Global Ammonium Nitrate market experienced mixed price movements during February 2025. The prices remained stable in North American however followed a slight uptick in the European market.  This divergence in the price trend is attributed to a variety of factors including fluctuating, Ammonia and Natural Gas prices, geopolitical tensions, port uncertainties and fluctuating demand patterns from the prominent end-user fertilizer market.

In the European region, the Ammonium Nitrate market experienced a notable uptick in prices particularly in United Kingdom and German market, primarily attributed to widened disparity between demand and supply. A slight shortage of domestically produced Ammonium Nitrate market was observed owing to constrained production activities. SKW Piesteritz, one of the major manufacturers of nitrogen-based fertilizers in the European region, announced production cuts previous month leading to shortage of material in the European market, however it is planning to restart its production in mid- March in anticipation of forthcoming demand. On the demand side, purchasing activity from the international market has remained strong with enquiries from Brazil, and north-western European countries.

Although ongoing port congestion in the European countries has further exacerbated the supply situation. Insights gathered from various market participants suggest that all the key ports of North Europe have reported very high yard utilization, which has been exacerbated by labor disputes in Rotterdam and Le Havre. This has eventually prompted towards increased Vessel waiting times to almost 5 – 7 days with congestion most prominent in Netherlands United Kingdom and Germany. In a ripple effect, traders are seeking alternative and costlier trade routes leading to a price increase on various commodities including Ammonium Nitrate in an order to safeguard their profit margins.

On the other hand, the North American Ammonium Nitrate market remained stagnant, after experiencing no major fluctuations in prices on month-on-month basis. Adverse weather conditions in the region followed by flooding and heavy precipitation in the region has led to a slowdown in the buying activities of fertilizers including Ammonium Nitrate. These severe weather conditions have further hampered transportation followed by port closure leading to limited cargos movement and stockpiled inventories on the ports.

According to ChemAnalyst, the price of Ammonium Nitrate is expected to increase in the forthcoming coming months, largely driven by anticipated revival in demand for the Ammonium Nitrate from the prominent end-user fertilizer market. Further, producers are purposely holding their supplies and comfortably waiting for the next Indian tender exerting upward pressure on the Ammonium Nitrate prices.