Key facts
- Paraguay's fuel prices are not falling as fast as international benchmarks.
- State-owned Petropar holds high-cost fuel inventory from recent price spikes.
- Private fuel importers in Paraguay can adjust prices faster than Petropar.
- State-owned Pupuk Indonesia concluded a tender to buy ammonium sulphate.
- Pupuk Indonesia plans to purchase 100,000 tons of ammonium sulphate.
- The ammonium sulphate is for August delivery.
- The lowest offer in the tender was reportedly around $10/t.
- Ammonium sulphate prices follow a downward trend in the urea market.
- Benchmark Middle East urea prices have decreased.
- Eased disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz are linked to falling fertilizer prices.
Fuel prices in Paraguay are experiencing a lag in reductions compared to international benchmarks, primarily due to the state-owned company Petropar's inventory of high-cost fuel acquired during recent price surges. This situation positions private fuel importers to adjust their prices more rapidly than the state entity. In a separate development within the commodities market, Indonesia's state-owned fertilizer producer, Pupuk Indonesia, has concluded a tender for the purchase of 100,000 metric tons of ammonium sulphate, intended for delivery in August. Reports indicate that the lowest bid in this tender was approximately $10 per ton, although this figure remains unconfirmed. The ammonium sulphate market is currently following a general downward trend observed in the urea market. Further analysis from Argus, featured in the Financial Times, corroborates this trend, noting a decrease in benchmark Middle East urea prices. This easing of fertilizer prices is attributed to a reduction in disruptions experienced around the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route.