U.S. Gulf/Tampa:
Tampa ammonia prices for May continued to be called $545/mt CFR, with the last done NOLA barges at $545/st FOB. Incitec Pivot’s Waggaman, La., ammonia plant, which went into turnaround in January and has been up and down since, continues to be an issue (see related story).
U.S. Imports:
March ammonia imports totaled 248,826, according to the Department of Commerce (DOC), up 3.2 percent from 241,134 st in the prior year. July-March totals slipped 9.8 percent lower, however, to 1.85 million st from the year-ago 2.05 million st.
U.S. Exports:
Exports of ammonia firmed 5.6 percent in July-March, to 453,028 st from the year-ago 429,093 st. March exports rose 218.2 percent, to 34,755 st from the prior-year 10,923 st.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The ammonia market remained at $615-$665/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low confirmed at Kingston Mines, Ill., and Huntington, Ind., and the high at Lima, Ohio. Other spot offers ranged from $625-$650/st FOB in Illinois and Indiana.
Western Cornbelt:
Sources quoted the ammonia market at $600-$625/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location, with continued reports of delivered offers for as low as $585-$590/st into Missouri for limited tons from Enid, Okla.
Southern Plains:
Some lower ammonia prices were coming out of the Southern Plains, with sources reporting new offers at Enid down to $510/st FOB. Prompt pricing FOB Verdigris and Pryor, Okla., continued to be quoted at the $575/st FOB level during the week, while the Beaumont, Texas, ammonia market was pegged at the $540/st FOB level.
South Central:
Ammonia truck pricing was reported at $575/st FOB Memphis, Tenn., and $600/st FOB El Dorado, Ark. No current offers were confirmed at Donaldsonville or Waggaman.
Brazil:
April 2021 ammonia imports in Brazil were up 251 percent, to 72,000 mt from 20,000 mt in April 2020. All but 2 mt came from Trinidad, according to Trade Data Monitor.
January-April imports were reported at 208,000 mt, representing a 98.5 percent jump from last year, with Trinidad dominating the imports. The only other significant imports were two shipments from Algeria in January and February that totaled 15,000 mt.