Bulk News Watch Newsletter – April 2022

Iron Ore & Steel

DRY BULK MARKET: FIRST QUARTER IRON ORE IMPORTS FROM CHINA WERE DOWN BY 8.5%
Source: Hellenic Shipping News -April 27th   
China’s iron ore imports were down by 8.5% during the first quarter of 2022. In a recent report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “2021 proved fairly robust, but far from remarkable, in terms of global seaborne iron ore trade. Total global loadings in the full 12 months of 2021 were up +0.7% year on-year to 1,555.3 million tonnes, according to vessels tracking data from Refinitiv. This was marginally higher than the 1,526.0 mln tonnes in the 12 months of 2019, a year which was affected by the Brumadinho dam disaster. It was however still slightly below the all time record 1,557.3 mln tonnes in the 12 months of 2018…FULL STORY

CHINA-EXPOSED COMMODITIES TAKE A COVID-CONTROL TUMBLE
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-April 28th
Commodities with the biggest exposure to China are starting to price in a worsening COVID-19 situation as fears of more lockdowns worsen an already soft demand outlook.
Iron ore futures in China plunged almost 11% on Monday. London-traded copper and aluminium slipped to the lowest level since early February..​​​FULL STORY

CHINA’S STEEL OUTPUT IS CURTAILED AMID COVID FLARE-UPS
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-April 28th  
China’s steel making contracted in the first quarter amid domestic epidemic flare-ups and the Ukraine crisis, but the sector is likely to improve as the government moves to secure supply chains and increase infrastructure investment, the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) said on Monday…FULL STORY

CHINA REBAR STOCKS DOWN 1.7% ON WEEK
Source: Metal-April 28th
The total inventory of rebar across social warehouses and steel makers in China stood at 11.8 million mt as of Thursday April 28, down 209,300 mt or 1.7% on the week, and down 2.7% from the same period last year.
The inventory across social warehouses was 8.3 million mt, a decrease of 261,900 mt or 3.14% on the week, and a drop of 3.4% on the year...FULL STORY 

CHINA HRC STOCKS DOWN 28,200 MT ON WEEK
Source: Metal – April 28th 
The total inventory of HRC across social warehouses and steel makers in China stood at 3.69 million mt as of April 28, down 28,200 mt or 0.76% on the week, an increase of 9.21% on the year.The inventory across social warehouses was 2.53 million mt, down 34,100 mt or 1.33% from the previous week, rising 3.07% on the year...​​​​​FULL STORY 

TRADE REVIEW: CHINA’S IMPORT LOSSES TO TEMPER IRON ORE PRICE UPTICK IN Q2 AMID THIN SEABORNE LIQUIDITY
Source: SP Global – April 8th
Spot liquidity from miners dries up on China’s steep import losses
Preference for floating-price cargoes grows in Q1
Direct feed premiums fail to sustain rally 
China’s iron ore import losses will continue to act as a counterweight to global price strength in the second quarter, after steepening in Q1 as seaborne prices were stoked by expansionary Chinese fiscal and monetary policies while portside prices in the country lagged due to lackluster physical steel demand….FULL STORY 

CHINA’S STEEL INVENTORIES HIT 13-MONTH HIGH AMID COVID-19 RESURGENCE
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-April 29th 
China’s steel inventories hit a 13-month high April 20 as the country’s steel production continued to climb steadily in the wake of weak demand amid the latest COVID-19 resurgence.
Domestic markets have a mixed steel demand outlook for the coming weeks, as pandemic uncertainty looms over the industry….FULL STORY 

COAL

AUSTRALIA’S COAL EXPORT BOOM FORECAST TO END ABRUPTLY AMID BIG DROP IN DEMAND FROM CHINA
Source: Hellenic Shipping News -April 26th  
​​​Australia’s coal export boom will come to an abrupt end because of an “imminent and substantial” drop in purchases by China, and local coalmining communities should brace for the change, the lead author of a new study says….FULL STORY 

CHINA’S Q2 MET COAL SUPPLY SEEN LIMITED, COKING SECTOR’S STOCKS DIP: SOURCES
Source: Hellenic Shipping News -May 2nd  
China’s metallurgical coal supply is expected to remain limited in the second quarter of 2022, as coking sector’s inventories deplete and Mongolian coal suppliers face logistical hurdles, industry sources said April 13…FULL STORY 

CHINA CUTS IMPORT TARIFF FOR COAL TO ZERO
Source: China Daily – April 28th
China’s Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Thursday that it will cut import tariff for coal to zero from May 1 to March 31, 2023, as an effort to guarantee energy supply and promote high quality development…​​​​​​FULL STORY 

CHINA REMOVES IMPORT TARIFFS ON VARIOUS COAL GRADES TO SECURE SUPPLIES
Source: Hellenic Shipping News -April 29th 
China has removed import tariffs on various coal grades as part of its efforts to maintain adequate supplies amid global disruption caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a government document seen by S&P Global Commodity Insights April 28…​FULL STORY 
​​
CHINA STATE PLANNER SETS OUT IRREGULAR PRICE-PUSHING BEHAVIOURS FOR COAL
Source: The Energy Bulletin – May 1st   
China’s state planner warned domestic thermal coal producers and traders on Saturday not to hoard stock or engage in a list of other practices that it said amounted to pushing up prices. Industry players should not make up false information on supply levels and costs that could heat up the market, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) added in its statement...​FULL STORY 

SOYBEAN

CHINA’S 2022 SOYBEAN DEMAND FALLING UP TO 6% AS FEED REQUIREMENTS DIP
Source: Hellenic Shipping News -April 22nd   
Demand for soybeans from China — the world’s biggest importer of soybeans — is forecast to fall 3.5%-6.1% year on year in 2022 due to lower demand from the downstream feed sector, a survey of market participants at more than 10 major trader, crusher and broker companies by S&P Global Commodity Insights found April 2….FULL STORY 

CHINESE AMBASSADOR CALLS FOR STRENGTHENING CHINA-US AGRICULTURAL TIES
Source: China Daily -April 24th  
​​​​​​Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to the US, stressed the significance of agricultural cooperation between the US and China, two major powers in agriculture and agricultural trade, on Thursday. He encouraged more cooperation and exchanges in this area to benefit both sides and improve global food security..​​​​..FULL STORY 

GRAIN OUTPUT TO INCREASE THIS YEAR
Source: China Daily -April 29th
China’s grain output this year is expected to hit 688 million metric tons, while the area sown is estimated to reach 118 million hectares, according to a report released recently by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences...FULL STORY 

CHINA STOPS WHEAT RESERVE AUCTIONS
Sources: World Grain-April 26th    
While China recently had been limiting releases of wheat from its state reserves, weekly wheat auctions have been stopped earlier than last year when stocks were higher, Reuters reported, citing traders and analysts…FULL STORY 

ENERGY

CNOOC CONTRIBUTES TO UGANDA’S QUEST TO EXTRACT ITS ENERGY ASSETS 
Source: China Daily -April 27th
China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the country’s largest offshore oil and gas producer by sales revenue, will assist its partners in Uganda to construct two central processing plants and 35 well pads in the Lake Albert area by 2025, said business executives…FULL STORY 

IMPORTANT MILESTONE FOR CHINA’S GLOBAL LNG POSITION
Source: China Daily -April 22nd     
The world’s first coal seam gas (CSG) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) project saw its 800th LNG cargo arrive in China recently, which marked another important milestone since it started commercial operation in May 2015, said its operator CNOOC Gas & Power Group….FULL STORY 

CSSC BAGS CHINA’S BIGGEST SINGLE LNG CARRIER ORDER
Source: China Daily – April 28th 
The construction contract for six LNG carriers, each with capacity for 174,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas, was inked between China State Shipbuilding Corp and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha on Thursday…FULL STORY 

RUSSIA-CHINA DIRTY TANKER TRADE SOARS 94% Y/Y AFTER UKRAINE INVASION
Source: BIMCO -April 28th
China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil and Russia is the second largest crude exporter. Much of the crude oil trade between the two countries, however, is piped and the short distance from Far East Russia to China also limits the impact on demand for crude oil tankers. Still, a change in the Russia to China dirty trade has the potential to impact tanker tonne miles demand as it could come at the expense of longer trade lanes…FULL STORY 

CHINA’S CNOOC PLANS NORTH SEA OIL EXIT IN STRATEGIC SHIFT

Source: Hellenic Shipping News – April 1st  
China’s biggest offshore producer CNOOC Ltd 0883.HK is preparing to exit one of the North Sea’s largest field in a strategic shift of focus to newer oil and gas developments and away from Western assets, banking and industry sources said…FULL STORY 

SHANGHAI’S PORT AND AVIATION OPERATIONS CONTINUE DESPITE COVID-19 OUTBREAK
Source: China Daily – April 22nd 
The average daily throughput of containers at the Shanghai port has been over 100,000 TUEs (twenty-foot equivalent units) since the beginning of April, a sign that the city’s function as an international shipping center has been steady even though the city is hit by the current COVID-19 outbreak, Shanghai vice mayor Zhang Wei said during a news conference on Friday…FULL STORY 

SHANGHAI COVID LOCKDOWN THREATENS NEW EXPORT DELAYS
Source: Hellenic Shipping News – April 26th
Europe and the United States can expect further delays and shortages of electronics imports from China as a result of a COVID lockdown in the commercial hub of Shanghai, an economist with the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW-Kiel) has warned..FULL STORY 

​​​​CHINA’S COVID-19 OUTBREAK INTRODUCES NEW IMPLICATIONS FOR THE SHIPPING MARKETS 
Source: Hellenic Shipping News – April 15th
China’s lockdowns in Shanghai is expected to have a significant impact in the global supply chains and the tanker markets, especially when seen in tandme with everything else that’s been going on in the world’s economy today…FULL STORY 

QINHUANGDAO PORT ENTERS LOCKDOWN AS BEIJING READIES STIMULUS PACKAGE
Source: Splash – April 29th
The northern port of Qinhuangdao in Hebei province is the latest Chinese commodities hub to get hit by virus-related lockdowns as China’s top politicians discuss urgent stimulus measures to pump-prime the national economy.The city has locked down its Haigang district, which includes the giant coal handling complex, although officials at the port claim it is operating normally…FULL STORY