$1,000/ton POTASH!
April 14 (Bloomberg) -- Agrium Inc., North America's third- largest crop-nutrient maker, and two rivals rose to records in U.S. and Canadian trading after Russian producer OAO Uralkali said potash prices may surpass $1,000 a metric ton this year.
Agrium jumped C$4.90, or 6.7 percent, to C$78.09 at 4:15 p.m. on the Toronto Stock Exchange after earlier touching an all-time high $78.25. The shares have advanced 67 percent in the past year as crop-nutrient prices rose and fertilizer producers sought to keep pace with expanding demand.
Potash, a form of potassium, may reach $1,000 a ton ``rather fast'' because world output trails demand by 1.2 million tons, Oleg Petrov, sales chief for Berezniki, central Russia-based Uralkali, told investors today on a conference call. A price topping $1,000 a ton would be a fivefold increase from 2007. Both Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. and Mosaic Co. set new highs.
Agrium, which sells potash and other nutrients, also gained after UBS AG analyst Brian MacArthur raised his price target on the Calgary-based company's New York-traded shares by 9.2 percent to $95, citing higher fertilizer prices. MacArthur also lifted his target for Potash Corp., the largest maker of crop nutrients, by 11 percent to $235 a share.
Potash and other nutrient prices will rise after China imposed duties of 100 percent or more on phosphate and urea exports, Toronto-based MacArthur said today in a note to clients.
``Panic will likely continue to unsettle the market'' for potash, MacArthur said. He rates Agrium shares ``buy.''
Price Forecast
MacArthur also forecast phosphate prices to surpass $1,100 a ton, to $1,105 this year. Urea, potash and phosphates are all used to make fertilizers.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp. rose C$2.66, or 1.5 percent, to close at a record C$185.35 in Toronto after earlier reaching $188.02. MacArthur also rates Potash shares ``buy.''
Mosaic, North America's second-largest producer of crop nutrients by market value, rose $4.79, or 3.9 percent, to close at a record $126.40 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Mosaic, based in Plymouth, Minnesota, touched an all- time high $127.78 earlier in the session.
