Calum Findlay, Gleadell’s fertiliser manager, comments on the markets

Urea

This week has seen a steep rise in global urea prices, fuelled by a short-term shortage of world urea stocks.

Tight supply for August has extended into September, and subsequently trades have taken place at $15/t higher than the previous week, as a few shorts start to appear in the market place.

Many producers will now be looking to move values up further in the weeks ahead, as some major trading houses still have positions to cover. This is likely to drive the short-term market even higher.

Despite this, urea remains a very cheap source of N.

Ammonium nitrate

AN prices remain unchanged in the UK. The market is still running behind European prices, even with the latest CF price increase. Prices will continue to rise into the autumn.