U.S. Gulf: The UAN market was nearly dead last week, with the possible exception of applications for rice. Prices were up slightly to the $275-$280/st ($8.59-$8.75/unit) FOB range, but movement was slow. One source said Koch may be preparing a fill plan and could set prices around $260/st ($8.13/unit) FOB. Last week, CF Industries was not a player in the market.
U.S. Import: April UAN imports were off 29 percent, to 279,303 st from the year-ago 396,031 st. However, July-April was level with a year ago, at 2.931 million st versus 2.928 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN pricing continued to slip in the Eastern Cornbelt, and regional pricing covered a broad range at mid-month. Sources quoted the UAN-28 market at $335-$340/st ($11.96-$12.14/unit) FOB river terminals and $360-$365/st ($12.86-$13.04/unit) FOB out of inland shipping points.
Western Cornbelt: The UAN-32 market in the Western Cornbelt had reportedly slipped to $340-$350/st ($10.63-$10.94/unit) FOB regional terminals on the low end. At the upper end of the range, sources continued to quote dealer pricing at the $400/st ($12.50/unit) FOB level on a spot basis.
California: UAN-32 remained in the $395-$425/st ($12.34-$13.28/unit) FOB range in California. “It’s a large gap, but at this time it’s all about where product is located in the state,” said one source. On a rail-delivered basis, sources pegged the market in an equally wide range of $399-$430/st ($12.47-$13.44/unit) last week.
Pacific Northwest: The UAN-32 market was quoted at $450-$470/st ($14.06-$14.69/unit) DEL in the region, with the upper end of the range reflecting posted levels.
Western Canada: UAN-28 pricing was steady at $548-$563/mt ($19.57-$20.11/unit) DEL in Western Canada, depending on location.