Indian urea stocks slide in July, monsoon rains rise

Indian urea sales rose to 4.65mn t last month and monsoon rains have accelerated, supporting domestic consumption, with inventories pressured lower.

Indian domestic urea sales rose to 4.65mn t in July from 4.53mn t in the same month last year, the latest provisional data show. Production was also higher, rising to 2.65mn t from 2.48mn t in July last year.

The rise in domestic consumption resulted in a further drop in countrywide stocks, to 8.7mn t at the end of the month. Inventories had stood at around 10mn t in mid July, down from 11mn t at the end of June and 11.3mn t at the end of May.

Domestic urea demand is expected to remain supported in August, with monsoon rains accelerating to 533.3mm by 6 August since the start of June, up by 6.6pc on the long-term average. The country's meteorological department forecast last week that rainfall for the remainder of the monsoon season in August-September will be "above normal", or higher than 106pc of the long-term mean.

By Harry Minihan