Analysis · · 7 min read
Prices
Urea price: monthly benchmark, chart and history
Monthly urea price (World Bank benchmark), ten-year chart, DAP and gas prices, the gas-cost floor, the main urea benchmarks explained, and Alupetra's fertiliser market analysis.
Monthly benchmark
World Bank urea price (prilled, FOB Middle East)
Urea was $407.5 per tonne in Sep 2026, the latest monthly average published by the World Bank for prilled urea FOB Middle East. That is 4.49% higher than the month before. Compared with a year earlier the price is 11.62% lower.
- Latest monthly price$407.5$/tonne · Sep 2026
- Month on month+4.49%$17.5
- Year on year−11.62%versus the same month last year
- 12-month range$390 – $857monthly low and high
- 12-month average$507$/tonne
- DAP (US Gulf FOB)$800.6$/tonne · Sep 2026
- Implied US gas cost$71Henry Hub $2.95 × 24 MMBtu/t
- Implied European gas cost$610TTF $25.42 × 24 MMBtu/t
Urea price: past ten years
02004006008001,000
201820192020202120222023202420252026
Hover over or tap the chart, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to read monthly values. Download the data (CSV, 1986 to date)
About the urea price
Urea is the world's most traded nitrogen fertiliser and, unlike crude oil, it has no futures market of its own. Prices are assessed by reporting agencies for each origin and delivery point, and the World Bank publishes a free monthly average that is widely used as the public benchmark. This page shows that series together with DAP and the natural gas prices that drive production costs.
Urea is priced in US dollars per metric tonne. Granular urea usually trades at a small premium to prilled; delivered (CFR) prices include freight and are higher than FOB prices at the loading port. The figures here are monthly averages, so they smooth out the tender-driven jumps seen in daily assessments.
| Month | Urea $/t | Change | DAP $/t | US gas $/MMBtu | Europe gas $/MMBtu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | $407.5 | +4.49% | $800.6 | $2.95 | $25.42 |
| Aug 2026 | $390.0 | −2.50% | $793.5 | $2.77 | $21.11 |
| Jul 2026 | $400.0 | −11.72% | $781.3 | $2.89 | $18.06 |
| Jun 2026 | $453.1 | −41.19% | $783.8 | $3.15 | $15.17 |
| May 2026 | $770.5 | −10.08% | $769.5 | $2.93 | $16.17 |
| Apr 2026 | $856.9 | +18.10% | $725.3 | $2.77 | $15.41 |
| Mar 2026 | $725.6 | +53.73% | $658.3 | $3.06 | $17.91 |
| Feb 2026 | $472.0 | +13.63% | $626.5 | $3.61 | $11.24 |
| Jan 2026 | $415.4 | +5.83% | $619.2 | $7.58 | $11.76 |
| Dec 2025 | $392.5 | −4.10% | $627.5 | $4.25 | $9.48 |
| Nov 2025 | $409.3 | +3.78% | $708.3 | $3.79 | $10.42 |
| Oct 2025 | $394.4 | −14.47% | $754.0 | $3.20 | $10.89 |
| Sep 2025 | $461.1 | −9.18% | $780.6 | $2.97 | $11.12 |
| Aug 2025 | $507.7 | +2.36% | $795.1 | $2.91 | $11.15 |
| Jul 2025 | $496.0 | +17.95% | $736.0 | $3.19 | $11.62 |
| Jun 2025 | $420.5 | +7.27% | $715.4 | $3.02 | $12.37 |
| May 2025 | $392.0 | +1.32% | $669.2 | $3.12 | $11.66 |
| Apr 2025 | $386.9 | −1.93% | $635.0 | $3.40 | $11.59 |
| Mar 2025 | $394.5 | −9.62% | $615.1 | $4.13 | $13.24 |
| Feb 2025 | $436.5 | +14.72% | $603.8 | $4.22 | $15.34 |
| Jan 2025 | $380.5 | +8.10% | $582.7 | $4.10 | $14.66 |
| Dec 2024 | $352.0 | −0.09% | $568.3 | $3.02 | $13.86 |
| Nov 2024 | $352.3 | −6.00% | $574.5 | $2.10 | $13.93 |
| Oct 2024 | $374.8 | +11.05% | $573.4 | $2.21 | $12.92 |
Monthly average prices from the World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), nominal US dollars, CC BY 4.0. World Bank file updated 2 October 2026; retrieved 28 October 2026. Urea: prilled, spot, FOB Middle East (FOB Black Sea before March 2022). Indicative only and not an offer to buy or sell. Source
Urea benchmarks explained
| Benchmark | What it represents |
|---|---|
| Middle East granular FOB | Gulf producers (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, Iran); reference for Asia and East Africa |
| Middle East prill FOB | The World Bank Pink Sheet series shown on this page |
| Egypt granular FOB | Mediterranean supply; reference for Türkiye and Europe |
| Black Sea / Baltic FOB | Russian and Caspian supply; the Pink Sheet basis before March 2022 |
| NOLA barge | US Gulf (New Orleans) import point; US domestic reference |
| Brazil CFR | The largest import market; delivered price including freight |
| India CFR (tender) | Set by RCF, NFL and IPL purchase tenders; the most-watched demand signal |
| China FOB | Export availability depends on government quotas and inspection windows |
Analysis
Related analysis
Analysis · · 7 min read
From Urea to Food Prices: How Fertiliser Shortages Threaten Harvests
Analysis · · 7 min read
Urea Outlook 2027: China’s Exports, India’s Tenders and New Capacity
FAQ
Questions about the urea price
What is the urea price today?
The latest published monthly benchmark is $407.5 per tonne (Sep 2026, World Bank, prilled urea FOB Middle East). Urea is not exchange-traded, so there is no single live price: daily assessments are made by price-reporting agencies and depend on origin, form (granular or prilled) and delivery basis. The World Bank series on this page is free and public and is updated once a month.
Why do urea prices move so much?
Natural gas is the main input cost, so gas prices set the floor. Above it, prices swing with Indian purchase tenders, Chinese export policy, planting seasons in Brazil, India and the United States, freight, and supply disruptions in the Gulf, Egypt and the Black Sea.
What is the gas-cost floor shown on this page?
A rule of thumb: producing one tonne of urea takes roughly 24 MMBtu of natural gas (ammonia included). Multiplying the monthly Henry Hub or TTF price by that figure gives the approximate gas cost per tonne at a US or European plant, before other costs. When the urea price falls close to the European figure, marginal European producers tend to cut output.
Which urea benchmark should an importer use?
The one closest to the cargo's origin and delivery basis: Middle East or Egypt FOB for Gulf and Mediterranean supply, Brazil CFR for delivered South American prices, NOLA for the United States. The Indian tender result is the clearest signal of global demand because India is the largest importer.
How often is this page updated?
Once a month, when the World Bank publishes its Commodity Price Data (usually in the first week). Our system checks every morning and refreshes the chart, table and CSV when a new month is available.
Prices
Other benchmarks
Need a firm price for a urea cargo?
Offers are issued in writing after KYC. Tell us the grade, volume, packing and delivery terms you need.