U.S. Gulf: The supply of urea was not overly abundant last week, but prices were weaker, which could be the result of a ship getting ready to arrive and unload for CHS, according to sources. The paper market was lower than the cash market, and one trader said it may be a case of the tail wagging the dog.
Expectations were for higher prices in the near future because of the big corn acreage expected in 2012. Product was said to be moving well in the Dakotas and the Twin Cities areas.
Generally, prices were weaker than the previous week, and fell to as low as $390/st FOB and as high as $408/st FOB. The lowest price was paid late in the reporting period, while the high was early in the week.
Urea imports were off 3 percent in November, according to the DOC, to 473,577 st from the year-ago 487,651 st. July-November imports, however, were up 14 percent, to 2.54 million st from the year-ago 2.23 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing remained in the $445-$450/st range FOB Eastern Cornbelt terminals at mid-month.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea was tagged at $435-$450/st FOB regional terminals, with both the high and low ends reported in Missouri. An Iowa contact pegged the dealer market at the $445/st FOB level at midweek. Urea pricing out of Inola, Okla., was quoted in the $435-$440/st FOB range.
California: Sources tagged the granular urea market in the $525-$565/st FOB range in California last week, depending on location and supplier. One source tagged the dealer reference level at the $535/st FOB level in his trade area.
Pacific Northwest: The urea market in the Pacific Northwest had ticked up slightly from last report. Sources pegged the regional market in the $490-$525/st DEL range at mid-month, with the low in Montana and the upper end reported by Washington sources.
Western Canada: Reference pricing for granular urea in Western Canada remained at $660-$680/mt DEL, with the low end reported in Manitoba and the upper numbers in the Alberta market. There were reports of lower prices being quoted on a spot basis, however; one British Columbia contact reported offers last week as low as $600/mt DEL from some suppliers.
Pakistan: The TCP tender closed Jan. 19 with offers centering in the $430s/mt CFR.
The price level was no surprise to industry watchers. When the previous tender closed, the winning offer of $417.50/mt CFR was described as an aberration. Five of the next lowest offers in that tender were in the $430s/mt FOB. Several more were in the $440s and $450s.
None of the companies at that time were willing to match the Transfert offer of $417.50/mt CFR. As a result, TCP called a follow-up tender.
The Pakistan buying house was looking to pick up 300,000 mt this month. The first tender only yielded 50,000 mt. Sources said the tightness of the offers this time around could allow TCP to get its remaining 250,000 mt.
The tally of the tender follows.
| Offering Company | Quantity (‘000 mt) | US$/mt CFR | |
| Firm | Quantity | ||
| CHS | 50 | 50 | 431.45 |
| Dreymoor | 50-60 | 40-100 | 431.76 |
| Incitec Pivot | 50 | 50 | 432.45 |