Ammonium nitrate market up £40/t on last year

The new season UK ammonium nitrate market kicked off a good £40/t higher than last year, with limited June and July tonnages being snapped up as soon as they were offered.

CF issued a price which put June deliveries on to farm at £220/t late last week, with July at £7/t more.

Heavy uptake meant the book was closed on these two months within a day or so, even though prices were about 10% higher than the trade had been expecting.

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The long winter and late wet spring delayed demand from the grassland sector and some arable areas until relatively recently, resulting in a background of very low stocks and pent-up demand, according to traders.

CF’s list price put another £6/t on to the price for August deliveries, putting product on farm at £233/t. However, with fewer farms wanting to take delivery during harvest, by midweek the August delivered to farm price had slipped to £230-£233/t.

The trade expects another month’s prices to be released in about a week to 10 days.

There is relatively little imported material available and where it is on offer, prices are just under the level of UK product by £1-£3/t. Urea offers are also few and far between, at £245-£255/t for July-September deliveries.

Prices have increased as traders have been reluctant to commit to cargoes on a rising market.