U.S. Gulf/Tampa: After the big rollover last week at Tampa, there was nothing new to report in the market. The NOLA barge market remained quiet, with all the excitement upriver in corn country.
April NYMEX natural gas closed on March 24 at $1.806/mmBtu, down from March 17’s $1.936/mmBtu.
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources continued to report steady movement of ammonia in the region. “There is a good run and it seems supplies are low due to customers not committing in advance, so sellers didn’t want to be stuck with surplus inventory,” said one contact. “Even now customers keep coming back three to four times per day, so it seems everyone is being careful on both sides.”
Ammonia pricing had reportedly firmed from $525/st FOB early in the week to $550/st FOB regional terminals for new sales as of March 24. Sources said some regional terminals were out of product until April, while others said suppliers were trucking in material from their terminals in other locations where demand has yet to take off.
“I’ve had some come in for five numbers four times in the same day, others at 1,000 tons twice in the same day,” said one regional supplier about the ongoing preplant demand in the region. “Customers come in and say, ‘Well I thought we were done, but give me 10 more numbers.’”
Western Cornbelt: Ammonia supply and pricing continued to be the main source of discussion among fertilizer contacts in the Western Cornbelt, although several sources acknowledged that the biggest preplant push on product was already behind them.
“We are basically done, with just a few stragglers finishing up,” said one Missouri source. An Iowa source estimated that 50 percent of the spring tons had been applied in his location, but growers were “starting to wrap up” in southwestern areas of the state.
New pricing levels last week were reported at $510-$525/st FOB in Iowa, depending on location and availability. The low was reported early in the week at Early, while spot pricing at Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, and Washington was quoted at the $525/st FOB level on March 24 after firming from $515/st FOB earlier in the week.
“Suppliers have been jacking us around,” said one regional contact. “First they suspend prepaying, then they suspend orders all together, then they jump the price another $40/st. I have to verify pricing on each quote because we have no pricing transparency.”
Missouri sources said ammonia pricing levels had firmed to $545/st FOB Palmyra, although there were reports that no new orders were being accepted at that location as the week advanced. Delivered tons in Missouri from southern production points were quoted at $520-$525/st based on reference levels at $440/st FOB Verdigris, Okla. Supply remained extremely tight out of southern locations, however.
“Manufacturers have very limited tons to offer, and everyone is in a sold-out position,” said one Southern Plains ammonia contact. “Finding tons is more luck than anything else.”
Demand was certainly fueling the ammonia pricing increases, as evidenced by a number of spot prices in Minnesota and North Dakota reported early in the week. With spring demand still stalled in the Northern Plains due to weather conditions, sources reported pricing levels in Minnesota at $415/st FOB Glenwood, $435/st FOB Murdock, and $460/st FOB Pine Bend.
California: Anhydrous ammonia remained at $545/st DEL in California, with aqua ammonia referenced at $151/st FOB in the state. A pricing adjustment from Calamco was scheduled for March 27, however, with postings slated to drop on that date to $500/st DEL for anhydrous and $140/st FOB for aqua ammonia.
Pacific Northwest: The anhydrous ammonia market was unchanged at $460-$505/st DEL in the Pacific Northwest, depending on location. Aqua ammonia was pegged at $126-$128/st FOB in the region, down $2-4/st from last report. Sources noted that the majority of ammonia usage in the region comes during the early summer months, so there was minimal activity to test the market.
Western Canada: The regional anhydrous ammonia market remained at $730-$740/mt DEL in Western Canada.