All Posts from December 16, 2013

Ammonia

Ammonia, Eastern Canada, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Northern Plains, Tampa, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf/Tampa: While sources were left to speculate on the Tampa ammonia market of January, the long slumbering NOLA barge market saw some action last week. During the week, sources said they expected some new business within the $380-$390/st FOB range, down from $440/st FOB. Eventually, a trade jelled at the $382/st FOB mark.

January NYMEX natural gas settled on Dec. 12 at $4.409/mmBtu, up from Dec. 5’s $4.132/mmBtu.

Eastern Cornbelt: Winter weather advisories were posted for much of the Eastern Cornbelt last week. Sources said 2-4 inches of snow blanketed northern Illinois at midweek, with similar amounts expected in central and Indiana as the week advanced. Wind chill temperatures in northern Ohio reportedly dipped to the low single digits last week.

The fall ammonia application season was over in the region, and sources reported very limited dry spreading activity. The anhydrous ammonia market remained in the $540-$550/st range FOB Illinois terminals for the last done prompt business, with the upper end of the regional range tagged at the $560/st FOB level in Indiana.

Spring prepay ammonia was reportedly being offered at $550/st FOB in Illinois on a spot basis.

Western Cornbelt: Field activities slowed in the Western Cornbelt region with the arrival of snow in December. Local reports talked of 2-4 inches of accumulation throughout much of Iowa last week, while southeastern Nebraska collected 3-6 inches.

Missouri sources reported up to 8 inches of new snow in some parts of the state at mid-month, along with much colder temperatures. Forecasts reported highs reaching only into the 20s in Kansas City early in the week, with wind chills dipping below zero.

The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $510-$520/st FOB in Nebraska and Iowa and $530-$535/st FOB Palmyra, Mo., with spring prepay offers reportedly circulating at a $10/st premium to the prompt market. Missouri sources quoted delivered tons in the $540-$550/st range from southern production points.

Northern Plains: Sub-zero lows and heavy snow hit the Northern Plains region in early December. Local reports said several feet of snow blanketed parts of northern Minnesota, while thermometers in North Dakota sank to minus 24 degrees in some locations last week.

The winter weather brought fall applications of ammonia and dry fertilizer to a standstill in the region, although several sources said the fall season had never really slipped into high gear this year as growers held out for lower fertilizer prices.

The anhydrous ammonia market was quoted at $525-$550/st FOB in the Northern Plains, depending on location and time of delivery. Delivered ammonia was reported in the $565-$590/st range in North Dakota, with the low for fill tons and the upper end for spring prepay.

Eastern Canada: Parts of Ontario collected 2-5 inches of snow early in the week, with freezing rain reported in Toronto. The Maritimes also experienced freezing rain and snowfall as the week advanced, with 2-4 inches expected in New Brunswick by midweek.

More snow and cold was in store as the week advanced, with overnight lows in Toronto dipping to -9 C and snow accumulation in some lakeshore communities in southern Ontario reaching 15 inches by Dec. 12.

The Prairie Provinces, meanwhile, were shivering through an arctic blast that dropped temperatures to the -20s C in parts of southern Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan last week.

The winter weather made for minimal field activities, and fall ammonia applications were over in the region. The anhydrous ammonia market had reportedly slipped to $580-$635/mt FOB Courtright, Ont., depending on time of delivery.

Sulfur

Market Watch, Pakistan, Sulfur, Tampa, U.S. Gulf, Vancouver, West Coast

Tampa: Preliminary negotiations for the first-quarter molten sulfur price delivered to Tampa could actually begin before Christmas, although it seemed unlikely an agreement would be reached before the end of the year. If one was, it would be a record.

As world prices continued to edge up, phosphate producers will be pointing to a relatively lackluster performance in their own market as a reason to either hold the line or constrain the price.

Weather was causing temporary delays in shipments by rail to the U.S. from Canada, but no major problems were reported as of late last week. Railcars were said to be tight, and heavy snow in the North was slowing traffic a bit. Fuel surcharges for rail and truck shipments were down somewhat as the price of fuel declined.

Refinery operating capacity rates increased just slightly last week, moving up 0.2 percent to 92.6 percent from the previous week’s 92.4 percent.

The fourth-quarter molten sulfur price delivered to Tampa was $75/lt.

U.S. Gulf: The price range for Gulf prill rose to 95-$100/mt FOB, compared with the previous range of $70-$80/mt FOB.

Vancouver: China was said to be paying between $135/mt and $153/mt DEL for sulfur last week, and that was having a positive impact on sales from Vancouver.

Although the price prillers pay for sulfur from Alberta will not become finalized until after the Tampa price is settled, a source said it was expected to either roll over or move up as much as $15/mt FOB.

The spot price range last week was pegged at $90-$95/mt FOB, up from the previous week’s $70-$75/mt FOB.

West Coast: As the price rises at Vancouver, so too does the price range on the West Coast, which was said to be in the range of $93-$98/mt FOB.

Benelux: The fourth-quarter price range for Benelux was $108-$122/mt.

ADNOC: The November ADNOC price was $80/mt FOB, and $73/mt FOB at Qatar.

Pakistan: Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd. has invited bids for the sale of 10,000 mt of sulfur from its Dakhni field in the Punjab Province. Bids are due Dec 26.

Potash

Eastern Canada, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Northeast, Northern Plains, Potash Muriate, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: Potash barges were called $332-$335/st FOB, with buyers continuing to speculate that business could easily go below the $330/st FOB mark.

Eastern Cornbelt: Potash pricing had reportedly slipped to $365-$375/st FOB regional warehouses in the Eastern Cornbelt, down another $10/st from last report, with the low reported in the Cincinnati market.

Western Cornbelt: Potash pricing in the Western Cornbelt continued to fall, with sources quoting the regional warehouse market in the $360-$370/st FOB range last week, down another $5/st from last report. The low was reported in southern Missouri, with the upper end in the Iowa market.

Northern Plains: Warehouse prices for potash were quoted at the $375/st FOB level in the Northern Plains. Sources reported the potash market FOB Saskatchewan mines in the $327-$337/st FOB range to U.S. customers, down some $30/st from August postings.

Northeast: Potash pricing continued to slip in the Northeast, with sources quoting the dealer market at $367/st FOB Baltimore and $370/st FOB East Liverpool. Rail-delivered tons were pegged at the $380/st level in the region.

Eastern Canada: Potash remained at the $445/mt level FOB warehouses in Eastern Canada.

The sulfate of potash market had reportedly fallen to $750-$790/mt FOB in the region, however, down some $40-$80/mt from last report, depending on location.

The K-Mag market continued to be quoted at $535-$550/mt FOB in Eastern Canada.

Phosphates

Central Florida, Eastern Canada, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Northeast, Northern Plains, Phosphate Rock, U.S. Exports, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

Central Florida: The Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic were socked with another heavy blanket of snow last week, while much of the South received rain, which was heavy in some cases. The precipitation reduced the amount of area classified as abnormally dry in the Eastern U.S., with the exception of Virginia and the Carolinas.

The good news was that the harvest was finished before the hard weather hit. Cold was the rule for most of the country last week, with the exception of Florida, where temperatures were running about 10 degrees above normal.

The Central Florida phosphate market continued to be quiet last week. The DAP price remained flat $345/st FOB, with MAP bringing a $20/st premium over DAP in the Central Florida market.

U.S. Gulf: Phosphate has become a scarce commodity recently, and that will probably not change until early January. The scarcity was due in part to a heavy export schedule and fewer vessels arriving with imported OCP product this month.

Several sources said terminals in the Midwest were nearly empty in terms of DAP and MAP. “We’re going hand-to-mouth” on phosphates, as one put it.

NOLA DAP and MAP barges moved relatively well last week. A number of sellers were reportedly moving multiple barges, and at significantly higher prices than the previous week, when Koch was said to be the biggest buyer.

Meanwhile, barge traffic on the Mississippi River was slowed by low water last week, and that will likely continue for several weeks. Low water on the mid-Mississippi near Thebes, Ill., was the bottleneck, and the Army Corps of Engineers was working to remove rocks from the channel to avoid dangers to navigation during the low-water period. Traffic will be restricted initially to one-way and a limit of 15 barges to a tow with “no wake” restrictions, the Corps said. In addition, the channel may be shut down at times.

USDA said Argentina was poised to make a record harvest of soybeans, and that did not help the price of soybeans on the futures market. That weakness also spilled over to corn futures, especially after legislation was introduced in the Senate to eliminate the ethanol mandate for gasoline.

The 4 p.m. Thursday snapshot of the futures market showed corn, soybean, and wheat prices all down from the previous week. The exception was corn for March 2014, which moved up late in the day to $4.3425/bushel, just slightly higher than the previous week’s $4.335/bushel. The May 2014 corn price was $4.425/bushel, while trading of December 2014 corn contracts checked in at $4.615/bushel, down slightly from the previous week’s $4.625/bushel.

The January 2014 price of soybeans was $13.2375/bushel, down from the previous week’s $13.28/bushel, while the March 2014 soybean price slipped to $13.1175/bushel from $13.28/bushel a week earlier. The soybean price for November 2014 was posted at $11.5825/bushel, also lower than the prior week’s $11.63/bushel.

Wheat for March 2014 was $6.7825/bushel, down from the previous week’s $6.9525/bushel, while wheat for May 2014 slipped to $6.82/bushel from $6.95/bushel one week earlier. The July 2015 price of wheat was $6.9275/bushel, down from the previous reporting period’s price of $6.9875/bushel.

Phosphate prices at terminals and at NOLA were on the rise last week. The NOLA DAP barge price came in at $338-$360/st FOB based on actual trades, compared with the previous week’s range of $325-$340/st FOB. Paper offers for January were running as high as $364/st FOB.

NOLA MAP barges were thinly traded last week, with sources reporting a range of $365-$370/st FOB.

Eastern Cornbelt: DAP pricing had reportedly firmed to $380-$385/st FOB Cincinnati, up roughly $15/st from the previous week. The high end of the regional DAP market was pe

Ammonium Sulfate

Ammonium Sulfate, Eastern Canada, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Northeast, Northern Plains, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was unchanged at $270-$280/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt. Ammonium thiosulfate remained at $335-$340/st FOB.

Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate pricing in the Western Cornbelt was steady at $255-$270/st FOB. An Iowa contact quoted the common dealer market at the $265/st FOB level last week.

The ammonium thiosulfate market was reported in the $310-$315/st FOB range in the region, reflecting a drop from last report.

Northern Plains: Granular ammonium sulfate was unchanged at $265-$270/st FOB and $280-$285/st DEL in the Northern Plains, with the upper end of the delivered range reflecting spring prepay offers in the North Dakota market.

Northeast: Granular ammonium sulfate pricing was unchanged at $275-$280/st DEL in the Northeast, based on FOB pricing at the $250/st mark out of Hopewell, Va. The East Liverpool, Ohio, ammonium sulfate market remained at the $280/st FOB level.

Eastern Canada: Granular ammonium sulfate was pegged in the $375-$380/mt FOB range in Eastern Canada, with ammonium thiosulfate quoted at the $415/mt FOB level in Ontario.

Ammonium Nitrate

Ammonium Nitrate, Eastern Canada, Market Watch, U.S. Gulf, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: Ammonium nitrate barge prices continued to move up, with price ideas now in the $270-$275/st FOB range. One player was reportedly quoting $280/st FOB for late January business, while others predicted that $290/st FOB was just around the corner.

Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate was steady at $325/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt.

Eastern Canada: The ammonium nitrate market was tagged at $410-$425/mt FOB in the Ontario market last week.

Nitrogen Solutions

Eastern Canada, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, Northeast, Northern Plains, U.S. Gulf, UAN, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: UAN barge prices continued to firm last week, with sources putting new trades into the $240s/st FOB. CF was reported to be seeking $250/st FOB for barges.

Strong international prices were said to be boosting the East Coast import market, which was now being quoted as high as $280/mt CFR for the next round of business as a result. Others, however, put that market at $270-$275/mt CFR, with some saying the last done business was actually at $265/mt CFR.

Eastern Cornbelt: UAN pricing had firmed slightly, with sources quoting the UAN-28 market at the $265/st ($9.29/unit) level FOB Cincinnati for prompt or prepay tons. Illinois sources tagged the UAN-32 market in a broad range at $285-$300/st ($8.91-$9.38/unit) FOB, depending on location and time of delivery.

Western Cornbelt: Sources quoted the UAN-32 market at $275-$295/st ($8.59-$9.22/unit) FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low in southern Missouri and the upper end in the Iowa market.

Northern Plains: The UAN-28 market was quoted at $265/st ($9.46/unit) FOB in the Northern Plains, up slightly from last report. Delivered tons in North Dakota were reported at $280-$300/st ($10.00-$10.71/unit), with the low for prompt and the upper end for spring prepay.

Northeast: Sources reported steady UAN movement out of East Coast terminals earlier in December, and pricing was up from last report. The Baltimore UAN-30 market was pegged at $238-242/st ($7.93-$8.07/unit) FOB last week, with the upper end of the range quoted at the $265/st ($8.28/unit) level for UAN-32.

Out of terminals in upstate New York, the UAN-32 market was reported at $312-$320/st ($9.75-$10.00/unit) FOB, depending on location.

Eastern Canada: The UAN market in Eastern Canada had inched up from last report. Sources quoted UAN-28 at $290-$295/mt ($10.36-$10.54/unit) FOB in the region, with UAN-32 reported at the $331/mt ($10.34/unit) FOB level in Ontario on a spot basis.

Urea

Bangladesh, Black Sea, China, Eastern Canada, Eastern Cornbelt, India, Market Watch, Middle East, Northeast, Northern Plains, Pakistan, U.S. Gulf, Urea, Western Cornbelt

U.S. Gulf: Early reports were that prices ran up to the prior week’s high, which was in the low $340s/st FOB. As the week progressed, however, sources said prices drifted back into the $330-$335/st FOB range.

By the end of the week, word that India was deferring another round of urea buying put more pressure on the markets, and sources said prices had edged down to $329/st FOB.

In the meantime, sources said prills – perhaps in short supply now that Libyan material is offline – were firm, with the market called $330-$335/st FOB for recent trades.

Eastern Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing was pegged in the $365-$375/st FOB range in the Eastern Cornbelt for prompt pull, up $5/st from last report, with the low reported FOB Cincinnati. Spring prepay was reportedly being offered at the $380/st level FOB Cincinnati.

Western Cornbelt: Granular urea pricing in the Western Cornbelt had reportedly moved up considerably on the strength of a firming NOLA market, with sources quoting dealer pricing in the $370-$375/st FOB range out of most regional terminals last week.

The Catoosa, Okla., urea price was up as well, with the market reported firmly at the $370/st FOB level at the port, up $15/st from the prior week.

Northern Plains: Spot prices for urea were on the rise in the Northern Plains as terminals started to play catch-up to a firming NOLA barge market.

Sources quoted the Twin Cities urea market last week at a firm $375/st FOB, up some $25-$30/st from last report. Rail-delivered urea was reported at the $410/st level at the low end in North Dakota, also reflecting a $30/st jump, while FOB pricing had reportedly moved to $415/st FOB Jamestown and Carrington, N.D.

Northeast: Granular urea pricing was up from last report in the Northeast. Although some quoted even higher dealer reference prices, most sources put the dealer market last week at $375/st FOB East Liverpool, Ohio, and $370-$380/st FOB Fairless, Penn. The Savannah, Ga., urea market was pegged at the $360/st FOB level in mid-December.

The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions saw snow and cold temperatures last week, with 2-8 inches of accumulation reported in a wide band from northern Virginia up to southern New England. Sources said highs were only expected to reach the low 30s in Pennsylvania as the week progressed.

Eastern Canada: Granular urea pricing in Eastern Canada was up slightly, with sources quoting the dealer market at $440-$460/mt FOB in Ontario, depending on location.

Some spring prepay programs were also being offered, though sources said they were unsure how much business was actually being done.

Middle East: Arab producers are still riding high on purchases earlier this month from Europe. Granular product was still pegged at $370-$375/mt FOB, with offers at $380/mt FOB.

Sources say, however, that this rise in prices is not expected to continue. While the producers are quick to point to the $380/mt FOB price, traders report that buyers are pushing back hard against these efforts. No one could point to a direct sale yet at the $380/mt FOB level.

For now, the Arab producers are showing plenty of movement under long-term contracts and current sales. In addition, Saudi Arabia loaded 50,000 mt for Pakistan in the first week of the month. The tons were part of an ongoing aid program under the Saudi Fund for Development.

Egyptian producer MOPCO stepped up Thursday with an auction of 26,000 mt. Heading into the auction, sources expected to see the price hit $400/mt FOB. In the end, the final price came in at $390/mt FOB. Keytrade took 6,000 mt and Agrium took the remaining 20,000 mt.

The move to export material came after several weeks of cutb

Bunge Ltd. – Management Brief

Management Briefs

Bunge Ltd.,  White Plains, N.Y., said Dec. 6 that Alberto Weisser will resign from its board of directors, effective Dec. 31, concurrent with his planned retirement as executive chairman. He has served as executive chairman since June 2013, and previously served as chairman and CEO since 1999.

The board has appointed L. Patrick Lupo to succeed Weisser as non-executive chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2014. Lupo has been a member of Bunge’s board since 2006 and currently serves as deputy chairman and lead independent director, as well as chairman of the compensation committee. He is the former chairman and CEO of DHL Worldwide Express.

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