U.S. Gulf: Rising water levels continued to plague New Orleans last week, prolonging high water restrictions and delays in barge pickup and drop-off. Originally predicted to crest on June 18, new forecasts saw levels cresting on July 8.
Delays of 24-26 hours were reported at Algiers Lock last week with an average of 10 boats queued, and navigation through Industrial Lock required an extra 12-14 hours, with 11 boats on standby. Bayou Sorrel Lock delays were put at 8-10 hours, while vessels waited 6-8 hours to transit Port Allen Lock.
High-water conditions and a current measured at 4.4 miles per hour restricted movement on the Brazos River last week. Brazos Lock was backed up with a reported 20 vessels in line for locking on June 24.
Rising flows at Colorado River locks were a cause for concern, shippers noted, although no restrictions had been instituted as of June 24. The Colorado Floodgates are offline for repairs during daylight hours through July 3.
The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal Lock was offline during the daytime on June 23 for gate pit cleaning, and Calcasieu Lock is closed to daylight navigation through June 30.
Persistent high flows at Morgan City prolonged delays and tow-size restrictions. The dicey conditions were expected to linger for 5-8 days.
Recent storms caused shoaling and navigation delays at Caney Creek in the West Canal, and dredging was scheduled to begin around June 24-25. Passage through Mile 57 in the West Canal was prohibited during the daytime on June 23 due to ship construction.
Bayou Sorrel Lock maintenance and repair operations will cause significant backups July 15 through Sept. 15, shippers said. Vessels are expected to detour through Algiers Lock while work is underway.
Lower Mississippi River: Shippers expected tow restrictions to soon take effect in the Memphis and Vicksburg areas due to rising river levels. Baton Rouge remained under high-water restrictions, and is expected to crest at 36.0 feet on July 8. The Baton Rouge gauge showed a depth of 31.8 feet on June 25.
Dredging work at Miles 484-485 was scheduled to conclude June 22, and mat-laying and weir-dike construction at Mile 643 was set to run through Oct. 8. Similar work is expected to prompt full or partial daytime closures at Mile 893 on Sept. 5-12, Mile 714 on Sept. 17-22, and Mile 418 on Nov. 11-17.
Weir construction at Big Island Bendway, originally slated to begin in September, will likely be moved up to a July 6 start date, shippers said. Transit through the area will be unavailable during daylight hours through Sept. 6.
Upper Mississippi River: High water, fast flows, and heavy drift continued to plague the St. Louis area, sources said, leading to heavy congestion and port delays averaging 12 hours.
Nighttime transit remains unavailable for tows longer than 600 feet until levels drop below the 25-foot mark. Depths were reported at 36.3 feet and falling on June 25, with rain forecast for June 27-28. The elevated flows led to tow-size restrictions of 12 barges or fewer above Wood River.
Navigation through Lock 27 was delayed 2-4 hours for the week, while boats passing through Lock 20 needed an extra hour for transit. Lock 15 was offline during the daytime on June 24.
Illinois River: Moderate-to-major flooding was reported on the Illinois River last week, slowing navigation in the Chicago area. The conditions halted transit above Starved Rock, and southbound travel through LaSalle was limited to 12-barge tows.
Marseille Lock and Dresden Island Locks were subject to width restrictions, and the LaGrange and Peoria Lock chambers were open, allowing boats to pass freely.
Lockport Lock remained closed following a June 15 equipment failure. Maintenance crews were ons
CF Industries Holdings Inc. and Keytrade AG (Keytrade) announced late June 26 that the principals of Keytrade, a global fertilizer trading company, have purchased CF’s 50 percent interest in the joint venture.
The companies explained that following the divestiture of CF’s phosphate segment, the nature of the joint business between CF and Keytrade changed. Additionally, as a result of the jv, Keytrade was not able to pursue nitrogen-related business in North America. Following discussions, the principals of Keytrade have decided to purchase all of CF’s interest in the jv in order to allow Keytrade to execute its independent business plan.
"We have enormous respect for Melih Keyman and the rest of the Keytrade organization," said Tony Will, CF president and CEO. "We have a great working relationship and look forward to continuing to work with Keytrade as our preferred international trading partner."
"While our eight-year partnership has created value for both parties, under the new global supply scenario it is important for Keytrade to regain its full flexibility as a private company and be able to pursue the full range of attractive growth opportunities. Changed circumstances required us to exercise our options. We have enjoyed and benefitted tremendously from being partners with CF and look forward to working with them as before," said Melih Keyman, original founder, president and CEO of Keytrade AG.
Prior to this transaction, CF held a 50 percent interest in Keytrade and reported the financial results from CF’s share in the jv under Equity in Earnings of Non-Operating Affiliates—Net of Taxes.
Egypt Kuwait Holding Co. (EKH), a major investor in the proposed $2.5 billion Magnolia Nitrogen Idaho (Magnida) project in American Falls, Idaho, told Bloomberg last week that it was pulling out of the project due to high construction costs. EKH Chairman Moataz Al-Alfi said the company may instead invest in the Middle East. Cairo-based EKH is an Arab private equity consortium established in 1997.
In its annual report last year, EKH said it acquired 100 percent of Magnida’s share capital in November 2012, including water rights, for $25 million, giving it a controlling stake, but Magnida CEO Ric Sorbo said at the time that EKH was one of multiple investors (GM Sept. 15, 2014). He said EKH would be part of a group of domestic and global investors who would contribute a total of $800 million, which would be used as a down payment on the project.
Sorbo was not immediately available for comment last week. However, Kristen Jensen, executive director of the Great Rift Business Development Organization, who has worked closely on the Magnida project, and Brett Crompton, publisher of the Power County Press, both told Green Markets that Magnida officials continue to pursue financing for the project.
At the end of March, Sorbo told Green Markets that Magnida hoped to select either Bechtel/UHDE or KBR/Kiewit as the general engineering, procurement, and construction contractor by the end of April, finalize financing by early summer, and begin construction by the end of this summer (GM March 30, p. 1). Sorbo said institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds showed interest in the Magnida project during the first quarter of 2015, broadening its investment base.
Societe Generale SA, a Paris-based multinational and financial services company, was selected by Magnida as the project’s lead banking institution.
Magnida originally had hoped to select the project’s contractor by last August, but bids submitted by the two companies reportedly were higher than anticipated. The company also had hoped to reach financial close by the end of last December.
The Magnida plant would be constructed on 450 acres zoned heavy industrial next to ConAgra’s Lamb Weston potato processing plant in Power County. ConAgra fought the issuance of an air quality permit to the Magnida plant until Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter intervened last year to end the dispute between the two companies.
The plant would use 85 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day as a feedstock to produce up to 2,500 st/d of liquid ammonia and make up to 4,100 st/d of granulated urea, up to 2,900 st/d of UAN, and up to 1,050 st/d of diesel exhaust fluid.
Magnida estimates 150 full-time workers would be employed at the plant, and between 1,500 and 2,000 workers would be needed during the construction phase.
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: The Tampa market firmed up $10/mt, moving to $460/mt CFR for July business from June’s $450/mt CFR. Sources said Black Sea price ideas had moved up in the past few weeks, giving Tampa some strength.
July NYMEX natural gas closed June 25 at $2.850/mmBtu, up from June 18’s close of $2.777/mmBtu.
Eastern Cornbelt: Ammonia pricing in the Eastern Cornbelt was transitioning from prompt sales to summer fill levels. Sources quoted fill pricing at $540-$550/st FOB in the region for tons shipped in July and August, with the lower end of the range in Illinois and the upper end in the Indiana market. Fall prepay was reportedly being offered at a $10/st premium to those levels.
The only location with a few lingering prompt ammonia sales was Henderson, Ky., where sources quoted the cash market last week at $590/st FOB.
Western Cornbelt: The anhydrous ammonia market in the Western Cornbelt was in the process of resetting from prompt to summer fill and fall prepay pricing.
Fill tons offered for shipments starting in July were quoted at $505/st FOB in Nebraska, $515-$525/st FOB out of Iowa terminals, and $530/st FOB Palmyra, Mo., with fall prepay quotes tracking roughly $10/st higher at most locations.
Although the last bit of prompt ammonia business was quoted in the $550-$590/st FOB range out of regional terminals, sources said there were no new prompt sales taking place in the Western Cornbelt last week.
In the Southern Plains market, sources quoted fill ammonia offers at the $465/st level FOB Oklahoma production points for July pull, with fourth-quarter prepay tons priced $10/st higher.
Northern Plains: Sources reported some summer fill prices out for anhydrous ammonia in the Northern Plains. Dakota Gasification was offering ammonia fill at $550/st DEL for orders placed by July 10 and pulled from July 1 through Aug. 21. Until the fill shipping period begins, however, the company’s prompt ammonia price remained at $600/st DEL in the region.
Other regional suppliers were also reportedly offering fill ammonia tons at the $550/st level in the Dakotas for tons pulled after July 1. Ammonia prices FOB Velva and Grand Forks, N.D., were quoted at $580/st for fill, with fall prepay being offered at $585-$590/st FOB for September through December.
Eastern Canada: The anhydrous ammonia market FOB Courtright, Ont., had reportedly slipped to $820-$825/mt for prompt pull, down $25-$30/mt from last report.
Black Sea: Sources in the area are viewing the recent uptick in the Tampa price as a stabilizing move rather than as any indication of an upward trend. As evidence, one trader points to the steady price in Yuzhnyy.
As more details of contracted and spot tons become known, sources say there are three distinct netbacks. One is based on deals settled by Koch showing netbacks at just under $400/mt FOB. A second touchstone is spot business – mostly to Turkey – that shows a netback centering on $380/mt FOB. And the final range is $360-$370/mt FOB, a level that OCP/Morocco claims, but producers deny. Sources add that the lowest price range also includes Russian material that is discounted because of the U.S./EU sanctions against Russia.
Once the contracted tons are accounted for, say sources, only about 30,000-40,000 mt remain available each month for spot business. That number is expected to drop slightly as more shutdowns are expected in the area.
Prices could go higher, said one observer, if Tunisia ever gets its phosphate operations back online. Sources report that the Tunisian phosphate producers have not taken any ammonia so far this year. With no plants running, there is no need for imported ammonia from Yuzhnyy.
U.S. Gulf: Loaded granular barges that were ready to go continued to garner a large premium last week, and were reported to have traded as high as $349-$360/st FOB.
On the other hand, barges to be loaded just two weeks out were on the low end of a very broad range. While several put them in the $300-$310/st FOB range, others said barges being sold off of import vessels due next week were going for as low as $290-$295/st FOB.
Sources continued to report that prills were not available on a prompt basis. Second-half July, however, was being bandied about within the $310-$315/st FOB range.
Eastern Cornbelt: With sidedress demand mostly finished in the Eastern Cornbelt, sources reported no supply chain problems other than tight urea inventories at some locations.
Granular urea was quoted at $380-$400/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low end reported at Cincinnati, Ohio.
Western Cornbelt: Sources continued to report firm prices and very tight inventories for urea in the Western Cornbelt.
The granular urea market was quoted in a broad range at $390-$415/st FOB out of regional terminals for very limited tons, with several contacts reporting sold-out inventories last week. In addition to rice demand, sources said corn growers were applying urea in aerial applications because of missed UAN sidedress applications due to wet fields and tall corn plants.
Northern Plains: Granular urea pricing had reportedly firmed to $390/st FOB in the Twin Cities market for limited prompt tons. There were reports of summer fill tons being offered at the $350/st FOB level in the Twin Cities, but that program was not confirmed.
No spot tons were available out of North Dakota urea terminals last week, and sources reported very little demand or activity to test the FOB or delivered markets in the Dakotas.
Northeast: Granular urea pricing had reportedly firmed to $375-$385/st FOB in the Northeast, up $10/st from last report, although inventories were low and several locations were out of product by late June. The upper end of the range was reported out of the East Liverpool, Ohio, market last week.
Eastern Canada: Ontario sources quoted the granular urea market at $499-$520/mt FOB, with limited availability on the spot market.
India: The STC tender closed with 1.6 million mt in firm offers and another 300,000 mt in optional offers. The tender showed a clear uptick in pricing, with the average of all the offers at $322.53/mt CFR. This compares to the average price of $303.13/mt CFR in the May IPL tender.
Sources were expecting higher prices because of the efforts of Chinese producers to push the prilled price to $315-$320/mt FOB. What those producers did not consider, however, was that as they pushed their prices up, they made it possible for Black Sea tons to be offered for the first time in a long while.
In the end, the Chinese producers had to settle for netbacks under $310/mt FOB.
U.S. Gulf: Major players were out with fill programs last week. Sources put netbacks to NOLA in the $205-$220/st ($6.41-$6.88/unit) FOB range, with other saying early-week trades were as low as $200/st ($6.25/unit) FOB, if not lower. Sources maintain that after the fill announcement, barge business did occur as high as $210-$220/st ($6.56-$6.88/unit) FOB, making an overall range for the week $200-$220/st ($6.25-$6.88/unit) FOB.
The last done East Coast vessel trade continued to be called $225/mt CFR. The market was reported as quiet, with sellers now quoting $235-$240/mt CFR.
Eastern Cornbelt: Much lower UAN prices were reported in the Eastern Cornbelt last week as the regional market resets from prompt to summer fill sales.
UAN-32 fill programs announced on June 25 were quoted at $250-$260/st ($7.81-$8.13/unit) FOB for tons shipped in July and August, with the upper end also quoted for rail-delivered fill tons into parts of the region.
Ohio sources on June 25 reported UAN-28 fill offers at $225/st ($8.04/unit) FOB Cincinnati for shipments beginning in July. Prompt UAN was still quoted at the $244-$250/st ($8.71-$8.93/unit) FOB level in Cincinnati last week, although there were few new sales to test that market.
Western Cornbelt: Sources said CF Industries announced a summer fill program for UAN on June 25, with a number of other regional suppliers following suit.
The programs were reportedly offering tons for July-September shipment in the $245-$260/st ($7.66-$8.13/unit) FOB range out of most Midwest terminals, depending on location, with the Southern Plains fill market pegged in the $225-$230/st ($7.03-$7.19/unit) FOB range. Specific postings included $250/st ($7.81/unit) FOB Port Neal, Iowa, $230/st ($7.19/unit) FOB Woodward, Okla., and $225/st ($7.03/unit) FOB Verdigris, Okla.
Several sources said the CF program was accepting orders for one day only on June 25, but that provision was not confirmed. In areas of the Western Cornbelt where UAN tons were still being sold for prompt sidedress demand, sources quoted the spot market at the $285/st ($8.91/unit) FOB level last week.
Northern Plains: The UAN-28 market remained at $260-$280/st ($9.29-$10.00/unit) FOB in the Northern Plains, with the low quoted in the Twin Cities and the upper end out of North Dakota terminals. With tons still being pulled for sidedress demand in the Northern Plains, sources said no UAN summer fill programs were being offered yet in the region.
Northeast: Sources quoted the UAN-32 market at $240-$245/st ($7.50-$7.66/unit) FOB Baltimore, Md., reflecting another slight drop from last report. The low end was confirmed for new spot sales to meet lingering sidedress demand in the Northeast, although several contacts said “shipments are winding down” in the region.
Out of terminals in upstate New York, the UAN-32 market had reportedly slipped to $300/st ($9.38/unit) FOB, down from $304/st ($9.50/unit) FOB at last report.
Eastern Canada: UAN-28 pricing in Eastern Canada was tagged at $338-$340/mt ($12.07-$12.14/unit) FOB regional terminals, down slightly from May pricing levels.
U.S. Gulf: Ammonium nitrate barge activity was hard to find, with the last done prices reported at $260-$265/st FOB.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate remained at $335-$340/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt for the last sales, but sources reported no new business to test the market.
Eastern Canada: Ammonium nitrate was unchanged at $495-$550/mt FOB in the Ontario market for the last reported sales.
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $320-$325/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, although one source said tons were “pretty well sold out.” Ammonium thiosulfate was unchanged at $335-$360/st FOB in the region for the last business.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $300-$325/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt for prompt sales, with both the high and low ends of the range quoted in the Missouri market.
Ammonium thiosulfate was unchanged at $325-$345/st FOB in the region, with the low in Iowa and the upper end in Missouri.
Northern Plains: Granular ammonium sulfate in the Northern Plains was quoted at $345/st DEL for prompt and $305/st DEL for summer fill tons shipped from July 1 through Sept. 15. The market out of the Twin Cities was pegged at the $310/st FOB level for prompt pull last week, although there were unconfirmed reports of summer fill programs circulating for as low as $270/st FOB in that location.
The ammonium thiosulfate market was quoted at $310-$320/st FOB in the Northern Plains, down $5/st from last report.
Northeast: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $310/st FOB Lancaster, Pa., and $320-$330/st DEL in the Northeast. Sources pegged the market FOB Hopewell, Va., at the $295/st level for tons shipped into the region.
Eastern Canada: Granular ammonium sulfate was down from last report at $460-$485/mt FOB in Eastern Canada. Several sources said they expect to see an ammonium sulfate fill program announced in July in the region.
Central Florida: Sales of truck-loaded DAP were reported in the Central Florida market last week at a price of $430/st FOB, sources confirmed. No railcar transactions were revealed.
As a result, market players quoted the Central Florida phosphate market at $430/st FOB for the week, down from $430-$435/st FOB the week before. MAP was $20/st higher than DAP at $450/st FOB, down from $450-$455/st FOB the week before.
U.S. Gulf: Sources described a continuing standoff in the NOLA barge market. Most market players quoted prompt barges in a range of $419-$421/st FOB, but price ideas on both the high and low ends of the market were wildly divergent.
Some sources claimed sub-$420s/st FOB barges were a myth. These contacts declared a price floor consisting of Russian DAP offered at no less than $424/st FOB, while Moroccan and domestic product comprised the market’s top end in the $430s/st FOB.
Others mentioned $410/st Russian DAP offers, however, with domestic offers in the $417-$420/st FOB range. MAP was mostly called $425-$430/st FOB.
Third-quarter DAP paper traded at $421/st FOB.
Despite the divergent price ideas, sources were generally in agreement on the source of the standoff, citing the low price of corn futures relative to ongoing strength in international phosphate markets. The farmers’ unwillingness to pay prices necessary to keep domestic material from moving offshore has suppressed the barge price, enticing sellers to offer greater volumes on the more lucrative international markets instead.
The NOLA barge market was generally quoted at $419-$421/st FOB, up slightly from the previous week’s $418-$421/st FOB. MAP was unchanged at $425-$430/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP was pegged at $450-$460/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low end reported in Cincinnati. MAP was quoted in the $460-$475/st FOB range in the region, depending on location.
10-34-0 remained at $560-$600/st FOB for the last spot business in the region, but, as one source noted, “I have not priced any in some time.”
Western Cornbelt: DAP remained flat at $450-$460/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with MAP some $10-$15/st higher than DAP, depending on location.
10-34-0 remained at $565-$590/st FOB for the last confirmed sales, but several sources described the price as a “non-issue” last week due to the seasonal lack of demand.
Northern Plains: DAP was quoted at $455/st FOB the Twin Cities, with MAP $10/st higher at that location. North Dakota sources quoted the last MAP sales at the $500/st FOB level out of warehouses in the state, but there was minimal business to test the current market last week.
The 10-34-0 market remained at $555-$560/st FOB for the last business in the Northern Plains, but sources reported no current activity in that market last week.
Northeast: MAP was unchanged at $475-$480/st FOB in the Northeast, with DAP roughly $5/st less. The low end of both ranges was quoted in the East Liverpool market last week.
10-34-0 was quoted at the $560/st FOB level out of terminals in upstate New York, down a full $35/st from early June pricing levels.
Eastern Canada: MAP was steady at $710-$720/mt FOB in Eastern Canada.
U.S. Export: Transactions totaling 27,000 mt of DAP and MAP were announced out of the U.S. Gulf last week. The cargoes, priced in a range of $470-$475/mt FOB, were destined for Eastern Canada and various Latin American countries, sources said. Shipping was slated for July and August.
The Gulf export market was quoted in a range of $470-$475/mt FOB for the week on confirmed transactions, slightly higher than th
U.S. Gulf: The potash barge market was reported to be sleeping, with the last done business called $315/st FOB. All July was reported to have traded a few dollars less.
Sources continued to speculate that the market could go lower, but at this point sources said many are simply waiting on word of summer fill programs and trying to determine farmer demand.
Eastern Cornbelt: Potash was quoted in a broad range at $360-$390/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported in the Cincinnati market and the upper end out of spot inland warehouses. The dealer market FOB Washington Court House, Ohio, was pegged at the $370/st FOB level last week.
Western Cornbelt: The potash market was quoted at $360-$380/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt. Sources reported no summer fill program announcements for potash last week, but several acknowledged the “need of a correction” to spark some interest. There were reports of warehouse fill tons being offered on the secondary market for as low as $345/st FOB on a spot basis, but that level was not confirmed.
Northern Plains: Potash pricing FOB Saskatchewan mines remained at $355-$365/st for standard, $360-$370/st for granular, and $367-$377/st for soluble to U.S. customers.
Delivered potash in the Dakotas was quoted in the $380-$400/st range, depending on location, while the warehouse price FOB the Twin Cities had reportedly slipped to the $375/st level for granular tons. No summer fill programs were out yet for potash in the region.
Northeast: Potash was unchanged at $397/st FOB Baltimore and $400/st FOB East Liverpool for 60 percent tons, with the upper end of the regional range quoted at the $407/st FOB level for white granular and/or soluble potash. Rail-delivered potash remained at $405-$412/st for prompt tons in the Northeast, depending on grade and location.
One source said he doesn’t expect the potash market in the Northeast to change until a summer fill program is announced.
Eastern Canada: Potash was quoted at $555/mt FOB regional warehouses in Eastern Canada.
Sulfate of potash (SOP) had reportedly slipped to $925-$946/mt FOB in the region.
The SOP Magnesia market was steady as well at $675-$700/mt FOB in Eastern Canada.
India: To date, India is believed to have agreed to buy a total of 4.3-4.5 million mt of potash for delivery in the current fiscal year (April 1, 2015-March 31, 2016), together with an estimated 700,000-750,000 mt of optional quantities.
ICL is the latest company to officially announce new annual contract volumes with Indian buyers for delivery in the current fiscal year. On June 19, the Israeli company said it had signed several contracts for the supply of an aggregate of 835,000 mt of potash with its customers in India, including optional volumes. ICL confirmed it had agreed to a $10/mt increase, in line with other supplier contracts.
As previously reported, ICL is rumoured to have concluded 525,000 mt firm with Indian Potash Ltd. (IPL). In addition, sources report that ICL has agreed to supply around 160,000 mt firm to Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd., and around 60,000 mt firm to Coromandel Fertilisers Ltd. However, in its official announcement, it gave no breakdown of tonnages by buyer.
K+S is the only major supplier still not to have officially announced contract volumes. It is reported, however, that the company has reached an agreement with IPL for up to 150,000 mt of potash for supply in the current fiscal year, but this could not be confirmed by press time.
Meanwhile, IFFCO is reported to have received 14 offers under its tender for 2,000 mt of potassium sulfate, which closed June 19. The lowest offer submitted was quoted at
Disclaimer of Warranty
All information has been obtained by Green Markets from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Green Markets or others, Green Markets does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.
