Chemical News
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South African coal favored for Indian import market Mar 12,2018
Sellers of South African thermal coal met with fair demand from Indian buyers in the week to Friday due to higher prices for the main competing origin of Indonesia and issues with domestic supply. The high price of Indonesian coal meant South African coal was a cheaper option for South Asia-based customers and preferable freight advantages kept ...>>>
US coal train loadings up slightly across all major basins Mar 12,2018
US coal train loadings climbed 0.8% in the week ended March 2 due to a small increase in shipments across all major basins, railroad data showed Friday. Data filed with the federal Surface Transportation Board by the four major US railroads -- CSX, Union Pacific, BNSF and Norfolk Southern - for the week shows US coal loadings averaged 100.4 tra...>>>
Total begins maintenance at Gonfreville styrene monomer unit Mar 4: industry sources Mar 12,2018
Total began maintenance work at its Gonfreville styrene monomer unit on March 4, according to industry sources on the sidelines of the European Petrochemical Luncheon Meeting in Barcelona this week. Total said in a press release that major work would be carried out at the site for four months, with different units being covered progressively. ...>>>
Asia MEG margin turns negative after MEG plunges $92/mt on week, ethylene jumps Mar 12,2018
The Asia monoethylene glycol production margin turned negative after sliding $22/mt day on day to minus $1/mt Thursday, as the price of feedstock ethylene rose while the price of MEG fell on weaker demand, according to S&P Global Platts data. The MEG/ethylene spread plunged $128/mt week on week Thursday. MEG prices tumbled $92/mt from last ...>>>
Works underway at Braefoot Bay; loadings unaffected: Shell Mar 12,2018
Maintenance works have begun at the UK's Braefoot Bay LPG marine terminal, with loading operations continuing as normal, a spokesman for Shell said Friday. The LPG terminal, which ships both propane and butane for export from eastern Scotland, has two jetties, one owned by Shell and another by ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil wasn't immediately available ...>>>
North American mill product orders drop in February: Aluminum Association Mar 12,2018
February aluminum mill product orders in North America declined 6.2% compared with January, though were up 5.8% from February 2017, Aluminum Association data showed Friday. In the first two months of 2018, mill product orders rose 5.9% from 2017, the trade group said. Plate orders dropped 11% from January but rose 14.3% from the same two-mont...>>>
US HRC prices rise further in wake of steel tariffs Mar 12,2018
US hot-rolled coil prices moved up further Friday as market participants were weighing the potential effects of US President Donald Trump's newly signed steel tariffs. The daily Platts TSI US HRC assessment was calculated at $849.50/st Friday, up $5/st from Thursday. The daily Platts TSI US CRC assessment was calculated at $953.50/st Friday, un...>>>
Chile approves Albemarle plans to expand lithium production to 145,000 mt/year Mar 12,2018
Chile has granted approval to US chemicals firm Albemarle to increase production of lithium from its claims on the Salar de Atacama, one of the world's largest and most competitive sources of the sought-after mineral, the company said Friday. Albemarle said that Chile's industrial development agency CORFO had authorized the company to produce up...>>>
US steel tariffs to have limited impact to global coking coal supply: sources Mar 12,2018
US coking coal exports could be a victim of US President Donald Trump's blanket 25% tariff on the country's steel imports, but even though the US is the second largest seaborne supplier of coking coal after Australia, the impact on the global market will be limited, market sources said. US coking coal would logically move towards the domestic ma...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 09/03/2018 Mar 12,2018
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,16 commodities increased in prices, 43 fell and 41 remained unchanged on 09/03/2018.The largest rises were Dysprosium oxide (1.67%),Methanol (0.67%),PA6 (0.61%),while the largest falls...>>>
Asia: The week ahead in petrochemicals, w/c March 12 Mar 13,2018
Asian petrochemical markets were mixed last week as most aromatics products softened along with upstream energy markets while olefins remained supported by supply tightness amid steam cracker turnaround season. Nonetheless, concerns over narrowing margins in the downstream olefins segments are likely to cap further upticks this week. AROMATICS ...>>>
Flows of LPG for March from US Gulf Coast to NWE expected to fall from Feb Mar 13,2018
Flows of LPG from the US Gulf Coast to Northwest Europe over the course of March are expected to hit around 176,000 mt, down slightly from February, according to data from cFlow, S&P Global Platts trade flow software. Four VLGCs are expected to arrive in Belgium, the Netherlands or France by the end of March, all but one expected in the second h...>>>
EMEA: The week ahead in petrochemicals, w/c Mar 12 Mar 13,2018
Ethylene supplies in Europe are expected to remain tight as scheduled maintenance at the beginning of turnaround season means there is little material available for dealmaking. OLEFINS Some special discounts have been reported in the market, but these are rare and are said to be highly dependent on location. Propylene supply will remain sn...>>>
US MSTDP margins improve on gains in benzene, declines in toluene Mar 13,2018
US disproportionation economics improved slightly on the week as MSTDP margins rose near $8 to near $35.80/mt Monday morning, according to S&P Global Platts estimates. MSTDP margins were at their highest point since February 8 as spot benzene prices posted gains with prompt pricing last assessed at 307 cents/gal DDP USG. Meanwhile, spot tol...>>>
Brazilian domestic scrap prices remain static in mid-March Mar 13,2018
The Brazilian ferrous scrap market has remained static after an about 20% increase in mid-January, sources said Monday. The S&P Global Platts weekly assessment for clean steel scrap remained at Real 665/mt ($204/mt), based on a Real 650-680/mt range for bids, offers and deals, delivered to mill. The weekly heavy melting scrap I & II assessm...>>>
Workers end strike at Nexa Resources zinc refinery in Peru Mar 13,2018
Operations at Nexa Resources' zinc refinery in Cajamarquilla, Peru, were running normally Monday after workers ended a five-day strike, a union official said. About 314 workers who had downed tools March 5 at the refinery on Lima's outskirts returned to work after being threatened they would be fired, Sitrazinc union General Secretary Simon Diaz...>>>
US 232 could redirect 13 million mt of steel to Europe: EUROFER Mar 13,2018
As much as 13 million mt of steel could be redirected to the European Union if the US applies its Section 232 tariff plan on the trading bloc, European Steel Association President Geert Van Poelvoorde said Monday. The European Commission "cannot sit still and not prepare," but must act to safeguard the domestic steel industry, Van Poelvoorde sai...>>>
Macri calls Trump to exempt Argentina from US steel tariff Mar 13,2018
Argentinian President Mauricio Macri last week called US President Donald Trump to discuss the possible exemption of Argentina from the US' imposition of a 25% tariff on steel imports, the Argentinian presidency press office reported Monday. "[Macri] expressed concern about the potential negative effect of these measures," the press office said...>>>
Exporters report third consecutive large sale of US corn: USDA Mar 13,2018
Private exporters for a third consecutive trading day reported Friday a large sale of US corn for export in the current marketing year, this time for 362,552 mt, the US Department of Agriculture said Monday. The current marketing year runs through August 31. Private exporters Thursday reported selling 260,000 mt for delivery to unknown destinati...>>>
US corn inspected for export up 40.6% on week, down 12% on year: USDA Mar 13,2018
The amount of US corn inspected for export rose 40.6% week on week to 1.377 million mt in the week that ended March 8, Department of Agriculture data showed Monday. The amount of corn inspected was 12% lower than the 1.565 million mt inspected for export in the year-ago week, according to the USDA's weekly Federal Grain Inspection Service report...>>>