U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Nothing new was reported in the market last week, though there was speculation that the Tampa price for April would rebound in light of higher international prices.
Sources expect more domestic product to continue to be available on the NOLA market with PotashCorp bringing up its Geismar, La., plant in the third quarter. That will add 500,000 st/y more domestic product, on top of the recently started OCI/Beaumont production and a few extra tons that might now be available due to Mosaic’s cut in phosphate production.
Eastern Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market remained in the $630-$650/st range FOB regional terminals, with the low reported in the Illinois market on a spot basis.
Sources reported little in the way of field activities in the Eastern Cornbelt. Parts of Illinois and Indiana were hit with severe weather at midweek that included tornadoes and hail, and another round of severe weather was in the forecast for parts of the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys late in the week.
The worst of the tornado damage was reported near Harrisburg, Ill., where six people were killed and hundreds injured at midweek. Another tornado caused considerable damage in Newburgh, Ind., and storm damage was evident in many locations, including Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Memphis, St. Louis, Nashville, and in Tennessee’s Cumberland and Dekalb Counties.
A total of 16 tornadoes were confirmed as part of the massive Feb. 29 weather system that slammed the Midwest. Another system was expected to bring significant severe weather again on March 2 to southern Indiana and Ohio down to northern Mississippi and Alabama
Western Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market was tagged at $605-$635/st FOB regional terminals for prompt tons, with the low end reported out of spot locations in Iowa and Nebraska.
Parts of Iowa reported 70 mph wind gusts and light snow at midweek, while Nebraska experienced heavy snow in the northern counties and tornado activity in west-central areas of the state. The biggest storm impact was reported in southern Missouri, however. Significant tornado damage was reported in numerous locations, including Branson and Buffalo, Mo., prompting Gov. Jay Nixon to issue a state of emergency order at midweek.
One Missouri contact reported some fertilizer applications to the field in his location last week, but most of the work was confined to sandy soils and high spots. He said if the location missed more rain forecast for late in the week, growers there would be starting “for real” the following week.
California: Sources reported a significant price drop in ammonia pricing in California, fueled by much lower Tampa numbers. Effective Feb. 27, Calamco republished anhydrous ammonia at $585/st truck-DEL, a drop of $190/st from its previous reference price. Aqua ammonia pricing dropped to $160/st FOB on Feb. 27, also down significantly from the previous posting of $206/st FOB in the state.
A late-season storm brought gusty winds and as much as five feet of snow to the northern Sierra Nevada at midweek. The moisture was long overdue and comes after an unseasonably dry winter in the state. The system also brought rain to lower elevations in northern California.
As of late February, snow pack levels in California’s Sierra Nevada were just 30 percent of normal for this time of year. San Jose has received just 2.84 inches of rain since July 1, about 25 percent of normal, while the Los Angeles area was at about 50 percent of normal precipitation since that date. Despite the lack of rainfall, California’s major reservoirs were still rated at 104 percent of normal due to heavy moisture in 2010.
Pacific Northwest: The anhydrous ammonia market was quoted at $630-$