U.S. Gulf: Like urea, UAN barges continued to move up last week. And with outages at various plants, pressure on UAN was heightened.
Barge trades were reported at $370-$390/st ($11.56-$12.19/unit) FOB, with quotes later in the week as high at $400-$405/st ($12.50-$12.66/unit) FOB. East Coast DEL on a vessel basis was called $400/mt.
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources reported a wide range of UAN prices in the Eastern Cornbelt last week due to a rapidly firming market and very tight supply. “UAN is about two or three weeks away from joining urea as a train wreck, and for the Eastern Cornbelt this will be a really big issue,” said one source at midweek.
UAN-28 pricing out of the Cincinnati market was pegged at $335/st ($11.96/unit) FOB on the low end for confirmed business, but sources said dealer postings there firmed to $345-$360/st ($12.32-$12.86/unit) FOB as the week advanced. Out of inland terminals in Ohio and Indiana, the UAN-28 market was quoted at $350-$370/st ($12.50-$13.21/unit) FOB last week.
On a rail-delivered basis, sources quoted the UAN-32 market at the $390/st level ($12.19/unit) for recent business, but list prices had reportedly moved up dramatically to $425-$435/st ($13.28-$13.59/unit) rail-DEL in the region in early April.
Western Cornbelt: The UAN-32 market was reported at $408-$425/st ($12.75-$13.28/unit) FOB Western Cornbelt terminals at midweek, up $40-$45/st from the previous week and some $100/st higher than regional UAN pricing in mid March. Some sources were speculating that $440-$450/st ($13.75-$14.06/unit) FOB would be the new dealer reference at some locations before the weekend.
Southern Plains: UAN-32 pricing in the Southern Plains was up dramatically from last report, and in very tight supply. The market was pegged at $380-$400/st ($11.88-$12.50/unit) FOB production points, but most sources were calling it a firm $395-$400/st ($12.34-$12.50/unit) FOB as the week advanced, provided you could find any tons last week. “If there’s a cheaper quote out there, they don’t have any,” said one contact at midweek. “You can hardly find any tons for sale.” The upper end of the range was tagged as high as $425/st ($13.28/unit) FOB out of terminals in Kansas on a spot basis.
South Central: The UAN-32 market was quoted in a broad range at $385-$425/st ($12.03-$13.28/unit) FOB regional terminals, and was described by one source as “the next big problem” due to unavailability and rapidly firming prices.
The low end of the regional range was quoted on a spot basis very early in the week, but by midweek there were no tons available at the $385/st ($12.03/unit) FOB level, and sources were talking of a minimum pricing level of $400/st ($12.50/unit) FOB. One contact quoted a firm terminal price of $415/st ($12.97/unit) FOB for limited tons on April 4, and another confirmed sales at the $425/st ($13.28/unit) FOB level on April 5, with speculation that the market will be at the $440-$450/st ($13.75-$14.06/unit) FOB level for the next round of sales.
Southeast: Sources pegged the UAN-30 market at $315-$325/st ($10.50-$10.83/unit) FOB Wilmington and Norfolk, Va., and moving up. There were reports of UAN-32 tons still in the $325-$330/st ($10.16-$10.31/unit) FOB range in Georgia at midweek, but sources there talked of spot prices “all over the board” as the week advanced.