Urea
India continues to be the dominating force in the market at present. In what seems a constant round of tenders, the most recent closed on 11th August it appears that 800K – 1M tonnes have been awarded. This is short of the 1.5 M tonnes the industry expected to be purchased. Prices were up around $30 compared to the end of July tender. Each tender seems to be well below market expectation in terms of tonnes bought, this brings around another tender process almost immediately. The current situation is no different with, yet another tender expected early this week. This on-going process is important to the UK as analysts suggest that India need to buy 1m tonnes per month until the end of the year. They have clearly not been able to achieve that figure recently, this means the market is likely to remain firm for the remainder of 2020, with Egyptian producers likely to play a key role in supplying product.
Ammonium Nitrate
UK producers appeared ready to withdraw terms on Friday 14th, this will be due to the pressure from the activity in the Urea market. UK trade has been extremely slow while growers have been focused on harvest and waiting until planting resumes before investing in Nitrogen of any description.
British Ports Association
The British Ports Association released a statement last week to re-assure the public over concerns they may have over Ammonium Nitrate storage in the UK following the deadly explosion in Beirut. It states that the UK has a comprehensive legislative regime for the storage of A.N. There is also a robust licensing process for any business wishing to store it in the UK, the process is complex and involves the Police, local authorities and HSE and a number of conditions must be met before a license is granted.
Phosphate
Phosphate prices could be on the rise as levels in the key US markets have risen recently. We have stocks of both TSP & DAP at Ipswich ready for delivery.
Economic Data as at close on Friday 14th August v (7th August 2020) £ = $1.3110 ($ 1.3050) £ = € 1.1087 (€ 1.1069) Crude Oil = $ 44.72 ($ 44.46) Natural Gas = $2.31 ($2.19) Please treat pricing on graphs as a guide, please use quote request form for an up to date price.