Ahead of this year’s annual International Fertilizer Association conference in Sydney, the urea market remains bearish. With the Chinese low export tax window fast approaching, forward sales by traders have been concluded at ever lower numbers for July. A large volume of granular product has been sold into Turkey, while smaller volumes have been done…
Profercy’s Nitrogen Index fell over 6 points this week – the greatest fall since August last year. The temporary stability in urea markets seen in April is now a distant memory. Indeed, Middle East granular urea prices fell by a range average of $25pt this week. Egyptian prices have come under similar pressure with European…
Lower urea prices have been evident over the last week, forcing Profercy’s Nitrogen Index down 5 points – the largest single drop this year. The fall has been driven by easing urea prices in the Middle East, where netbacks for US cargoes have fallen further, and by the notable drop in Egyptian prices. Indeed, our…
In line with expectations, Profercy’s Nitrogen Index fell back over two points to 168 this week. The decrease was primarily a consequence of our quoted price range for Egyptian granular urea falling by $15pt fob. In addition, the low end of Profercy’s price quote for Middle East granular urea fell by the same amount. Despite prices…
[tabs][tab title=”Profercy Nitrogen Index – 2012 Onwards”] [/tab][tab title=”Profercy Nitrogen Index – 2009 Onwards”] [/tab][/tabs] Profercy’s Nitrogen Index held at 170.76 this week (up 0.16 on last week). The urea market in the West has seen traders covering in and some spot demand evident, supporting prices for prilled and granular urea. Egyptian prices have held…
[blockquote author=”Profercy Nitrogen Report 17 April 2014″ link=”” link_title=””] “…there has been some comfort for producers in the West this week with modest price rebounds witnessed. Last minute purchasing by end users coincided with traders looking to cover in short sales” [/blockquote] Profercy’s Nitrogen Index gained 2 points last week – the first increase since…
In less than two decades China has gone from being the World’s largest importer of urea to the largest exporter. In 2013, over 8m. tonnes of urea were exported. Profercy estimates that Chinese exports between April 2013 and March 2014 were over 9 million tonnes. This meteoric rise in urea exports means that China exports greater volumes…
[blockquote author=”Profercy Nitrogen Report, 3rd April 2014“] The downward price trend continues…..while the level of inquiry has built slightly, it is insufficient to turn the price tide for suppliers. [/blockquote] The low end of Profercy’s price ranges fell by $5-9pt for all major urea export origins used in Profercy’s World Nitrogen Index. This includes Yuzhnyy prills,…
News emerged this week that CHS, a major US co-operative, was delaying a decision on its proposed urea project in Spiritwood, North Dakota. Commenting in the local Jamestown Sun newspaper, a company spokesperson noted that: “At the current cost estimate, the project would not generate the targeted returns on capital and would not be viable”.…
The gulf between Yuzhnyy ammonia and prilled urea is now $200pt. Buoyant demand in the US and supply cutbacks and uncertainty have supported the increase in prices. While ammonia prices can be volatile in the short term, in the long run prices tend to follow urea and other nitrogen products. Supply-side factors, particularly production in the…