US Gulf/Tampa:
Tampa ammonia continued to be pressured after June prices dropped to $340/mt CFR from May’s $380/mt CFR. Prices were down again in the Cornbelt as sidedress demand starts to wind down, and lower natural gas prices in Europe are prompting more ammonia producers to cautiously return plants to production.
US Imports:
Ammonia imports fell 11.3% in July-April, according to data compiled by the US Census Bureau, to 1.94 million st from the prior-year 2.19 million st. Imports were down 5.4% in April, slipping to 197,816 st from the year-ago 209,145 st.
US Exports:
April ammonia exports lifted 325.6%, to 91,178 st from 21,424 st in April 2022. July-April exports moved up 279.0%, to 1.13 million st from 298,835 st in the prior year.
Eastern Cornbelt:
Ammonia movement for corn sidedress was brisk in the Eastern Cornbelt and Michigan during the week. Prices continued to drift lower, with the latest offers confirmed at $410-$425/st FOB regional terminals, down from $425-$450/st FOB last week.
Most new ammonia sales were reported on a delivered basis, however, with the latest business quoted at $420-$435/st DEL in the region.
Western Cornbelt:
Sources said demand was “dwindling fast” as efforts focus on the remaining corn sidedress volumes, and prices were falling. Ammonia prices slipped to $380-$415/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low also reported for delivered offers on a spot basis. Sources said they expect the first summer fill offers for ammonia to launch in mid-June.
Southern Plains:
The latest terminal offers for ammonia in the Southern Plains slipped to $350-$415/st FOB, with the low reported at Pryor, Okla., and the high at Borger, Texas. Sources said competitive delivered pricing was netting back to lower levels at regional terminals, however. “No one needs or wants to buy right now,” commented one source.
South Central:
Truck offers for ammonia were down to $300-$305/st FOB Gulf Coast terminals in the wake of the softer Tampa price for June. Other regional terminal prices were lower as well, with the last offers out of Cherokee, Ala., pegged at the $300/st FOB level.
India:
The price remained steady in the $290s/mt CFR. A lack of new spot deals made direct price discovery difficult, said one source, although the price does match with the estimated $200-$210/mt FOB price out of the Arab Gulf.
Middle East:
Sources said the price from the Arab Gulf tightened to $200-$210/mt FOB, based on calculations of reported sales into Southeast Asia. Producers are all reportedly claiming to be sold out for June.
Northwest Europe:
The lack of any new spot deals left the price in the upper-$360s/mt FOB. However, sources said a more realistic price – and one that could show up soon in deals for late June – is closer to $350/mt CFR. While talks are said to be at that lower level, no one could point to a concluded deal.
Russian material from the Baltic Sea is being shopped around with an asking price of $300/mt CFR, according to reports. Sources suggested that this extraordinarily low price is being offered because of complications involving final payment.
While the ammonia itself is not sanctioned by the US or the EU, the usual payment process can provide some difficulties because of sanctions against Russian banks and insurance companies. For example, Russian banks have been banned from using the SWIFT international payment system for its fertilizer deals. Without access to SWIFT, other methods must be found to transfer payment.
Indonesia:
Ammonia exports from Indonesia totaled 597,000 mt for January-April, Trade Data Monitor reported, down about 8% from the year-ago 652,000 mt. April exports were 221,000 mt, up 27% from 174,000 mt in April 2022.
Brazil:
Brazil imported 120,000 mt in January-May, according to Trade Data Monitor, off 39% from 197,000 mt recorded during the same period of 2022. May imports were counted at 23,000 mt – all from Trinidad and Tobago – compared to 74,000 mt recorded one year earlier.
Ammonia exports were noted at 33,000 mt through the first five months of the year, down slightly from 34,000 mt reported last year. May exports were counted at 40 mt, all of which went to Uruguay.