U.S. Gulf/Tampa: After a March rollover for Tampa and increased demand in the Cornbelt, the NOLA market was under pressure to move up. It did within the past week, with new trades of $285-$292/st FOB being reported.
March NYNEX natural gas rolled off the board Feb. 25 at $1.711/mmBtu. April closed March 3 at $1.639/mmBtu.
Eastern Cornbelt: Although some areas remained wet in early March, fieldwork was picking up in the region, with reports of steady ammonia movement out of Illinois terminals last week. The ammonia market had reportedly firmed to $455-$470/st FOB, up another $15-$20/st from the previous week, with the upper end confirmed for new spot sales in the Illinois market as the week advanced.
Western Cornbelt: Sources continued to quote spot ammonia business in the $415-$445/st FOB range out of regional terminals, with the low reported in the Nebraska market and the upper end in Missouri. One source pegged the Iowa terminal market in the $420-$430/st FOB range last week, with reports of ammonia moving to the field in parts of Iowa as well, weather permitting.
California: Anhydrous ammonia remained at $545/st DEL in California, with aqua ammonia referenced at $151/st FOB in the state.
Pacific Northwest: The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $460/st rail-DEL in the Pacific Northwest, while truck-DEL tons had reportedly slipped to $505/st. Aqua ammonia was pegged at $128-$132/st FOB in the region.
While noting firming markets for ammonia and urea in the Midwest, sources said the Pacific Northwest has “not witnessed the bull run that our other counterparts have experienced as of this time.”
Western Canada: The regional anhydrous ammonia market remained at $730-$740/mt DEL in Western Canada.