Paper contracts for urea have jumped, some up by more than 10pc from the end of last week, in the wake of the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East.
March and April US Gulf futures have traded at $500/t on the CME. The April contract had been framed at around $440-450/t by at least one broker on 27 February.
Bids for Middle East urea derivatives have pushed to above $500/t, with March in the low $500s/t and April bid at around $510/t, up from around $470/t and the mid-$450s/t at the midpoint, respectively, on 27 February.
Major Middle East urea suppliers have withdrawn physical offers as they take stock of the situation and gauge the increasingly complicated shipping situation in the region. But Egyptian physical sales are continuing, with north African deals taking place in the $520s/t fob earlier today.
Urea prices are surging in the wake of the conflict, which threatens to choke supply from a region that accounts for around 35pc of global seaborne urea trade.

