It's one thing when prices are lowered to spur demand. It's an entirely different situation when buyers "demand" lower prices and can hold out until they get it. Potash names such as POT, MOS and IPI saw a 20% haircut in market cap last month even though potash prices themselves had not "plummeted" as forecast. So which is the tail and which is the dog? It would appear the stocks definitely were the leading indicator. This from the WSJ may just be the tip of the iceberg lettuce.
"Indian potash buyers are (now) demanding discounts for the price of the key fertilizer ingredient as the Russian miner that shook up the sector's cartel system last month ramps up production, threatening to send prices tumbling.
The moves will further pressure shares of global potash miners, who have already lost up to 20% of their stock-market value since Uralkali said in late July that it was pulling out of one of two sales partnerships that together control two-thirds of the nearly $22 billion
