U.S. Gulf/Tampa:
Tampa ammonia prices for April continued at $545/mt CFR, with NOLA barges last done at $545/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt:
With preplant movement starting to pick up steam, sources reported slightly stronger ammonia prices in the Eastern Cornbelt.
Earlier offers at $570-$590/st FOB were reportedly off the table as Illinois and Indiana terminals edged up to $600-$630/st FOB, depending on location, with the high reported at East Dubuque, Ill. The top end of the regional range remained at $650/st FOB Henderson, Ky.
Western Cornbelt:
Ammonia prices reportedly firmed to $600/st FOB Palmyra Mo., at midweek, up from the previous $570/st FOB level. Other terminal values ranged from $600-$615/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low reported in Nebraska and the high at Marshalltown, Iowa. The market FOB Fort Dodge, Iowa, was quoted at the $605/st FOB level in late March.
Southern Plains:
Limited ammonia offers continued to be reported at $600/st FOB Pryor, Okla., $615/st FOB Enid, Okla., and Dodge City, Kan., and $630/st FOB Coffeyville, Kan. While the last offers out of Verdigris, Okla., were confirmed at the $575/st FOB level, sources said no current prices were being offered there or out of Woodward, Okla.
Truck tons out of Beaumont/Houston, Texas, were reported in the $550-$600/st FOB range in late March.
South Central:
Sources quoted new ammonia offers at $600/st FOB El Dorado, Ark., in late March. Other regional ammonia locations continued to withhold truck prices in the wake of scheduled turnarounds and production issues sparked by the February polar vortex, however, including Midway, Tenn., Donaldsonville, La., Cherokee, Ala., Hopewell, Va., and Waggaman, La.
Southeast:
Sources reported some limited ammonia offers at $575-$580/st FOB Augusta, Ga., and $610/st FOB Tampa for truck tons into Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.
Black Sea:
While no new ammonia business has been done, sources said producers are focusing on $450/mt FOB.
Rossosh reportedly has only 7,000 mt for sale, but is not talking about a price it would find acceptable. Sources said Trammo bid $450/mt FOB for the cargo, but got turned down. At the same time, Ostchem is looking to move a cargo of 10,000 mt in April at $450/mt FOB, but buyers appear to be pushing back against that price.
Lacking any new spot business from the area, the last public price of $430/mt FOB remains as the floor in price talks.
Middle East:
Buyers depending on SABIC material were disappointed this week as SABIC-4 unexpectedly went down. The shutdown in an already tight Arab Gulf market is expected to push up prices from the remaining producers in the area. Sources said the buyers who will be hit the hardest are those in India and Southeast Asia.
Iranian ammonia exports were reported by Trade Data Monitor for the first time since 2019. Exports for February were at 41,000 mt, with 18,000 mt going to India and 15,000 mt to China. The year-to-date exports were reported at 105,000 mt, again with India and China dominating the purchases.
India:
The announcement of a spot deal finally showed an Indian delivered ammonia price that fit more into the global market. A number of sources reported that IFFCO bought a cargo via Trammo and EBIC at $535-$550/mt CFR.
The SABIC-4 shutdown is expected to have a big impact on Indian buying, possibly forcing SABIC customers to look far afield for their product. The resulting search could lead to even higher prices.
Buyers are still waiting for the Indian government to settle on how much of a subsidy it will offer to DAP producers in the fiscal year that started April 1. The Indian DAP producers are also trying to figure out how expensive phos acid will be in the second quarter. Sources are already predicting it could see a jump of $100/mt, causing companies to look closely at increasing DAP imports instead of making more
Northwest Europe:
Sources said some ammonia deals in the area were done, but both sides are holding back on reporting the prices. Traders looked at the way prices have moved in the Caribbean, North Africa, and the Black Sea to figure out the current Antwerp price. Sources added that early material under $500/mt C&F is most likely all gone, leaving only the more expensive product available.
Talks are still underway with Baltic producers, but sources said little progress has been made in setting an April price. In the end, said one trader, the buyers and sellers may just invoke clauses in their contracts for the “last done” price until new prices are set.
South Korea:
February ammonia imports were up about 13 percent, to 123,000 mt from February 2020 imports of 109,000 mt, according to Trade Data Monitor. Year-to-date imports were up almost 20 percent, to 237,000 mt from 198,000 mt in the previous year.