Central Florida: The Southeast received 1-2 inches of rain last week, but most was restricted to drought-free areas of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. While planting in the Northeast had yet to commence in any appreciable form, spring planting in Florida and the Southeast was said to be on target.
Rail troubles were still prevalent with delays of up to two weeks reported, but many sources said the congestion had improved somewhat.
Phosphate sales ground to a halt in Central Florida following the slow market week in NOLA, but Mosaic’s posted phosphate prices rose to $460/st FOB for DAP and $480/st FOB for MAP.
The Central Florida DAP market firmed to $460-$465/st FOB, but few new transactions were reported. MAP was estimated to run $10-$15/st FOB over DAP.
U.S. Gulf: Transactions on the barge market slowed considerably for the week. Sources said ongoing difficulties in obtaining guaranteed loading dates from producers were hampering the market. “Why pay a premium for prompt shipment when load dates will be pushed back at least a couple of days?” reasoned one source.
Despite the lull, confirmed trades occurred in a range of $495-$500/st FOB for prompt loading, and MAP transactions were placed in a range of $503-$510/st FOB.
Rumors abounded that DAP barges were being offered by Interoceanic on behalf of Mississippi Phosphates.
Offers for first-half April loading were quoted at $500-$505/st FOB, and a Koch vessel rumored to be a couple weeks out was said to be offered at $485/st FOB, though other sources said the shipment had been canceled in transit.
Once the spring season finally begins and sales peak, the next leg of the annual phosphate cycle will involve determining how producers price product in order to entice suppliers to make large purchases for the next application season. Most years, traders don’t want to be stuck with a long position after April 15, a source said, but this year’s late spring will likely push that maxim back to sometime in May.
Terminal sales were mixed, as some operators reported a drop-off for the week. DAP prices were quoted in a range of $495-$510/st FOB at lower Mississippi River terminals, and $515-$525/st FOB upriver.
River transit continued to be irregular as barge pickup waits were put at 5-7 days, with even longer delays possible if the carrier did not own its own tow vessels. Mid-river barges were being shuttled to storage locations at St. Louis and Cairo, Ill., in advance of the seasonal opening of the upper river, though a significant snow forecast for Minneapolis over the weekend dampened hopes that the opening was imminent. Sources reported that commercial transit had yet to proceed north of Dubuque, Iowa, as of April 3.
On the upper Mississippi, repairs to the main chamber of the Melvin Price Lock were expected to cause delays of 3-6 hours through August, and the rock pinnacle removal project at Thebes, Ill., was suspended indefinitely due to high water levels.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported that 95 percent of the navigational buoys on the Illinois River were lost due to ice. A project to replace the buoys was underway.
Passage through the Newt Graham Lock on the Arkansas River will be completely stopped for repairs from May 12-20, and the Ozark-Taylor Lock will also be closed during daylight hours for the same period. Both closures will affect the Inola/Catoosa area in Oklahoma.
In the New Orleans area, high river traffic at Industrial Lock was responsible for delays of up to 20 hours.
The 4:00 p.m. look at the futures market on April 3 found corn and soybean prices considerably higher, while wheat was down.
May 2014 corn contracts were $5.00/bushel, up from $4.29/bushel for the previous reporting period. Corn for July 2014 was posted at $5.0525/bushel, higher