Chemical News
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China to shut coal mines in safety overhaul Oct 14,2013
BEIJING - The Chinese government has pledged to close more unqualified and dangerous coal mines by 2015 as the country strives to improve its alarming safety record. At least 2,000 small coal mines will be closed by the end of 2015, the State Council, China's cabinet, said in a statement on Saturday. The closures will target coal mines with annua...>>>
Some gains reported in steel sheet, market still mostly flat Oct 12,2013
US flat-rolled prices may be slowly inching up as a result of the increases announced last week, though at least some market sources said their primary effect has been to stall late-year price erosion. "It's tightened the range back up, and it's taken away some of the lower-priced offers out there," said a source with one top-tier mill that anno...>>>
Alcoa reports higher quarterly profit Oct 12,2013
Alcoa kicked off the much-watched third quarter earnings season with much better-than-expected results. Analysts were calling for the No. 1 aluminum maker to report an adjusted five cents a share profit. Alcoa ended up reporting an adjusted profit of eleven cents a share or $120 million. Meanwhile, revenue was expected to be down 3% to $5.6 b...>>>
USGC propane surges relative to crude with exports, buying for heating season Oct 12,2013
US Gulf Coast propane was at an 11-month high relative to the NYMEX front-month crude contract Friday morning as buying for the fall and winter heating season picks up and exports continued to drain US propane stocks. Mont Belvieu propane was trading at $1.14/gal Friday morning, putting it at 47% of the NYMEX front-month crude contract. Propa...>>>
Gas' share of ERCOT market slips as coal grows Oct 12,2013
Natural gas' share of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' generation mix slipped in September, but continued to lead energy usage across the state, according to data released Friday by the grid operator. ERCOT's 2013 Demand and Energy by Month report shows energy consumption across the grid operator's footprint totaled 31.2 million MWh in...>>>
Natural-Gas Futures Settle at Highest Level in About Three Months Oct 12,2013
NEW YORK--Natural-gas futures rose Friday, finishing at their highest level in nearly three months, as traders continued to look ahead to a projected increase in heating-fuel demand before the winter season. Natural gas for November delivery gained 5.3 cents, or 1.4%, to $3.776 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange,...>>>
Crude-Oil Futures Settle 1% Lower Oct 12,2013
NEW YORK--U.S. crude-oil futures settled 1% lower Friday after the International Energy Agency warned that the U.S. fiscal crisis could harm demand and said supplies are rising faster than previously thought. Light, sweet crude oil for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled down 99 cents a barrel, at $102.02 a barrel. The ...>>>
China auto sales up 20 percent in September Oct 12,2013
China's auto sales rose 19.66 percent year on year with 1.94 million units sold in September, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) announced Friday. The volume is a 17.4 percent monthly increase. Auto output hit nearly 1.93 million units in September, with year-on-year growth of 15.96 percent and 14.87 percent growth month...>>>
Third round of shale gas bidding 'set to start' Oct 12,2013
China's third auction for exploration rights for shale gas blocks is set to start soon, a source at the National Development and Reform Commission was quoted as saying by Shanghai Securities News on Friday. "The process will start at the end of this year, at the earliest, with the results released next year. The blocks are likely to exceed the t...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 11/10/2013 Oct 12,2013
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,29 commodities increased in prices, 17 fell and 54 remained unchanged on 11/10/2013.The largest rises were PP (3.34%),Soda ash (1.24%),Hydrofluoric acid (0.86%),while the largest falls...>>>
China keeps non state-owned crude import quotas unchanged for 2014 Oct 12,2013
China has set the 2014 crude oil import quota for non state-owned companies at 29.1 million mt (about 582,000 b/d), unchanged from this year, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday. Companies wishing to apply for crude import licenses must have registered capital of at least Yuan 50 million ($8.2 million) and bank credit lines of at least $20 mill...>>>
The 2013 Nobel prizes: Physiology or medicine-Cellular logistics Oct 11,2013
NANOTECHNOLOGY is a hot topic in science. Not a day goes by without news of some clever device forged using components measuring billionths of a metre. But as is often the case, Mother Nature got there long before humans did. Living cells are nanotechnological factories of stunning complexity, containing the assembly lines, power stations, conveyor...>>>
US steel sheet fighting uphill battle in South Oct 11,2013
Last week's flat-rolled price hikes appear to be having difficulty gaining traction, particularly in the southern US, buyers said Thursday. "Nothing has changed," said one service center executive in the South. "I don't know, it's going to be interesting to watch, but at the end of the day they have to run the mills. We want it to stick, because...>>>
China's 2012 secondary non-ferrous metals output rises Oct 11,2013
China's output of secondary non-ferrous metals, those recycled from scrap metals, rose 3.67 percent year on year in 2012 to exceed 10 million tonnes, almost one-third of its output of primary non-ferrous metals, an industry association said on Thursday. In 2012, a total of 6.6 million tonnes of domestic scrap aluminum, copper, zinc and lead, the...>>>
CAPP CSX spot coal rises for fifth straight session Oct 11,2013
Rail-delivered (CSX) Central Appalachian thermal coal for November closed higher for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday, rising 25 cents/st to $53.75/st. The CSX spot contract continued to track the price movement in the European-delivered Atlantic spot market, as the CIF ARA spot price was assessed 50 cents/mt higher to $85/mt. In the...>>>
EU local councils want environmental impact studies for shale gas, oil projects Oct 11,2013
EU local and regional authorities want the EU "to urgently introduce mandatory environmental impact assessments for all shale gas and oil projects," the EU Committee of the Regions said Thursday. The committee is the EU's assembly of regional and local authority representatives from all 28 EU countries. The committee's call comes a day after ...>>>
K+S AG's Supply Capacity Not Affected by Mine Explosion Oct 11,2013
German fertilizer supplier K+S AG (SDF.XE) Thursday said its supply capacity hasn't been affected by a recent gas eruption that killed three miners at a German potash mine. "Existing orders are being processed by the K+S sister plants," the company said. A controlled explosion at the mine last week triggered the release of a large amount of c...>>>
China corn output to hit record high Oct 11,2013
CHANGCHUN -- China's corn production could hit a record high of 215 million tons in 2013 despite drought and flooding in the country's major breadbaskets, according to estimates by two industry organizations. This year's corn output is about 7 million tons more than last year's harvest of 208 million tons, figures from both the State Administrat...>>>
Shipbuilding sector struggles to keep head above water Oct 11,2013
NANJING -- Chinese shipbuilders have been sailing toward bankruptcy in recent years, with China trying to consolidate the industry and bail it out from the woe of overcapacity. With delays in deliveries, order cancellations and price decreases for newly-built vessels, shipbuilding firms have been in a slump since late 2008, when the global finan...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 10/10/2013 Oct 11,2013
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,19 commodities increased in prices, 27 fell and 54 remained unchanged on 10/10/2013.The largest rises were BR (1.97%),Soybean meal (1.21%),Phosphorus yellow (1.05%),while the largest f...>>>