U.S. Gulf/Tampa: A new price for ammonia for Tampa had not been set by press time. That will change in about a week, however, when the new monthly price is agreed upon.
Early indications last week were that another price increase in the general area of the last one might be in the offing. The price at Yuzhnyy was in the $600-$605/mt FOB range. If that is translated to the Tampa market, the cost would be in the range of $675-$700/mt, depending on the method of transportation. The increase from May to June was $80/mt DEL, so the scene was set for a higher range.
However, a sale by Transammonia late last week of 23,000 mt from Yuzhnyy for delivery to Tampa in mid-July was done at $710/mt DEL. The price was said to be based on a Yuzhnyy price of $600-$610/mt FOB and freight cost of $100/mt, although the cost of shipping could be reduced to $75-$80/mt if a larger vessel was involved. The transaction was considered to be at the high end of a new potential price.
U.S. Import: April imports were off 15 percent, to 552,180 st from the year-ago 648,526 st, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. July-April imports were off 8 percent, to 5.97 million st from 6.46 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: Ammonia remained at $680-$730/st FOB regional terminals for the most recent prompt sales, but sources said July prices for summer fill tons out of Illinois terminals were listed as low as $640-$650/st FOB.
According to the June 12 U.S. Drought Monitor, most of Illinois was classified as abnormally dry, with pockets of moderate and severe drought located in the central and southern portions of the state. In Indiana, 90 percent of the state was rated as abnormally dry, with moderate drought covering some 40 percent of the state and a small pocket of severe drought centered on the southwest corner of the state. In Ohio, only the northern half of the state was rated as abnormally dry, but those conditions were sufficient to produce reports of likely damage to fruit crops in the state.
Western Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market was flat at $625-$660/st FOB regional terminals, with the low in Nebraska.
Drought conditions worsened in the Midwest in mid-June, and crop conditions slipped from the previous week. Most of Iowa was rated as abnormally dry as of June 12, with pockets of moderate drought in northern, western, and southeastern areas of the state. Moderate to severe drought persisted across a wide swath of southeastern Missouri, with the rest of the state classified as abnormally dry or in moderate drought. Nebraska, too, was dominated by abnormally dry or moderate drought conditions last week.
California: Anhydrous ammonia was steady at $705/st truck-DEL in California. Aqua ammonia was referenced at the $190/st FOB level in the state.
Pacific Northwest: Anhydrous ammonia pricing had reportedly inched up to $800-$810/st DEL in the Pacific Northwest, up some $20/st from May pricing levels.
The cool temperatures in early June limited fertilizer movement in the region, though sources reported some sidedress movement of ammonia on irrigated silage corn in parts of Washington at mid-month.
Western Canada: The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $1,209-$1,218/mt DEL in Manitoba, $1,218-$1,227/mt DEL in Saskatchewan, and $1,227-$1,253/mt DEL in Alberta.
Heavy rains in Saskatchewan, western Manitoba, and southern Alberta delayed the completion of planting in some locations in early June, and also hindered crop emergence.
Indonesia: Kaltim sold 5,000 mt to a local trader in a quick auction early last week for $621/mt FOB. The local buyer reportedly turned around and sold the product to Mitsui.
The sale is no