Mosaic Company (the) (MOS)

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Potash makers getting creamed after lowered price outlook

July 30, 2013, 8:07 AM
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It’s shaping up to be a pretty ugly day for potash makers. On both sides of the Atlantic, companies are getting creamed with double-digit losses after Uralkali URALL , one of the world’s largest potash producers, cut its outlook for prices this year. The Russian company says it now expects increased competition, which could add pressure to prices, to the extent they’re likely to fall to $300 a ton by the end of the year — a drop of around 25%.

While potash isn’t something most people come across in everyday life, it’s an important component in crop fertilizers.

That prediction wasn’t taken lightly by investors, who responded by heavily selling anything with a potash tag on it. Shares of Uralkali itself sank 23%, Germany’s K+S DE:SDF -21.64% tanked 24% and ICL-Israel Chemicals slid 18%.

The downward dip rolled over U.S. potash businesses too. In U.S. premarket trade, shares of Mosaic MOS -26.48% slumped 23%, Agrium AGU -7.03% lost 13%, while Canada’s Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan POT -23.35% dropped a whopping 24%.

- Sara Sjolin

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