Russell: China's crude oil imports in November recover and other commodities remain strong
The Chinese economy is having a great week, as the outlook has improved amid new stimulus measures. Commodity imports have also performed well in November. The CSI300 index, which is the benchmark, rose 3.2% on the opening day, while government bonds rallied. The announcement of additional monetary stimulus in the official media boosted sentiment. However, the high imports of commodities in November also helped. Natural resources are an important indicator of China's health, as it is the largest buyer in the world.
Think tank: China could reduce CO2 emissions by a third with new UN targets by 2035
A Thursday report by an environmental think-tank suggested that China's carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to climate change and are a major contributor to global warming, could drop by a third in 2035 if the country makes more ambitious commitments at the United Nations. In order to meet their Paris obligations, countries must submit new and stronger "nationally defined contributions" (NDCs), to the U.N. before February in order to set goals for 2035. China's pledges, as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, will be scrutinised closely.
LNG Import: China is World's No. 2 buyer in 2018
China's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in December soared 25 percent from the same period a year earlier to a monthly record of 6.29 million tonnes, customs data showed on Wednesday.The previous record of 5.99 million tonnes was set in November.For the whole of 2018, imports grew 41 percent from 2017 to a record 53.78 million tonnes, according to the data from the General Administration of Customs. That saw China retain its position as the world's second-buyer buyer of the super-chilled fuel after Japan…
US Energy Companies Fume over Rejected Steel Tariff Exemptions
The U.S. Commerce Department recently granted a tariff exemption to oil major Chevron for its imports of 4.5-inch Japanese steel tubes for oil exploration.But the department rejected a similar request from Borusan Mannesmann Pipe to exclude 4.5-inch steel pipes imported from Turkey for casing used to line new oil wells.The reason: multiple U.S. steelmakers objected to Borusan's application, arguing they could supply the product, according to the department. Chevron drew no such objections.When U.S.
China Opening May Spark Iron Ore Markets
In the relatively short space of the past decade the paper iron ore market has grown from virtually nothing to exceed the physical market, but now the industry is grappling with what comes next. While the growth in iron ore futures and exchanged-cleared swaps has been impressive, iron ore is still a long way behind other commodity markets, such as crude oil and some agricultural products, where paper trade exceeds physical by large multiples. There are two main paper markets for iron ore…
Two U.S. Coal Miners See Growth Amid Sector's Gloom
U.S. electric utilities are expected to shut hundreds more of their coal-fired power generators in the coming years, extending a long trend away from coal and toward natural gas that has cast a pall over the mining industry. But not every U.S. coal company sees a bleak future. Ramaco Resources, which produces coal for steel mills, and Consol Energy, which supplies coal to larger power plants, have ramped up investments even as the industry shrinks. President Donald Trump has promised to revive the coal sector by stripping away burdensome regulation.
China Still the Main Game for Commodity Demand: Russell
China strode like a colossus over major commodity markets in 2017, as the world's biggest buyer of natural resources made its presence felt on demand for coal, iron ore, crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG). China's influence on major commodities is likely to remain the single most important factor driving supply and demand in 2018, but that's not to say next year will simply be a repeat of what happened this year. Still, some trends established in 2017 will continue, or even accelerate, with LNG potentially the best example.
Coal's Future Remains Uncertain
A year after Donald Trump was elected president on a promise to revive the ailing U.S. coal industry, the sector’s long-term prospects for growth and hiring remain as bleak as ever. A Reuters review of mining data shows an industry that has seen only modest gains in jobs and production this year - much of it from a temporary uptick in foreign demand for U.S. coal rather than presidential policy changes. U.S. utilities are shutting coal-fired power plants at a rapid pace and shifting to cheap natural gas, along with wind and solar power.
Coking Coal Price Talks Stall
Talks between Australian miners and Japanese steelmakers over coking coal supplies have stalled as the Japanese companies are pushing to move to more flexible arrangements from the current quarterly fixed-price terms. The Japanese are backed by BHP, the world's biggest producer of coking coal, a key steelmaking ingredient. However, other miners are against upending the 45-year-old fixed price settlement mechanism. Any changes could potentially further roil a market hit by wild swings recently.
U.S. Coal Gets Boost, but it's Debbie not Trump
One of the big hopes for a revival of the U.S. coal industry since the election of President Donald Trump is increasing exports. Right on cue, it looks likely that more of the fuel will be shipped to foreign buyers. But this is a short-term boost and will benefit only a few U.S. coal miners, with the rest having to deal with domestic demand trending lower. The grim reality is that they can't compete with exports from lower cost producers around the globe. While Trump may have declared an end to what he termed the "war on coal" of his predecessor Barack Obama, the U.S.
Ukraine Faces Energy Crisis As Blockade Cuts Coal Supply
Ukrainian authorities vowed on Thursday to restore coal supply from the separatist-held Donbass and warned that a blockade by activists could deprive millions of heating and electricity, harm the steel industry and cost the country some $2 billion. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the blocking of a railway link in the east by opposition lawmakers and army veterans who fought against separatist factions was a "destabilising factor". The European Union and the United States called for action to prevent "a major energy crisis".
Can Trump Make Coal Great Again?
Most of the U.S. coal industry doubts Donald Trump can fulfill his promise to make the ailing industry great again in a country awash in dirt-cheap natural gas, a competing fuel. But a small sub-section of the coal sector that mines metallurgical coal - a variety used by steel makers instead of power plants - is gearing up for a Trump-inspired boom. That's because the Republican president-elect has promised a spending surge for roads, bridges and tunnels after he takes office on Jan.
Egypt's Launches Tender for Another FSRU
Egypt has launched a tender to hire a third floating and storage regasification unit (FSRU) to import liquefied natural gas (LNG), an official from state-run energy firm EGAS told Reuters. Egypt, a former energy exporter but now net importer due to falling production and rising consumption, began LNG imports last year to help avert blackouts on its overworked power grid. The official said the tender was launched on Tuesday seeking an FSRU with a capacity of 750 million cubic feet per day and would close in two weeks.
Drilling Downturn Hits U.S. Oil Consumption: Kemp
Oil and gas production was one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States between 2009 and 2014 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Oil production increased by more than 60 percent while natural gas production was up by more than 25 percent thanks to the shale revolution. What is less well-known is that oil and gas production is also very energy intensive and the drilling boom contributed significantly to fuel consumption, especially diesel.
Drilling Downturn Hits US Oil Consumption: Kemp
Oil and gas production was one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States between 2009 and 2014 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Oil production increased by more than 60 percent while natural gas production was up by more than 25 percent thanks to the shale revolution. What is less well-known is that oil and gas production is also very energy intensive and the drilling boom contributed significantly to fuel consumption, especially diesel.
Britain's Coal Transition Holds Lessons for China
Britain's last deep coal mine closed on Friday, bringing the curtain down on an industry that once employed more than 1 million miners at over 3,000 collieries. Coal helped Britain become the first modern industrial power, fuelling her factories, steel works, ships and railways in the 19th century, when the country became famous as the workshop of the world ("Energy transitions", Smil, 2010). Contemporary observers believed Britain's imperial might was bound up with the future of her mines, and their inevitable depletion worried them as much for its political as its business implications.
BHP Billiton: No Short Term Coal Price Rise
Global miner BHP Billiton expects coal prices to stay weak in the near term, but sees the fuel remaining an important part of the world's energy mix for decades, even amid a push to cut carbon emissions, its coal chief said on Friday. BHP's coal president Mike Henry called for fossil fuel companies to be more proactive in coming up with solutions to combat climate change and fight "no-coal" activists, whom he said had been more effective in swaying public opinion. "We must come together in a way that sees us adopt a more unified…
China Imports add to Slowing Growth Narrative
If the state of China's economy was to be judged solely on the strength of imports of major commodities, it would be a reasonable conclusion that things were pretty much fine. April imports of crude oil hit a record high, iron ore imports were slightly down but the year-to-date figure is still in positive territory, and copper arrivals increased from the prior month. But look a little further into the figures and concerns start to arise, perhaps not to the extent that China's economy is in deep trouble, but enough to suggest growth may be slowing more than the authorities may want.
China Crude Imports Hit Record, Coal Imports Fall
Crude oil imports jump to 7.37 mln bpd, record high; coal imports fall 26.4 pct in April on year earlier. China's crude oil imports hit a record high in April as falling prices encouraged stockpiling, but coal imports plunged and shipments of other commodites generally eased on a year earlier amid a sluggish economy. China's exports unexpectedly fell 6.4 percent for the month, while imports tumbled by a deeper-than-forecast 16.2 percent, fueling expectations that Beijing will quickly roll out more stimulus to avert a sharper economic slowdown.
Canadian Oil Sands Woes Reach Maritimes
Cory Troke joined the exodus west two years ago, leaving scenic but job-scarce Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, after being laid off as a machinist. Troke, 37, headed to the Alberta oil sands, apprenticing as a pipefitter and finding 19 months of steady work, flying in for two weeks, returning home for one. By October Troke was out of work again, and he was not alone. A downturn driven by tumbling crude prices is causing turmoil in an island economy that has grown dependent on workers commuting more than 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) west.
