.25/unit) FOB level at midweek.
Delivered UAN-28 offers in North Dakota were reported at $480/st ($17.14/unit) for 1Q tons from Canada, down from the last $580/st DEL prompt business.
California:
New UAN-32 offers at Stockton ranged broadly at $510-$600/st ($15.94-$18.75/unit) FOB, down sharply from the previous $630/st ($19.69/unit) FOB high. Rail-DEL UAN pricing was quoted at the $530-$575/st ($16.56-$17.97/unit) DEL level in Northern California.
“The UAN market is in flux so it’s difficult to pin down, other than it is softer with some rail pressure,” commented one source.
Pacific Northwest:
The UAN-32 market dropped to $535/st ($16.72/unit) FOB Kennewick, Wash., down significantly from the last reported $600/st ($18.75/unit) FOB level. Rail-DEL UAN-32 pricing in the Pacific Northwest was quoted at $535-$545/st ($16.72-$17.03/unit), down from $625-$655/st ($19.53-$20.47/unit) in late November.
Western Canada:
UAN-28 for January-February shipment was reported in the C$620-$645/mt (C$22.14-$23.04/unit) DEL range in Western Canada, down from the prior C$680-$720/mt (C$24.29-$25.71/unit) DEL level for December-January pricing. Spring prepay offers were confirmed at the C$645/mt (C$23.04/unit) DEL level in Saskatchewan.