Views: 19 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2023-10-17 Origin: Site
Southeast Asian market is active, other markets are quiet
Due to the low demand, urea prices in most markets have fallen this week. But due to the surge in purchasing interest and tight regional supply, some markets in Southeast Asia have seen prices rise.
There was a significant difference in prices between South and Southeast Asia this week, with approximately 140000 tons of prilled urea and granular urea trading at the price around $405-440 per ton in CFR405. The reason for the difference depends on the origin, not the model or destination.
Due to lack of purchasing power in the US market, prices have plummeted, and there are several sellers in each market looking for places to unload goods that are about to be loaded.
The Indian import bidding next week mark a turning point in the urea market, tightening supply and establishing a new price mark for November supply. But the characteristic of this week is that levels are generally fluctuating and short-term sentiment is bearish.
Market factors
Supply imbalance: The unexpectedly tight supply of urea in Southeast Asia has supported the prices of urea in the Middle East this week, while the continued oversupply of urea in the West has suppressed local prices.
Cautious importers: apart from several large batches of urea traded there in South/Southeast Asia, importers in most other markets still have a very cautious attitude towards purchasing goods.
Outlook for 30-60 days: stable
Urea prices are falling, and buyers in most regions have expressed reluctance to purchase goods exceeding $400 per ton of CFR400 unless necessary due to supply still exceeding demand. But the constantly rising natural gas prices, war risks, and the demand for ensuring the safety of goods in most regions from November to December should support urea prices in the future.
