Urea Price Trend and Forecast
North America
The price of Urea in the US
market continued to decrease during the fourth quarter because of the sharp
decline in the cost of raw materials. In the wake of unfavorable trading
fundamentals and muted demand, the Urea price
continued to decline. According to the statistics, feedstock natural gas prices
fell by around 15% in November 2022, and this trend continued into December.
Manufacturers were able to offer discounts to entice offtakes from downstream
niche consumers as a result of the fall in feedstock costs, which had an impact
on pricing patterns in major importing countries like India and the USA.
Inflation in the country and drought conditions declined the production of
Nitrogen in the domestic market. The labor shortage in the US market persisted,
but the operational rate remained positive. Urea FOB Illinois prices were
assessed at USD 742/MT, averaged in Dec.
APAC
Asia pacific region’s pricing
trend for Urea in Q4 remained plunged due to a lack of demand from downstream
fertilizer markets. There were great expectations for the requirement for Urea
fertilizer during the rabi season in October in India; however, this demand
remained low. Spot materials moved from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and
North Africa to Europe and Africa as a result of the lack of downstream Melamine
industries’ demand in major importing countries like South Korea and Taiwan. Q4
2022 has historically been one of the weakest seasons for Urea pricing due to
the decline in demand from industrial and agricultural clients in the APAC
region.
Europe
Urea prices have shown mixed
pricing sentiments throughout the Q4 in the year 2022 as the feedstock Ammonia
has remained volatile due to fluctuations in Natural gas
prices. Some nitrogen-based fertilizer manufacturing facilities in
Europe have shut down as a result of rising prices for upstream natural gas.
Additionally, the supply chain was in chaos due to conflicting opinions
regarding freight prices and the limited number of available containers. In
November, Russia raised the import quotas for all nitrogen fertilizers, which
contributed to an increase in domestic supply. The downstream fertilizer market
responded in a way that was consistent with the changing demand seen in the
fourth quarter.
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