U.S. Gulf: A couple of UAN producers noted the swings in the urea market, saying they had impacted UAN. One said heavy urea imports in late 2011 had a negative impact on urea prices, and UAN followed. Another said the recent boost in urea prices should help revive UAN.
Lucky for them, most UAN producers appear to have sold many tons in the fourth quarter at very high prices, before UAN prices began to sag. On the other hand, others argue that inland inventories are now full at those high prices, and that buyers are only going to buy when they see movement.
In recent weeks, UAN barge prices have been pretty stagnant, but sources last week indicated at least some movement upward. New trades were put in the $265-$270/st ($8.28-$8.44/unit) FOB range.
Eastern Cornbelt: The UAN-32 market in the Eastern Cornbelt was pegged in the $335-$345/st range ($10.47-$10.78/unit) FOB regional terminals to the dealer. One source tagged the common dealer market at the $10.60/unit FOB level in late February.
Western Cornbelt: UAN pricing in the Western Cornbelt appeared to be up slightly on the heels of the firming urea market. Sources tagged UAN-32 in the $339.20-$345/st ($10.60-$10.78/unit) FOB range out of most regional terminals last week, with reference levels as high as $360/st ($11.25/unit) FOB at some locations. “With urea trading at a premium to UAN, how long can that last?” asked one source.
California: The UAN-32 market was pegged at $330-$345/st ($10.31-$10.78/unit) FOB in California, reflecting a slight drop from last report. One source said the market should firm, however, “as tons start to move to the field and railcars become less available for awhile.” No current rail-delivered pricing quotes were reported in the state last week.
Pacific Northwest: UAN-32 pricing was down slightly in the Pacific Northwest. Sources quoted the dealer market at $365-$375/st ($11.41-$11.72/unit) DEL in the region, with the upper end of the range reflecting postings. Some said UAN pricing had dropped to as low as $340/st ($10.63/unit) DEL on a spot basis earlier in February, but that number was not available last week.
Western Canada: UAN-28 was quoted in the $417-$435/mt ($14.89-$15.54/unit) DEL range in Western Canada, with the low reported in the Manitoba market and the upper end in Alberta.