Confusion over the pricing situation East of Suez has been the overwhelming topic of conversation in the merchant ammonia market over the past week, with a series of high-priced sales into China and Taiwan taking many by surprise, as did a discounted deal into India. The three sales by traders into Taiwan and China at…
The global merchant ammonia market is longer than it has been for many months and while this week’s sharp fall in the Tampa contract was widely expected, the size of the discount slightly underwhelmed some leading players. Many had expected a three-digit drop from January’s $525pt cfr rather than the $80pt slide to $445pt cfr…
Softening demand and stronger supply have combined to create downward price pressure in the international ammonia market for late 2023/early 2024 business, with a November spot sale in Algeria agreed at a $20-25pt discount to last business. The market is far better balanced than previous months on plant restarts and with no sign of major…
The recovery of Profercy’s Nitrogen Index from the mid-June lows extended for a further week on the back of price gains in urea, ammonium sulphate and nitrate markets. The ongoing challenges in the global ammonia market, as reflected in the sharp drop in the Tampa contract price, were insufficient to hold back gains. The Index,…
Yara plans to invest up to $2 billion in a second state-of-the-art blue ammonia plant as the Scandinavian group continues its push into low-carbon production capacity in the US and mulls permanent shutdowns of some European ammonia plants. Having recently set aside up to $1.45 billion for the full offtake of a 1.2-1.4m.t per…
European fertilizer market history will be made in around 10 days’ time when the first commercial shipment of blue ammonia ever marketed into the EU arrives at the Bulgarian port of Varna for Agropolychim. Produced and sold by Saudi major Ma’aden, the 25,000t cargo of low-carbon spot material will be discharged at the Black Sea…
Fertiglobe posted single-digit increases in first quarter own-produced ammonia and urea sales volumes to 236,000t and 1.13m. tonnes, respectively, although lower prices meant adjusted net profit fell sharply to $135 million from $361 million in the year-ago period. The world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined attributed the weaker performance to softer European gas…
OCI Global and NuStar Energy have signed a deal that will allow the Dutch fertilizer group to transport ammonia on a new segment of NuStar Pipeline Operating Partnership’s ammonia pipeline system. Under the arrangement, NuStar will install a new 14-mile section of pipeline that will connect OCI’s Iowa Fertilizer Company (IFCo) facility with NuStar’s existing…
Ammonia demand remains sluggish both sides of the Suez heading into May, with the bearish tone illustrated by the latest slide in the Tampa contract. The $55pt month-on-month fall was not as severe as expected in some quarters and a subsequent spot sale for prompt delivery into Northwest Europe at a premium price was welcomed…
Yara has revealed the extent of its European production curtailments, with more than half (58%) of its ammonia capacity curtailed and almost a quarter (23%) of the Norwegian major’s finished fertilizer capacity offline at present. As of late April, the group had curtailed an annual capacity of 2.8m. tonnes of ammonia and 3.9m. tonnes of…