U.S. Gulf: The UAN market remained inactive at $235-$245/st ($7.34-$7.66/unit) FOB. East Coast vessel business was called $250-$255/mt CFR.
Some market watchers said increased NOLA exports of UAN have kept pressure off building inventories. Exports for the fertilizer year ending June 30 were up 41 percent, to 398,150 st from the prior year’s 282,884 st. Big increases in volumes went to both France and Argentina.
UAN imports surged 48 percent in June, to 282,559 st from the year-ago 190,445 st. Despite the uptick, imports for the fertilizer year ending June 30 were down 20 percent, to 3.08 million mt from 3.86 million st.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-32 was steady at $290-$295/st ($9.06-$9.21/unit) FOB Illinois terminals, with the UAN-28 market quoted at $255-$265/st ($9.11-$9.46/unit) FOB in Ohio and Indiana.
Western Cornbelt: The UAN-32 market remained at $294.40-$310/st ($9.20-$9.69/unit) FOB regional terminals in the Western Cornbelt, depending on location.
California: UAN-32 continued to be quoted at $310-$320/st ($9.69-$10.00/unit) FOB most terminals in California, with dealer postings ranging broadly from $320-$360/st ($10.00-$11.25/unit) FOB and up to $365/st ($11.41/unit) DEL, depending on location and supplier.
“Very few loads are being bought at these levels as dealers are now going through their commitments made at fill levels a while back,” reported one regional contact.
Pacific Northwest: The UAN-32 market was quoted at $340-$350/st ($10.63-$10.94/unit) DEL in the Pacific Northwest. Sources said dealers continued to place orders to cover their fall needs, with some reportedly expressing interest in booking tons for 2015 due to anticipated price increases.
Western Canada: UAN-28 remained at $335-$350/mt ($11.96-$12.50/unit) DEL in Western Canada.