Ammonium Nitrate
New terms again from both UK manufacturers seemed to finally bring some clarity to a confused period over the last two weeks. The outcome of this is that Ammonium Nitrate prices have firmed by £ 4 for November delivery. Some careful thought will be needed especially on N:S and NPK Compounds as some grades from CF are not available until February delivery. It is highly likely that we will see November options pulled before too long, December delivery at this stage represents a £ 3 per tonne increase.
Urea
As expected, Urea markets moved firmer this week, driven by heavy purchasing of Egyptian Granular Urea by Northern European countries, some 100K was evidently bought. This means Egyptian producers are now sold out until January. This activity moved prices up $15. UK markets responded by firming by around £5/t, however further increases should not be ruled out as merchants and shippers work through earlier positions. This will set the tone for Urea for the remainder of the season as UK will have participated in some of this purchasing, to ship product into the country before 31st December and to avoid any potential import tariff before the UK leaves the EU transition period. The other major event to consider when looking at the market is that India is fully expected to return to the tender process once again.
DEFRA Urea Consultation – Correction
Last week we discussed the DEFRA Urea Consultation document. DEFRA’s preferred option is an outright ban on all urea-based fertilisers. We stated last week that this included UAN solution, however on closer inspection this position only covers solid urea fertilisers. UAN solution is discussed within the consultation questionnaire, and so we cannot rule out future action on UAN solution. For the moment however UAN may escape any legislation. As a reminder you can still view the consultation documents and have your say by clicking on the link below:-
The deadline for responses is 26th January 2021.
Yara Grow the Future – Podcasts
Yara keep up the good work with their latest podcast. Yara’s chief arable agronomist Natalie Wood discusses key results from Yara’s 2020 trials on cereals & oilseed rape. Topics discussed are sulphur response, P & K timings, the benefit of micronutrient mixtures and the latest thoughts on compound and blended fertilisers, click below :-
https://www.yara.co.uk/crop-nutrition/agronomy-advice/podcasts/
Economic Data as at close on Friday 13th November v (6th November 2020) £ = $1.3169 ($ 1.3195) £ = € 1.1141 (€ 1.1100) Crude Oil = $ 42.86 ($ 40.32) Natural Gas = $3.06 ($2.85) Please treat pricing on graphs as a guide, please use quote request form for an up to date price.