U.S. Gulf: The prompt granular barge market shot up again last week, with trades reported in the $341-$370/st FOB range. Sources said those needing product were willing to pay up. Due to the Arkansas River closure, players reported a lot of activity on the Lower Mississippi with direct transfer off of barges so those tons could be trucked to the areas that needed it.
Sources estimated that prompt granular has some legs for at least a few more weeks before easing back off. Already, July was being quoted in the $305-$320/st FOB range.
The last done prills were called $295/st FOB, but most sources said there is no product available on a prompt basis. July was being quoted in the $310-$315/st FOB range. Yara was readying a vessel in Libya for a NOLA destination.
Eastern Cornbelt: Fueled by tight supply out of some river locations, granular urea had reportedly firmed to $375-$390/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low end reported FOB Cincinnati, Ohio, and out of spot river locations in the Illinois market. “It’s a tightening market, and some supply is sold out,” said one Ohio contact last week.
Western Cornbelt: Urea was the hot topic among fertilizer sources in the Western Cornbelt last week, with many terminals running low.
One source in Missouri’s rice topdressing country quoted the river terminal market firmly at $395/st FOB for any available tons, and said spot pricing would likely firm to $400/st FOB in the near term. “Urea is on everyone’s mind,” he said. “Most terminals are either out or running out, and all are waiting on barges.”
Sources in Iowa and Nebraska quoted the low end of the regional urea market at the $375/st FOB level out of spot locations on the upper Mississippi River.
Southern Plains: Sources reported very tight urea supplies at Inola and Catoosa, Okla., due to navigational restrictions on the Arkansas River caused by high flows. “The Oklahoma port market is virtually empty of several products,” said one contact. “Urea timing is the most obvious and largest problem.”
The granular urea market was quoted at a firm $395-$400/st FOB or even higher last week, up $30/st from late May and a full $55/st higher than early May pricing levels. As one source said, however, “in reality there isn’t any to be had.”
One contact said southbound barge traffic on the Arkansas River would start up again over the coming weekend after weeks of closures. Traffic backlogs and slow movement, however, were expected to result in delays of barge arrivals in the Oklahoma market until later in June, said another source.
South Central: With topdress movement well underway on rice in the South Central region, the closure of the Arkansas River to commercial barge traffic has reportedly produced “record” urea demand from some terminals on the Lower Mississippi River. As a result, sources reported tight supplies and much higher spot prices last week.
Granular urea pricing was pegged at $385-$395/st FOB for available tons in the region, up $20/st from late May and $45/st higher than early May pricing levels in the region. Sources quoted the upper end in Arkansas and the low in Memphis, but there were reports that the Memphis market had also inched up to the $395/st FOB level as the week advanced.
“We have had spot outages, and loaded, moving urea barges are hard to find,” said one regional contact.
Southeast: Granular urea pricing out of port terminals in the Southeast was pegged in the $370-$375/st FOB range for limited tons, with several locations out of product in early June.
Indonesia: Kaltim backed off it