U.S. Gulf: New prompt business last week was quoted at $305-$312/st FOB, down slightly from the prior week’s $305-$315/st FOB. January business was called $320/st FOB.
Prills continued to be called $315-$330/st FOB.
Eastern Cornbelt: The granular urea market was pegged at $345-$365/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt. The low end was reported out of Cincinnati, Ohio, and spot river locations in Illinois, with the upper end of the range FOB inland warehouses in the Ohio market.
Western Cornbelt: The granular urea market was steady at $350-$370/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with pricing at most river terminals quoted in the lower half of that range.
Southern Plains: Granular urea remained flat at $345-$350/st FOB the Tulsa market. Dealer reference prices were reportedly unchanged at $365/st FOB Houston.
South Central: Sources pegged the granular urea market at $345-$360/st FOB terminals in the South Central region, down $10-$15/st from last report, with the low reported out of Blytheville, Ark., and the upper end FOB Memphis, Tenn.
Southeast: Several suppliers were out of urea at regional terminals last week, but pricing levels appeared to be down for new inventories coming in. The upper end of the regional range was quoted at $405/st FOB Wilmington, N.C., for the last business, but new inventories slated for the Savannah, Ga., market were reported to be dropping to as low as $370/st FOB.
Carolina contacts reported rail-DEL urea coming into the region for $385-$390/st last week, down $10/st from last report.
India: Reports of spot shortages of urea in India are becoming a regular feature in local media reports. At the same time, local politicians are demanding more action by the government to ensure a plentiful supply to wrap up the application season.
Sources outside the country say it is not surprising to see some localized shortages. Traders report that India started its buying late and there were some delays in shipments. Now, however, the last two tenders showed a strong buying program could ease concerns.
Another tender is expected in the next few weeks. The big issue now is keeping track of how many tons are sitting in the Chinese bonded warehouses after the STC and TCP/Pakistan tender award winners finish loading.
Any tender called in December will involve January shipments. By that time, the Chinese export rules are expected to change to make exports more available throughout the year. How the new policy will play out in offers is still uncertain.
Sources speculate that the tender announcement will take place around the time of the Fertilizer Association of India annual meeting Dec. 10-12.
China: Granular urea continues to be the unwanted product. Sources say the lull in granular buying is seasonal, but is nonetheless upsetting to producers.
Even though there is no current demand for granular, sources say producers are loathe to lower their prices below $300/mt FOB.
Prilled urea continues to load for India and will soon start loading for Pakistan. Once all the existing contracts are loaded, sources expect only about 500,000 mt to be left for end-of-year sales. The problem is buyers may not want to pick up December tons.
The general consensus in the industry is that Beijing will alter the export rules to allow for exports at a flat rate, now pegged at RMB80/mt (US$13/mt). The change in export policy, say sources, could soften the global market because it will make more urea available for the whole year instead of just for a few months.
Material currently sitting in the bonded warehouses carries an export duty of RMB40/mt (US$6.50/mt). December product is taxed at 15 per