Mike Walsten

Prospects of higher corn prices due to yield-cutting heat has some analysts raising their price targets on various potash company stocks. In a story published in his blog, Jonathan Mohan cites several such forecasts. He quotes one stock analyst as saying: "...unusually high temperatures strengthen the view that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s crop forecast is too optimistic, and that lower crop yields will raise grain prices. He estimated that higher grain prices will allow the current potash price of $500 a ton for immediate delivery to turn into the new benchmark price."

He also wrote: "Canada’s PotashCorp, the world’s biggest potash maker, noted that after the flatness in the potash market at the end of 2011 and in the first quarter of this year, distributors have begun acquiring a large quantity of potash in the second quarter. PotashCorp believes that the poor performance of potash sales, relative to its growth trend of 3% annually over the past decade, is temporary. In the next few years the market will return to its long-term trend, the company forecasts."

Click here for the full story:

See Comments