US Gulf:
The NOLA UAN market remained at the $240-$245/st ($7.50-$7.66/unit) FOB range for the latest indication, though no new transactions were confirmed and offers were reportedly hard to come by.
US Imports:
December UAN imports stood at 187,515 st, down 29.8% from the 266,930 st reported in December 2022. July-December volumes softened 12.6%, to 1.08 million st from the prior year’s 1.24 million st. Russia sent 650,326 st for July-December, Canada added 203,158 st, and Trinidad and Tobago sent 191,363 st.
US Exports:
December UAN exports totaled 227,067 st, a 22.9% increase on the year-ago 184,737 st. Exports softened to 1.07 million st in July-December, however, off 27.1% from the 1.47 million st reported through the same period of 2022.
France accepted 328,761 st of US product in July-December, Australia took 257,298 st, and Argentina received 190,019 st.
Eastern Cornbelt:
UAN-32 edged up to $280-$295/st ($8.75-$9.22/unit) FOB regional terminals, depending on location and time of shipment, with the low reported at Mount Vernon, Ind. The Cincinnati market was pegged at $285/st ($8.91/unit) FOB for February-March and $295/st ($9.22/unit) FOB for April-May, with UAN-28 offers reported at $249/st ($8.89/unit) FOB for prompt and $258/st ($9.21/unit) FOB for spring.
“Inland markets are gradually working their way higher,” commented one UAN source. “The urea market has spurred positive sentiment and buying interest on UAN, with customers across the country looking for both Q1 and Q2 shipments.”
Western Cornbelt:
UAN-32 was pegged at $270-$290/st ($8.44-$9.06/unit) FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location and time of shipment, with the St. Louis market remaining at the $275/st ($8.59/unit) FOB level for prompt tons.
“This week we saw an increase in buying interest in the plains driven by what appears to be healthy wheat topdress demand,” said one contact.
Northern Plains:
The UAN-32 market remained at $295-$310/st ($9.22-$9.69/unit) FOB terminals in Minnesota, with the low for February-March and the high for Q2 tons. UAN-28 was quoted at the $315-$325/st ($11.25-$11.61/unit) DEL level in the Northern Plains for tons from Canada.
Northeast:
The UAN-32 market in the Northeast firmed to $265-$275/st ($8.28-$8.59/unit) FOB Fairless Hills and Baltimore, with the latest UAN-30 offers quoted at the $258/st ($8.60/unit) level FOB Baltimore. UAN-32 out of terminals in upstate New York was up $10/st, to $330/st (10.31/unit) FOB.
The 28-0-0-5S market was pegged at $278/st FOB Baltimore in mid-February, with 27-0-0-3S reported at the $251/st level FOB Baltimore.
Eastern Canada:
The UAN-32 market was unchanged at C$509/mt ($15.91/unit) FOB for the latest offers in Eastern Canada, with UAN-28 quoted in the C$446-$460/mt (C$15.93-$16.43/unit) FOB range.
France:
UAN prices at Rouen retreated some €10/mt, with several market players attributing the decline to an influx of Russian material. Others noted the backdrop of farmer protests, which are likely to hamper buyer appetite in the coming weeks, as well as softening natural gas (TTF) values as winter heating demand draws to a close.
Despite the drop, some sellers continue to find hope for UAN appreciation in the upward movement of urea.