Chemical News
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World crude steel production in Nov up 5.8% on year to 148.6 mil mt Dec 21,2018
World crude steel production in November was 5.8% higher year on year at 148.6 million mt, World Steel Association data showed Thursday. Production in the first 11 months totaled 1.65 billion mt, up 4.7% year on year. Chinese production continued to top the list in November, having increased 10.8% to 77.6 million mt. From January to November, C...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 20/12/2018 Dec 21,2018
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,13 commodities increased in prices, 24 fell and 63 remained unchanged on 20/12/2018.The largest rises were Palm Oil (1.22%),Zinc (0.94%),PP (0.72%),while the largest falls were Chlorof...>>>
China's 2019 oil product exports to rise 9% on year to 51 mil mt: Sinopec Dec 24,2018
Sinopec Economics & Development Research Institute expects China's oil product exports to rise 9% year on year to 51 million mt in 2019, as an increase in domestic product supplies surpasses demand growth, a report released on Thursday by the institute said. EDRI is the think tank of Sinopec, the world's biggest refinery by throughput and capaci...>>>
Iran's Dec LPG loadings remain subdued at a trickle due to US sanctions Dec 24,2018
LPG loadings from Iran remained subdued in December following the re-imposition of US sanctions on November 4, with the preliminary shipping program showing three vessels due to lift cargoes, shipping and trade sources said this week. Three cargoes were also lifted last month, including the VLGCs Sea Dragon on board which Chinese trading firm Pa...>>>
Australian Mount Pleasant thermal coal mine produces first bypass coal Dec 24,2018
The 10.5 million mt/year Mount Pleasant thermal coal project in Australia's Hunter Valley has produced its first bypass coal and exports are due to begin shortly, mine owner MACH Energy said Friday. "Our first coal will be supplied locally for domestic use and we expect export sales to commence early in the Near Year," MACH Energy managing direc...>>>
India's Nov crude oil imports fall 11% on year to 4.2 mil b/d Dec 24,2018
India imported 17 million mt (4.2 million b/d) of crude oil in November, down 11.4% year on year, the latest provisional data from the country's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed. Crude imports were also down 19.4% from October. Analysts said the biggest decline in nearly four years was mainly due to lower overseas purchases by refine...>>>
Australia hikes LNG export forecasts for fiscal 2018, 2019 Dec 24,2018
The Australian government has marginally lifted its forecast for LNG exports for fiscal 2018 and 2019 (July-June), following the startup of Woodside's Wheatstone LNG, Inpex's Ichthys LNG, and Royal Dutch Shell's Prelude LNG projects. "Production at Wheatstone will be substantially higher in 2018-2019 than in 2017-2018, with the project having ra...>>>
European benzene hits a 28-month low on supply overhang Dec 24,2018
The European benzene market hit a 28-month low on Thursday, as the 5-30 days forward-loading assessment dropped to $543.50/mt on CIF Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp basis. The benzene market has been on a steady downtrend, with prices plummeting from a peak of $867/mt CIF ARA at the end of October. The fall coincided with the beginning of negotiatio...>>>
British car manufacturing slumps 19.6% to 129,030 units in Nov: SMMT Dec 24,2018
British car production fell by a substantial 19.6% year on year in November, with 129,030 units manufactured, according to figures released Friday by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. "In a continuation of recent trends, weaker demand in the UK and in key European and Asian export markets was exacerbated by the ongoing impact of ne...>>>
Thermal coal railings to South Africa's RBCT expected to restart Saturday Dec 24,2018
Thermal coal railings to South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal were expected to restart on Saturday after a derailment on Thursday, a spokesman for state-owned rail operator Transnet said Friday. "There are two lines to [RBCT] and we expect to have one open by Saturday, but I do not know what time just yet," a spokesman said. The incident o...>>>
Methanex lowers posted January North American methanol CP by 8 cents Dec 24,2018
Methanex is lowering its North American posted methanol contract price by 8 cents for January compared with December, to 133 cents/gal ($442/mt) FOB USG, the company has said. Methanex posted the prices late Thursday on its website. While market expectations had been for pricing to weaken, participants Friday had difficulty specifying by how mu...>>>
New EU renewable, energy efficiency rules enter into force Dec 24 Dec 24,2018
New EU rules fixing 2030 targets to source 32% of the EU's gross final energy demand from renewables and to improve the EU's energy efficiency by 32.5% will enter into force on Monday, having been published in the EU's Official Journal on Friday. The targets are part of the EU's efforts to move to a net-zero carbon economy by 2050, as set out in...>>>
Lower WTI prices prompt Permian producers to slash 2019 capex by low double-digits Dec 24,2018
Three aggressive independent Permian Basin upstream operators released capital budgets for 2019 in the last few days that are lower than either prior expectations or actual 2018 spending by at least 12% to 15%, as corporate executives attributed reduced activity to the recent plunge in oil prices. But large players Diamondback Energy and Parsley...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 21/12/2018 Dec 24,2018
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,15 commodities increased in prices, 29 fell and 56 remained unchanged on 21/12/2018.The largest rises were Mild steel plate (1.03%),Iron ore (0.98%),Zinc (0.71%),while the largest fall...>>>
China's Nov increment in crude stocks hits record high at 56.29 mil barrels Dec 25,2018
China's implied crude oil stocks as of end-November surged 56.29 million barrels from end-October, registering a record high monthly increment that would likely dampen buying interest for the first quarter of next year. The last record high for the implied crude stock build was 47.40 million barrels in March 2017, S&P Global Platts calculations ...>>>
Crude oil futures hit fresh 17-month low amid US market jitters; ICE Brent falls below $53/b, NYMEX WTI $44.66/b Dec 25,2018
Crude futures plunged to fresh 17-month lows Monday amid fears of a sell-off amid the dramatic fall in equity markets, along with a partial US government shutdown. The decline comes despite OPEC ministers reiterating that they are committed to production cuts which kick off in January. At 1505 GMT, ICE February Brent crude futures were down 86 c...>>>
Poland's planned 1 GW Ostroleka C coal plant gets 15-year support Dec 25,2018
The Zloty 6.023 billion (Eur1.4 billion) 1 GW Ostroleka C project, which energy ministry officials have said will be Poland's last large coal plant, was awarded 15 years of subsidies in a capacity auction, co-owner Energa said Friday. Energa said the company set up to build Ostroleka C, Elektrownia Ostroleka, was awarded a 15-year contract to de...>>>
H1 Outlook: No relief in the Australian wheat market as prices hover at record levels Dec 25,2018
Australian Premium White wheat prices are ending the year at a peak level, striking a three-year high of $291/mt FOB Kwinana on Thursday December 20, the highest price since S&P Global Platts started the assessment in November 2015. Drought-hit eastern Australia has slashed overall wheat production in the country, despite a record harvest expect...>>>
Outlook 2019: Political instability at heart of Libya's oil woes Dec 25,2018
Libya's output recovery obscures the fragility of its outlook, against a backdrop of political uncertainty and a worsening security situation. Despite Libyan crude output recently surging to a five-year high of around 1.15 million b/d and expectations that production will average just over 1 million b/d next year, the critical risk of civil conf...>>>
H1 Outlook: US-China trade war to continue to impact Asian soybean market Dec 27,2018
In 2019, the US-China trade war will continue to be the main focus for the Asian soybean market. China -- the world's largest buyer of soybeans -- is also the biggest importer of US soybeans. In 2017, China imported 55% of the US soybean exports, representing 27% of the total soybeans produced in the US. However, in July this year, China imposed a ...>>>