How Potash Prices Performed Last Week

In the week ending January 26, potash prices at the locations discussed below were broadly flat to positive and remained strong compared to levels observed a year ago.

Last week, the granular potash prices in Brazil rose 1% week-over-week to $291 per metric ton from $288 per metric ton. However, in the Cornbelt region of the US, the granular potash prices were flat at $242 per metric ton, making it the fourth consecutive week of flat prices at this location. Similarly, at NOLA (New Orleans), the prices were flat week-over-week at $213 per metric ton.

As for the prilled urea prices, they also moved sideways at $259 per metric ton last week for the third consecutive week.

The granular potash prices in Brazil rose 20% year-over-year from $241 per metric ton, while the prices in NOLA stood higher by 10% year-over-year from $193 per metric ton. In the Cornbelt region, prices stood 8% higher year-over-year from $224 per metric ton.

The potash market (MXI), which includes players such as Nutrien (NTR), Mosaic (MOS), Intrepid Potash (IPI), and Israel Chemicals (ICL), has seen tighter supply-demand dynamics supporting higher prices this year.

In the concluding part of this series, we’ll discuss fertilizer affordability.