Central Florida:
Sources continued to quote Central Florida DAP trucks at $785/st FOB, steady from the prior report. MAP trucks were reported even with DAP at $785/st FOB, also unmoved from one week earlier.
Truck-loaded MAP was posted at $780/st FOB out of North Florida, unchanged from week-ago levels.
U.S. Gulf:
NOLA DAP barge pricing moved higher early in the trading period before slipping back to week-ago levels on Dec. 9, sources said.
An early-week rise to the $744-$745/st range from the week-ago $740/st FOB floor proved short-lived, with import sales and offers for loading in the December to first-half January window softening to the $740-$742/st FOB range by the end of the trading week. Most players quoted the top of the range unmoved from the prior $750/st FOB level early in the period, with overall sentiment shifting closer to a $740-$750/st FOB spread by Dec. 9.
MAP values move lower, however, driven by a combination of increasing barge supply and uncertainty surrounding forward demand potential.
Most players quoted domestically-produced barge sales at $765/st FOB at the top of the week’s range, but below the market’s week-ago $770/st FOB high. Imports were indicated as low as $755/st FOB for the period, $5/st shy of the prior $760/st FOB floor.
Sources pegged the DAP barge market at $740-$750/st FOB for the week, unchanged from the prior report. MAP barges moved lower, to $755-$765/st FOB from the previous $760-$770/st FOB.
U.S. Exports:
Nothing new was heard out of the week’s Gulf export phosphate markets. Pricing was last reported at $810/mt FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt:
DAP pricing was quoted at $760-$790/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low confirmed at Cincinnati and the high at Ottawa. MAP remained at $800-$820/st FOB in the region, with the Cincinnati market reported in the $800-$810/st FOB range.
Western Cornbelt:
The DAP market climbed to $780-$790/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, up another $5-$10/st from the prior week, with the low confirmed at St. Louis. MAP remained at $800-$820/st FOB in the region, depending on location, with the low at St. Louis and the high in Iowa on a spot basis.
Southern Plains:
The DAP market had reportedly firmed to $785-$790/st FOB Catoosa/Inola and Houston. MAP was pegged at $820-$830/st FOB, with the low at Catoosa/Inola and the high at Houston.
South Central:
DAP pricing reportedly jumped to $780-$795/st FOB terminals in the South Central region for new offers, up $10-$15/st, with the low reported at Memphis and the high in Kentucky and at Little Rock, Ark. The Shreveport DAP market was pegged at the $790/st FOB level in early December.
Southeast:
The last MAP price FOB Aurora, N.C., and White Springs, Fla., was reported at the $780/st FOB level.
Saudi Arabia:
Phosphates loading from Saudi Arabia were heard firming to the $800-$900/mt FOB range, up from $795-$875/mt FOB at last report.
China:
Despite the hopes and wishes of buyers, the Chinese government does not seem to be willing to budge on amending its export restriction on DAP.
India:
Sources said Indian producers are buying a lot of phos acid in an apparent desire to make their own DAP. However, traders noted that the ammonia purchases do not seem to be matching the acid buys. Eventually, said one trader, the companies will have to enter the ammonia spot market. When that happens, sources said the cost to the producers will move up dramatically.
Most ammonia currently entering India is under long-term contracts and is well below the current global ammonia price range. The lower price for ammonia is a help to DAP producers and to the Indian government looking to limit its subsidy payments. Any new spot tons will be significantly higher, causing producers to demand more support from an already cash-strapped government.
Brazil:
The price of MAP seems to be softening as buyers step away from the market in protest over higher prices. Sources reported port prices at $820-$900/mt CFR with limited deals in hand. Rondonopolis is relatively stable at $970-$1,028/mt FOB ex-warehouse.
January-November MAP imports were up about 4 percent, to 4.7 million mt from 4.5 million imported during the same period in 2020, according to Trade Data Monitor.
Morocco with 1.8 million mt and Russia with 1.4 million mt were the two largest suppliers to Brazil in the first 11 months of the year. Exports from the U.S. dropped 60 percent during the period, to 187,000 mt from 463,000 mt the previous year.
November MAP imports of 491,000 mt represented a 25 percent increase from November 2020 imports of 391,000 mt.