U.S. Gulf: Ammonium nitrate prices were firm-to-stronger last week, with sources citing the continued outage at El Dorado Chemical in Arkansas. While the company has not commented about the current status of the facility, initial reports of the severity of the explosion (GM May 21, p. 1) lead sources to predict ammonium nitrate production could be offline for some time.
As a result, sources said anyone actually needing AN is having to pay up for it, as supplies from CF, the other major domestic producer, are also said to be in short supply. And imports this time of year are not exactly plentiful.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate remained at $480-$490/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt region, and in tight supply.