U.S. Gulf:
NOLA UAN barges continued to be hard to peg. Early week reports put product in the $185-$190/st ($5.78-$5.94/unit) FOB range, but by week’s end, others suggested the market may be as high as $200/st FOB. The week-ago range was $180-$185/st ($5.63-$5.78/unit) FOB.
U.S. Imports:
December 2020 UAN imports were up 20.6 percent, to 196,444 st from 162,869 st in December 2019. Imports for the July-December period totaled 1.17 million st, however, down 19.0 percent from the year-ago 1.44 million st.
Russia topped the July-December import period with 496,508 st, falling 36.3 percent year-over-year from 778,944 st. Trinidad and Tobago was close behind at 475,886 st, softening 20.2 percent from the prior year’s 596,152 st, while Canada’s 171,357 st represented a 14.6 percent drop from 200,591 st posted one year earlier.
U.S. Exports:
Offshore UAN volumes firmed 113.0 percent in December 2020, to 32,364 st from the prior year’s 15,192 st. Export volumes were down 23.5 percent in the July-December period, however, to 464,957 st from 607,961 st.
Eastern Cornbelt:
The UAN-32 market firmed to $235-$250/st ($7.34-$7.81/unit) FOB regional terminals in the Eastern Cornbelt for spring tons, depending on location and time of shipment, with the low reported at Mount Vernon and Jeffersonville, Ind., and the high at Albany, Ill., and Terra Haute, Ind. Other spot quotes included $237/st ($7.41/unit) FOB Cincinnati, $239/st ($7.47/unit) FOB Peru, Ill., and $245/st ($7.66/unit) FOB Burns Harbor, Ind.
Western Cornbelt:
UAN-32 pricing edged higher to $235-$245/st ($7.34-$7.66/unit) FOB in the Western Cornbelt, up $10/st from the previous week, with the low confirmed at St. Louis and the high at Muscatine, Iowa.
Northern Plains:
UAN-32 pricing in the Northern Plains firmed from $251/st ($7.84/unit) up to $275/st ($8.59/unit) FOB Winona, Minn., as the week progressed, up from $245/st ($7.66/unit) FOB in mid-January and a full $85/st higher than early December pricing levels.
Northeast:
UAN-32 pricing in the Northeast was quoted at $275/st ($8.59/unit) FOB Baltimore, Md., and $300/st ($9.38/unit) FOB Fairless during the week, up nearly $100/st from mid-January. The market out of terminals in upstate New York also firmed to the $300/st ($9.38/unit) FOB level as the week progressed, up from $288/st ($9.00/unit) FOB previously.
Eastern Canada:
The UAN-28 market had reportedly firmed to C$300-$302/mt (C$10.71-$10.79/unit) FOB in Eastern Canada, up some C$45-$50/mt from late December. UAN-32 pricing was also up C$50/mt, to C$345/mt (C$10.78/unit) FOB in the Ontario market.