Iron Ore & Steel
DALIAN IRON ORE HITS 3-WEEK PEAK ON CHINA DEMAND OPTIMISM
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-Nov 26th
Iron ore stretched a rally into a fifth straight session on Thursday, with the benchmark Dalian contract scaling a three-week high while spot prices rose above $100 a tonne, buoyed by improved sentiment towards China’s property sector.
The most-traded January iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange ended daytime trading 1.8% up at 611.50 yuan ($95.74) a tonne, after touching 629 yuan earlier in the session, its highest level since Nov. 2. FULL STORY
GROUND BREAKERS: ARE SLIDING DRY BULK SHIPPING RATES ABOUT SUPPLY CHAINS, OR IRON ORE DEMAND?
Source: Stockhead-Nov 29th
Never mind the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which sent shudders through markets today.
ASX-listed miners have so far proved resilient in the face of Covid-19 and this morning was no exception. FULL STORY
IRON ORE EXPORT NUMBERS SHOW HOW RELIANT AUSTRALIA IS ON CHINA
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-Nov 30th
In the years since the global financial crisis, Australia’s economic reliance on China has only continued to grow with each passing year.
In the 2007-2008 financial year, around 13 per cent of Australia’s exports were bound for the Middle Kingdom. By the time China’s share of Aussie exports peaked last year, it was roughly half. FULL STORY
IRON ORE SURGES AS CHINA’S STEEL OUTPUT APPROACHES ‘INFLECTION POINT’
Source: AFR-Nov 30th
Speculation that China’s steel mills are preparing for an easing of production cuts as soon as next month sent iron ore prices surging as traders positioned for an approaching inflection point in the country’s steel output.
The price of iron ore traded in the spot market jumped 6.8 per cent to $US103.27 a tonne, according to Fastmarkets MB, more than recouping the losses from Friday’s omicron-induced sell-off. Futures in Singapore were up nearly 10 per cent. FULL STORY
CHINESE STEEL FUTURES RANGE-BOUND ON OMICRON VARIANT FEARS
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-Nov 30th
Steel futures in China traded in a tight range on Monday, weighed by demand fears due to the new Omicron coronavirus variant, while coking coal and coke prices fell after a plunge in thermal coal futures.
“Affected by the new coronavirus variant, steel prices fell during night session out of panic,” GF Futures wrote in a note, adding that impact on actual demand and supply of the industrial metal could be limited. FULL STORY
CHINA’S NOV FACTORY ACTIVITY LIKELY CONTRACTED AT A SLOWER PACE
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-Nov 30th
China’s factory activity is likely to have shrunk at a slower pace in November, as supply snags and power cuts eased, a Reuters poll showed, but persistent softness in the manufacturing sector points to a further slowing of the economy.
TThe official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) is expected to rise to 49.6 in November, up from 49.2 in October, according to the median forecast of 29 economists polled by Reuters on Monday. A reading below 50 indicates contraction from the previous month. FULL STORY
Coal
CHINA COKING COAL FUTURES LEAP ON DEMAND OPTIMISM
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-Nov 25th
Chinese coking coal futures surged more than 13% on Wednesday, boosted by improving sentiment in the property market and expectations of higher steelmaking demand at mills, although analysts are flagging risks on weak fundamentals.
Financial regulators have told some banks to issue more loans to property firms for project development, in efforts to marginally ease liquidity strains across the industry, according to sources. FULL STORY
CHINA’S COAL PRICES PLUNGE AFTER GOVT SIGNALS MORE PRICE REGULATION
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-Nov 30th
China’s thermal coal futures dropped 5.6% on Monday after the state economic planner signaled further regulations for prices of the dirty power-generation fuel. FULL STORY
COAL STORAGE AT CHINA’S POWER PLANTS FORECAST TO HIT HISTORIC HIGH
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-Nov 27th
Coal inventories at China’s power plants continue to expand rapidly and may hit an all-time high by the end of this month, firmly safeguarding the country’s power supply for the winter and spring, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Thursday. FULL STORY
SIGNS OF THAW IN CHINA’S BAN ON AUSTRALIAN COAL
Source: AFR-Nov 29th
Australian miners are increasingly optimistic they may be able to resume selling coal to China, after official data confirmed small volumes of Australian coal cleared the Asian superpower’s borders in October. FULL STORY
CHINA’S KEY INDUSTRIES COULD HIT PEAK COAL USE BY 2024
Source: Business News-Nov 17th
China’s major coal consuming industries, including power, steel, cement and coal chemical production, could hit peak use of the dirty fossil fuel around 2024, a government researcher said on Wednesday.
Beijing has pledged to bring its carbon emissions to a peak by 2030 and to start phasing down coal use after 2026. FULL STORY
CHINA TARGETS 1.8% CUT IN AVERAGE COAL USE AT POWER PLANTS BY 2025
Source: Business News-Nov 3rd
China flagged on Wednesday it is targeting a 1.8 per cent reduction in average coal use for electricity generation at power plants over the next five years, in a bid to lower greenhouse gas emissions. FULL STORY
Soybean
CHINA’S SOYBEAN IMPORTS FALL 41% YEAR OVER YEAR
Source: Thepigsite-Nov 8th
China’s soybean imports in October fell 41.2% from a year earlier. This, as poor crush margins curb demand and Hurricane Ida continues to limit U.S. shipments.
Compared to the 8.59 million tonnes purchased in 2020, China, the world’s top buyer of soybeans, brought in 5.11 million tonnes of the oilseed in October, General Administration of Customs data showed on Sunday. FULL STORY
CHINA’S OCT. SOY IMPORTS FROM U.S. SLUMP DUE TO WEAK DEMAND, HURRICANE
Source: Hellenic Shipping News-Nov 26th
China’s October soybean imports from the United States fell sharply from the previous year, customs data showed on Sunday, hit by poor demand and limited exports.
China brought in 775,331 tonnes of U.S. soybeans in October, down 77% from 3.4 million tonnes a year earlier, according to data released from the General Administration of Customs. FULL STORY
US SOYBEAN SALES RAMP UP ON STRONG DEMAND FROM CHINA
Source: Argus Media-Nov 29th
US soybean sales ramped up in the seven days ending 18 November, supported by robust purchases from China.
The US sold 1.56mn t of soybeans for the 2021-22 marketing year (September-August) in the latest reporting week, up by 13pc from 1.38mn t a week earlier. The increase was primarily driven by strong demand from Chinese buyers, at 882,500t. Mexico, Thailand and Egypt also actively secured the US products last week, with 168,200t, 148,600t and 117,300t of purchases recorded, respectively, data from the US Department of Agriculture show. FULL STORY
CHINA PAYS HIGH PRICES TO BUY 81% OF BRAZIL’S OCTOBER SOYBEANS
Source: Fastmarkets-Nov 9th
China bought 2.7 million tonnes of Brazilian soybeans in October, 81% of the South American country’s monthly exports and enough buying to contribute to lifting FOB prices to a multi-year high, official customs data showed.
Chinese purchases out of Brazil jumped 35% on the year as the main global soybean importer turned to South America to cover its spot demand amid logistic disruptions and delays in the US. FULL STORY
CHINA GRAIN RESERVES GROUP BUYS 8.4 MILLION TONS OF SOYBEANS FROM SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES
Source: Global Times-Nov 8th
China Grain Reserves Group (Sinograin) has signed soybean import contracts with multiple companies at the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE). It will import 8.4 million tons of soybeans from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, further diversying the country’s soybean import sources.
Contracts were made with international grain providers including Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), Bunge Limited and Cargill Inc, according to a statement on Sinograin’s website.FULL STORY
Energy
TANKER MARKET COULD FIND NEW LEVEL OF SUPPORT
Source: Hellenic Shipping News -Nov 30th
The tanker market’s fundamentals seem to be edging towards offering some level of support to freight rates. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Intermodal said that “inflation is the word that has dominated the meetings of foreign leaders and finance ministers in recent weeks, as rising energy costs, supply chain disruptions and monetary easing by states to support the economic recovery has in turn triggered concerns over the trajectory of growth from now on. FULL STORY
CHENIERE TO SELL US LNG TO CHINA’S FORAN GROUP
Source: Marine Link-Nov 29th
U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Cheniere Energy Inc said Wednesday its marketing arm agreed to sell LNG to a unit of Chinese natural gas distribution company Foran Energy Group Co Ltd for 20 years starting in January 2023.
Analysts said the deal should move Cheniere closer to making a final investment decision (FID) to build the proposed Stage 3 expansion at its Corpus Christi plant in Texas, which is expected in 2022.FULL STORY
CHINA’S CRUDE OIL IMPORTS IN OCT DROP TO LOWEST IN THREE YEARS
Source: Marine Link-Nov 8th
China’s crude oil imports plunged in October to the lowest since September 2018, as large state-owned refiners withheld purchases because of rising prices while independent refiners were restrained by limited quotas to import.
The world’s biggest crude oil importer brought in 37.8 million tonnes last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Sunday, equivalent to 8.9 million barrels per day (bpd). FULL STORY
CHINA ISSUES ADDITIONAL LSFO QUOTAS FOR 2021
Source: Marine Link-Nov 11th
China has issued new export quotas for the export of low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) used to power ships and for other refined fuels such as gasoline and diesel for the rest of 2021, according to a trading source and document reviewed by Reuters on Thursday. FULL STORY
CHINA’S CRUDE OIL OUTPUT UP 3% IN OCTOBER
Source: China Daily-Nov 22nd
China’s crude oil output rose 3 percent year-on-year to 16.83 million tonnes in October, official data showed.
The volume went up 4.5 percent from the 2019 level, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. FULL STORY
CHINA EYES SUBSTANTIAL RISE IN US LNG IMPORTS
Source: China Daily-Nov 18th
China is expected to attract more international energy suppliers with its burgeoning natural gas demand to set a record this year, as the domestic economy has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic faster than expected and the government is on track to meet its long-term carbon neutrality targets, said analysts. FULL STORY