Fertilizers Continues To Grab The Headlines

Fertilizer prices are trending high, even as farmers look to next year.

“It's been a headline-driven market," noted Arlan Suderman, chief economist at StoneX.  "Certainly, each day, the first thing we do is read the latest headlines. I never thought that I would operate by keeping the President of the United States’ social media account open, but that's what I do, checking it frequently throughout the day, because when President Trump posts something on social media, oftentimes it's a market-moving affair.  When I see a big jump in the market, be it up or down, one of the first things I check is the President's Truth Social account.”

Suderman said the fertilizer market’s focus remains on the Middle East.

“Most of the focus right now is on the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has severely curtailed our world's energy supplies and our world's fertilizer supplies," Suderman pointed out.  "As high as prices for diesel and fertilizer are here in the United States, they're much higher in the rest of the world, because that's where the shortages are most pronounced."

What other areas are feeling the impact of significant supply shortages?

“Asia, for example, is most dependent on energy and fertilizer coming out of the Strait of Hormuz," Suderman said.  "Europe would be a close second, and the United States fars the best. We're least dependent on the Strait of Hormuz, but it is a world market. So, when they're out of crude oil in Asia, and their cash prices are $160-$170 a barrel, they're looking at where they can buy it, and in the United States, if it's only $90 or $100 a barrel, it pays them to try to buy from us.” 

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