U.S. Gulf: Very prompt barges continued to garner a premium last week, with the upper end of the range called $410-$415/st FOB. Further out a week or two and they were called $390-$405/st FOB, depending on load date. Late April into May were called $360-$380/st FOB, depending on timing.
Prills were quiet at $390-$395/st FOB.
Urea imports were off 26 percent for the July-February period, to 4.25 million st from the year-ago 5.73 million st. February showed some improvement, off only 13 percent, to 611,160 st from 705,735 st.
Eastern Cornbelt: The granular urea market was quoted at $450-$470/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported out of the Cincinnati, Ohio, market and the upper end FOB Burns Harbor, Ind.
Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market remained at $455-$465/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt.
Northern Plains: Minnesota sources quoted the granular urea market at the $450/st mark FOB the Twin Cities. North Dakota contacts, citing ongoing delays for railcars, pegged delivered urea in a broad range at $525-$555/st for tons trucked from Illinois shipping points.
Great Lakes: Granular urea pricing covered a broad range in the Great Lakes region, with the low reported at $455/st FOB in the Wisconsin market and the upper end at $495/st FOB Webberville, Mich.
Michigan sources pegged the dealer price out of the Maumee, Ohio, market at $480/st FOB last week.
Northeast: Parts of New England were hit with snow and ice during the final days of March. Central New York, northern Pennsylvania, and central Maryland also saw a wintry mix of precipitation early in the week, with several inches of rain reported in eastern Pennsylvania.
The Northeast last week saw very little in the way of spring fieldwork as a result, and the spot markets were mostly unchanged from last report.
Granular urea pricing was reported in the $450-$465/st FOB range in the Northeast, with the low in Pennsylvania and the upper end FOB East Liverpool, Ohio.
Thailand: The Thais seem to be the noisiest players on the field right now. Sources say Thai buyers are looking for a price around $335-$340/mt CFR or lower from their Arab suppliers. They argue that their price fits in nicely with the ever-softening global urea market.
The producers, predictably, disagree. Sources say the Arab Gulf producers are looking at $335-$340/mt FOB, not the estimated netback of the Thai bids of $310-$315/mt FOB.
The Thais looking to buy at this time seem to be a handful of importers hoping to be poised to move once the rains seriously start in Thailand.
Sources say the demand in Thailand right now is limited. Subsidy checks from the previous year’s rice crop have not yet been sent, giving farmers little financial support to buy for this season. Likewise, the delay in the rains means less demand for urea.
The idea of buying tons now, said one trader, is to move the product into warehouses to be ready the instant the rains come. Sources add that there appears to be some movement in the government to get the rice subsidy checks out in time to allow the farmers to buy urea.
In the end, said one trader, Thailand will not be a price setter, but will remain a price confirming nation. The softness of the global urea market has many speculating that eventually the Arab Gulf suppliers will meet the Thai price.
Indonesia: Sources report that the Indonesian warehouses are getting too full.
An auction closed Friday, April 4, for 30,000 mt of granular material from Kaltim. Sources say no optional tons were offered in the auction documents, but one trader noted that if bids are aggressive and exceed expectations, additional material c