Urea

U.S. Gulf: Granular urea prices sagged last week, with reports of fresh prompt trades at the $244/st FOB mark. Others said prompt was no higher than $250/st FOB.

Prills were reported to be a tad firmer at $255-$262/st for recent trades.

Eastern Cornbelt: Urea pricing was steady at $290-$310/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low end reported out of spot river locations.

Western Cornbelt: The regional urea market was unchanged at $300-$315/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt for prompt tons, with one Iowa contact reporting “no interest in urea right now.”

California: The granular urea market remained at $345-$360/st FOB port terminals in California, with one source describing the market as “flat to flat.”

Pacific Northwest: The granular urea market had reportedly slipped to $340-$350/st FOB port terminals in the Pacific Northwest, down another $10-$15/st from last report, with delivered tons pegged at $375-$385/st for product railed from the Midwest.

“Urea pricing remains hard to pin down, and not much product is being purchased,” said one regional contact, who added that suppliers “seem to be moving old inventory around to cover demand.”

Western Canada: The granular urea market remained at $500-$510/mt DEL in Western Canada. “There continues to be a lot of speculation for (pricing) declines,” said one contact last week.

India: Rumors circulated that another tender could be called even as Green Markets went to press. Sources say the notion that another tender would be called so soon after the MMTC tender confirms that India needs the tonnage and that the efforts by the Chinese producers to hold the line on price decreases are having an impact.

Soon after the MMTC tender closed, the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association (CNFIA) urged its members to not back any offers that showed a netback below $250/mt FOB. The position of the CNFIA made it more difficult for traders to find sufficient tons to accept awards from MMTC.

In the week following the close of the tender, the awards ranged from 460,000 mt to 620,000 mt. Green Markets reported last week that there were awards of 620,000 mt from eight companies, but sources now report that the number was lowered to 465,000 mt. The difference, one source speculated, came about because some trading houses did not accept the full Indian counterbids.