Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures closed modestly higher on Monday as rising crude oil prices lifted soyoil, traders said.
CBOT May soybeans settled up 3-1/4 cents, or 0.3%, at $11.66-3/4 per bushel.
CBOT May soyoil rose 1.01 cent, or 1.5%, to finish at 69.95 cents per pound, and May soymeal ended up $1.40, or 0.4%, at $316.60 per short ton.
Grain traders continued to assess prospects for a Middle East resolution, with Iran calling for an end to the war while President Donald Trump reiterated threats of broad attacks unless Tehran makes a deal by Tuesday night. Soybean futures sometimes track trends in crude oil markets given soyoil's role as the primary U.S. feedstock for biodiesel fuel.
Traders also are anticipating an upcoming meeting in mid-May between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during Trump's first visit to top global soy buyer China in eight years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported export inspections of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 779,352 metric tons, above the highest in a range of trade expectations for 400,000 to 750,000 tons.
In Brazil, farmers had harvested 82% of their soybean crop by last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said on Monday, up 7 percentage points from the previous week but below the 87% reported a year earlier.
China Morning Briefing 2026-4-7
❤Urea: The domestic urea market during the holidays remained largely stable, although the overall trading atmosphere was generally unremarkable. Although the Indian tender boosted sentiment, there are currently no clear indications of exports. For the time being, based on the current state of fundamentals, there is a possibility of minor price fluctuations among a few enterprises.
❤Synthesis of Ammonia: Prior to the holiday, the domestic synthesis ammonia market faced the urgent need to deliver orders due to previous low prices. The rise in bidding activity influenced the market sentiment around it. Despite an increase in supply, it actually decreased. Plans to resume operations for ammonia producers were delayed, and some integrated ammonia producers switched to producing methanol or ceased sales. As a result, prices continued to rise. Some ammonia producers may see an increase in production and sales this week, but at the same time, facilities in East and Central China have scheduled maintenance, which is expected to reduce supply. It is anticipated that ammonia prices may continue to remain high and consolidate.
❤Ammonium sulfate: Prior to the holiday, the domestic market for ammonium sulfate continued its upward trend. Positive macroeconomic and fundamental factors remained predominant, and factories, free from sales pressure, maintained their pricing stance. Additionally, the release of a tender for Indian urea fertilizer further boosted market sentiment. It is expected that the market will continue its strong trend throughout the week.
❤Ammonium chloride: Prior to the holiday, the domestic market price of ammonium chloride remained largely stable. Trading activity was generally subdued. The purchasing enthusiasm of compound fertilizer enterprises for ammonium chloride had decreased, with a focus on essential needs. Traders were actively selling their products. Most companies producing combined alkali-sulfuric acid (CA) salts were prioritizing shipment of existing orders, with their quoted prices remaining firm. New orders were generally received, and there was little change in short-term supply and demand. The price of ammonium chloride continued to remain high.
❤Melamine: The domestic melamine market continued its upward trend last week, but prices reached a high level. Few high-priced sources were sold, and users in the middle and downstream segments were cautious and fearful. However, some companies’ export orders are still under delivery. Therefore, melamine prices may continue to fluctuate at a high level. Further attention will need to be paid to new order placements by companies and the purchasing sentiments of downstream users.
❤ Phosphate Fertilizer: Prior to the holidays, the domestic phosphate fertilizer market was relatively subdued. To maintain supply, producers continued to release products onto the market. However, downstream factory demand was limited, resulting in a situation where both supply and demand were weak for potassium chloride overall. Market prices gradually decreased. The production costs for manufacturers of sulfuric acid fertilizers continued to rise, and most regions experienced a situation of inverted sales, making it difficult to improve the situation.
❤Phosphate fertilizers: Prior to the holiday, the domestic market for monoammonium phosphate showed steady growth. In Hubei Province, the price of 55% powder at the factory gate was around 4080-4100 yuan/ton. Due to the continuous rise in raw material prices, factory costs have continued to increase. Many factories have suspended taking orders, and the operating load of the facilities has significantly decreased. The downstream sector has struggled to keep up with the prices, and only a small amount of essential purchases have been made.
Prior to the holiday, the domestic diammonium phosphate market maintained a strong trend. Raw material prices continued to rise, and the pressure on costs intensified. Some enterprises’ plant operating loads decreased, and demand growth was slow. Downstream industries generally maintained their essential purchasing patterns. In the short term, the market will continue its consolidation trend.
❤Compound fertilizers: In the past week, some prices of domestic compound fertilizers increased. For reference, the mainstream factory prices of 45% S (3*15) ranged from 3,250 to 3,650 yuan/ton. The main upstream raw materials remained high, providing continued support for the cost of compound fertilizers. However, both the upstream and downstream segments were cautious in their high-level purchases, and new orders were limited. It is expected that the compound fertilizer market will remain stable and consolidate at a high level, continuing to absorb earlier orders.
Monday, 06 April 2026 (Acerto)
Urea
Egypt: Mopco has traded 10,000t of granular urea at $842/t FOB Damietta for April shipment to a nearby market. The business is up $12/t on its April granular sale on Friday.
Breaking News
Mobin Energy and Damavand Energy in Asaluyeh have been attacked.
These two units were supplying the utilities required by the petrochemical plants in this region.
Pardis Petrochemical was shut down as a result.
Shiraz Petrochemical Complex has reportedly been attacked.
The power plant and utilities of Shiraz Petrochemical have been hit and all complex is down now.
IPL announced a tender to close on April 15th, driving May AG prices higher, trading $740 and $750. NOLA urea prices firmed, climbing back into upper $690’s for April barges. The phosphates market is also beginning to tighten as buyers step in to secure volumes for April and May.
AG
Apr $745//$790
May $750//$785 – traded $740, $750 (Fri)
Cfr Brazil
Apr $745//$780
May $715//$740
Jun $675//$725
Egypt
Apr $815//$875
Nola
Phys: FH April traded $695; Apr traded $698
Paper:
Apr $680//$700
May $685//$700
Jun $620//$650
UAN Nola
Apr $500//$525
May $485//$525
DAP Nola
Paper:
Apr $700//$710 – traded $707
May $695//$715
June $650//$700
MAP Brazil*
Apr $890//$930
Direct Hedge – Daily Fertilizer Market Update
Monday, 6 April 2026
Markets firmed into the end of last week amid expectations of fresh Indian demand, with Arab Gulf urea derivatives trading at 740–750 for May while Nola April held just below $700/st. Over the weekend, India confirmed a large 2.5m tonne IPL tender for shipment through mid-June, significantly above prior volumes. The tender is set to intensify competition for limited supply as Middle East exports remain constrained. With producers largely sold through April, global markets are now bracing for a tighter May/June balance. Paper levels as follows COB Friday:
Latest derivative levels
International Markets
Arab Gulf Urea (fob) – latest index 800 (+52.5)
– Apr: $750 / $780 ↑
– May: $740 / $780 →
Egypt Urea (fob) – latest index 820 (+40)
– Apr: $770 / $820 ↑
– May: $750 / $820 →
Brazil
Urea Brazil (cfr) – latest index 765 (+35)
– Apr: $730 / $760 →
– May: $730 / $760 →
– June: $650 / $725 →
– July: $650 / $725 →
– Aug: $650 / $740 →
Ammonium Sulphate Brazil (cfr) – latest index 295 (unchanged)
– Apr: $280 / $290 →
– May: $280 / $285 →
MAP Brazil (cfr) – latest index 865 (+10)
– Apr: $870 / $900 →
– May: $850 / $890 →
US Markets (NOLA)
NOLA Urea (paper)
– Apr: 685 / 695 ↓
– May: 670 / 680 ↓
– June: 620 / 640 →
NOLA DAP (paper)
– Apr: 700 / 710 ↑
– May: 690 / 705 ↑
NOLA UAN (paper)
– Apr: 490 / 500 ↑
– May: 490 / 500 ↑
Qi Xian Da Ren (期现达人)
Just now · From Weibo Web Edition
Why can ammonium sulfate become the only exception for export?
While urea is restricted, phosphate fertilizer is limited, and compound fertilizer exports have stopped, why can ammonium sulfate nitrogen fertilizer still be exported?
First, domestic demand cannot consume it. Although ammonium sulfate has a 21% nitrogen content, it acts relatively quickly compared to other nitrogen fertilizers. It is only suitable for application in sulfur-deficient, alkaline soils and is not suitable for acidic soils. Ammonium sulfate is not a fertilizer produced specifically on its own, but rather a byproduct of products such as coking and caprolactam, with its sulfuric acid component coming from smelting acid. Agricultural usage is relatively low; the domestic annual output is 28 million tons, while export demand is over 15 million tons—it simply cannot be fully digested domestically. Restricting it would be of little significance to domestic agricultural fertilizer use.
Second, export is the lifeblood of industrial efficiency. China is the world's largest exporter of ammonium sulfate. Last year, the export volume reached 21.36 million tons, accounting for more than 3/4 of domestic production. If exports were suddenly prohibited, factories would stop production, industrial unemployment would occur, and foreign exchange earnings would decrease, resulting in a direct loss to domestic GDP.
Third, international market demand is strong. Brazil, Southeast Asia, and India are all eager buyers of ammonium sulfate. Last year alone, Brazil imported 7.76 million tons from China. With urea prices being relatively high, the cost-effectiveness of ammonium sulfate exports is quite evident. Exporting ammonium sulfate can bring in significant foreign exchange income and can also objectively help stabilize global food price fluctuations.
Fourth, policies were opened up long ago. Statutory inspection for ammonium sulfate exports was cancelled in 2018, and export tariffs were cancelled in 2019. Over many years, a well-ordered export system has been established, and policy inertia has already formed.
Fifth, it involves the entire industry chain. Ammonium sulfate is not just a fertilizer; it is a byproduct of coking, caprolactam, and power plant desulfurization. Not allowing exports would inevitably affect the production of upstream factories and impact their profitability.
Domestic supply exceeds demand, international markets are clamoring for it, the cost of restriction is too high, and the industry chain cannot survive without the money earned from it. [Expand]
Gd
Iranian producers announced $700/mt FOB as official price this week.
LONDON (ICIS)–Happy Easter, we are on holidays until Tuesday 7 April. The US daily will be published on Monday 6 April.
Urea deals from yesterday before the Indian tender was announced:
-In Egypt, MOPCO on 3 April sold 5,000 tonnes of granular urea at $830/tonne FOB for April loading. This is the highest level achieved in Egypt since March 2022 when the Russia-Ukraine war started.
-In Algeria, 25,000 tonnes of granular urea done at $858/tonne FOB for May for open destination. No clarity on gas yet (gas supply had been halved to urea plants around 24 March).
IPL about to announce a new urea import tender, with intentions to purchase 1.5 mil Mts for the west coast and 1 mil Mts for the east coast. The bidding deadline is April 15, with validity April 23. The latest ship date is June 14.
At end-Q1 2026, Brazil’s muriate of potash (MOP) market became entrenched in a complex tug-of-war defined by consecutive price rises, cost-driven momentum, and divergent demand.
In price performance, granular MOP spot values recorded three straight increases, with the mainstream CFR Brazil trading band climbing from US$375–385/mt to US$380–390/mt (CFR basis, hereinafter consistent).
Driven by a sharp surge in freight costs and suppliers’ already strong price-supporting stance, the market’s pricing center continued to shift upward. Offers for April-delivery cargoes concentrated at US$385–395/mt, while the minimum target levels for May-loading and subsequent shipments were pushed up to US$400/mt.
The supply structure displayed clear divergence. Canadian material maintained its position at the upper end of the price spectrum, with Russian offers for April delivery standing at approximately US$395/mt. Belarusian volumes, which previously dominated the lower price tier, have grown scarce, with only limited offerings remaining at US$380–390/mt. Jordanian offers held steady at around US$385/mt. Israeli supplies, meanwhile, faced delivery delay risks as operational disruptions ensued from security alerts.
A marked disconnect emerged in market fundamentals. On the macro level, strong inquiry activity for Q2 and resilient domestic prices suggested the broader market faced no immediate purchasing power crunch. At the micro end-user level, however, demand remained soft. Elevated and highly volatile prices fostered intense wait-and-see sentiment among farmers, bringing procurement activity to a halt; distributors also reported muted trading appetite across the market.
Furthermore, the threat of potential trucker strikes spurred by a steep surge in diesel costs hung over the market as another major risk factor, further exacerbating supply-side uncertainty.
Overall, Brazil’s MOP market is currently locked in an intense conflict between cost-push price appreciation and insufficient end-user demand absorption.
Friday, 03 April 2026 (Acerto)
Urea
Egypt: Mopco has traded 5,000t of granular urea at $830/t FOB Damietta for April shipment to a nearby destination. The sale is up $10/t on 1H May granular business earlier this week.
We got 25k of bonded warehouse cargo from India at 650-750 levels arriving next week
https://www.themorning.lk/articles/4dzJTy8mf92Zl9fV9Frd
Sri Lanka : urea We got 800 cfr colombo being offered and rejected
Government mandated to give 65% of our stock in warehouse which was imported at 450 levels at a fixed price to paddy farmers by mid March <This message was edited>