US Gulf/Tampa:
No changes were reported to the Tampa ammonia price, which closed at $625/mt CFR for November, up from October’s $575/mt CFR.
US Imports:
September ammonia imports totaled 178,939 st, according to US Census Bureau data, down 20.5% from 225,095 st in September 2022. July-September imports were 522,347 st, falling 18.8% from the year-ago 643,611 st.
Canada sent 290,155 st in July-September, Trinidad and Tobago shipped 203,853 st, and Argentina added 7,166 st.
US Exports:
Ammonia exports firmed 24.8% in September, to 153,090 st from the year-go 122,655 st. July-September exports totaled 402,927 st, however, down 3.9% from the year-ago 419,122 st.
Morocco was the top export destination for July-September with 129,517 st, followed by Norway with 69,198 st. The UK slid into third place with 37,992 st, ahead of 35,274 st to the Netherlands.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Ammonia remained at $725-$750/st FOB regional terminals in Illinois and Indiana, depending on location and producer, with the Lima, Ohio, market reported at the $750/st FOB level.
Western Cornbelt:
The ammonia market was unchanged at $715-$725/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low in Nebraska and the high in Iowa and Missouri.
Northern Plains:
Ammonia in the Northern Plains remained at $750-$775/st FOB regional terminals, with the low reported at Velva, N.D. Delivered ammonia prices were estimated in the low- to mid-$800s/st in the region, though no official offers were on the table in mid-November.
Black Sea:
Efforts by Russia to begin serious exports of ammonia out of the Black Sea were set back after Uralchem said the pipeline to the port of Taman, in the Eastern Black Sea, will not be ready for use until later in 2024.
Uralchem previously expected the pipeline would connect to the port by the end of 2023 to allow for 1 million mt/y of ammonia to be shipped out. The plan was to increase both the pipeline’s throughput and the loading capacity of the port to allow for more than 2 million mt to be exported by 2025.
As expected, sources now say Uralchem will be targeting the Turkey market from this port.
Northwest Europe:
There was no spot business to report in Northwest Europe during the week, sources said. The only tons coming into the market were governed by contracts with carefully guarded prices.