Chemical News
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Turkish ministry OKs sulfur cap hike for thermal coal imports: sources Mar 29,2018
Turkey's Ministry of Environment has ratified the government's motion to increase the sulfur cap on imported thermal coal and the process has moved on to the Ministry of Economy, market sources said Wednesday. The exact timeline of events is unclear due to no official communication from either ministry, but sources said the approval took place w...>>>
US coal carloads climb 1.6% on week, 10.1% on year: AAR Mar 29,2018
US coal carload volumes were at a five-week high 87,348 in the week ended March 24, up 1.6% from a week earlier and 10.1% higher year on year, the Association of American Railroads said Wednesday. It was also the fifth straight week to outpace both 2016 and 2017. However, the weekly volume was down 7.8% from the five-year average of 94,718. ...>>>
European Apr styrene spot surges to two-week high on new supply problem Mar 29,2018
The European April styrene spot price surged to a two-week high Tuesday on a new supply problem in Europe, according to S&P Global Platts data. The April spot price was assessed at $1,399/mt FOB ARA Tuesday, the highest level for April since March 14. April bids were heard rising to $1,400/mt at the end of the day Tuesday, indicating further ...>>>
European methyl ethyl ketone prices hit fresh lows on more supply Mar 29,2018
The European spot truck price of methyl ethyl ketone hit fresh multi-month lows this week as supplies rose further. The MEK truck price was assessed down Eur40/mt Tuesday at Eur1,770/mt FD NWE and at the lowest level since August 1, 2017, when it was Eur1,520/mt. Distributors said offers had been competitive on MEK throughout March, which add...>>>
Methanex rolls April North American methanol contract at 149 cents/gal Mar 29,2018
Canadian producer Methanex will hold its April North American methanol posted contract price at 149 cents/gal ($496/mt) FOB USG, the company said on its website. The unchanged contract price is in line with market expectations after Methanex last Wednesday held its European Q2 contract price flat from the first quarter at Eur380/mt (about $466/m...>>>
Iran steel development plan requires $27.4 billion investment: ISPA Mar 29,2018
Iran's steel industry needs about Eur22.1 billion ($27.4 billion) new investment to achieve a target of 55 million mt/year of production capacity by 2025, the the Iranian Steel Producers' Association said in a report. About Eur13.39 billion should be invested in infrastructure projects, including Eur5.05 billion for new railroads and Eur3.3 bill...>>>
Latin America's steel trade deficit with China rises 8% in 2017 Mar 29,2018
Latin America's steel value chain registered a $23.44 billion trade deficit with China in 2017, up 8% from the $21.64 billion deficit in 2016, the Latin America steel association, Alacero, said Wednesday. The value chain includes raw materials, finished steel products and indirect steel trade. "This is mainly due to the increase of raw materi...>>>
Chinese DDGS February imports fall 57.2% on month, 94.7% on year: customs data Mar 29,2018
Chinese imports of dried distillers grains dropped 57.2% month on month to 3,657 mt in February from 8,542 mt in January, Chinese Customs Information Center data showed Tuesday. February's imports had a total value of $836,584, according to the customs agency data, down 50.3% from $1.683 million in January. The imports were down 94.7% by vo...>>>
China's demand outlook for steel, iron ore reinforced at SGX event Mar 29,2018
The Singapore Exchange offered views supporting prices and seaborne trade in iron ore and coking at a recent event with clients in London. The seminar attracted 40 traders, banks, and funds, with invited speakers and exchange officials describing steel and steel raw materials supply and demand, economic outlook and trade observations, SGX said i...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 28/03/2018 Mar 29,2018
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,27 commodities increased in prices, 36 fell and 37 remained unchanged on 28/03/2018.The largest rises were Hydrochloric acid (14.29%),Acrylic acid (2.10%),Ethylene glycol (0.91%),while...>>>
Crude oil futures steady in Europe, with support eroding; Brent down to $69.48/b, WTI up at $64.51/b Mar 30,2018
Crude oil futures were little changed at midday in Europe Thursday, holding at the lower levels seen Wednesday after weekly US crude data was released. At 1030 GMT, in its last day of trading, the ICE May Brent crude futures contract was down 5 cents/b from Wednesday's settle at $69.48/b, while the NYMEX May light sweet crude contract was up 13 ...>>>
Swiss hydro reserves fall to 21-year low of less than 1 TWh Mar 30,2018
Swiss hydro reserves have declined to their lowest level for this time of year since at least 1997, Federal Energy Office data showed Thursday. Stocks were pegged at 11% Monday, or 970 GWh of a total capacity of 8.83 TWh for Swiss hydroelectric production. Water reserves declined by 180 GWh in week 12, about twice as high a withdrawal as a we...>>>
US power grid can run well no matter what fuels it uses: reliability official Mar 30,2018
With the right policies and infrastructure, the US could get most of its electricity from renewable resources without hurting the performance of the power grid, according to an official who helps develop and oversee compliance with reliability standards. "Variable resources can be reliably integrated, but they need to be cautiously planned and o...>>>
Powder River Basin, Appalachian coal output increases propel 1.6% US-wide rise: EIA Mar 30,2018
Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 15.46 million st in the week that ended March 24, up 1.6% from the prior week and up 7.2% from the year-ago week, US Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday. The Appalachian and Powder River basins saw slight increases in production, although these rises were somewhat offset by decrea...>>>
Bullish NWE acetic acid strengthens sentiment on acetates, vinyl acetate monomer markets Mar 30,2018
Bullish market fundamentals on acetic acid in Northwest Europe have led to strengthening sentiment on downstream acetates and vinyl acetate monomer markets in the second half of March. S&P Global Platts last assessed acetic acid spot truck prices last Thursday at Eur680/mt FD NWE, but market ideas have been heard substantially higher this week. ...>>>
European propylene April CP fully settled at Eur927/mt Mar 30,2018
The April propylene contract price in Europe wqas fully settled up Eur10/mt from March at Eur927/mt ($1,149.29/mt), a CP party confirmed Thursday. The initial agreement involved seller BP and buyer OXEA. OXEA confirmed, and it was then followed by Ineos and another seller. BP and Ineos did not immediately reply to requests for comment. The sp...>>>
Polish miner JSW, Prairie Mining to cooperate on coking coal mine studies Mar 30,2018
Polish coal miner JSW said it has agreed to cooperate and study the viability of two coking coal projects in Poland under development by Australian Prairie Mining, marking initial steps to potential joint development. Prairie's Debiensko hard coking coal project, which was owned by bankrupt miner New World Resources, and Jan Karski Mine, the for...>>>
Chile copper production jumps 21% in Feb, a year after Escondida strike Mar 30,2018
Chile produced 455,995 mt of copper in February, up 21.1% year on year and largely reflecting the impact of a strike by workers at the giant Escondida mine last year, government data showed Thursday. Increased throughput at other operations also helped. The monthly figure, however, marks a fall of 5.5% from January. Production during the f...>>>
Biodiesel RINs fall to lowest level since November 2015 Mar 30,2018
Current-year biodiesel Renewable Identification Numbers on Thursday were assessed at their lowest level in more than two years as news from Washington continues to roil the RINs markets. S&P Global Platts assessed D4 biodiesel RINs for 2018 at 64 cents/RIN, down 5.25 cents on the day. That's the lowest level for a then-current year RIN since Nov...>>>
US corn prices climb on bullish USDA crop acreage estimate report Mar 30,2018
US corn prices spiked Thursday after the release of a US Department of Agriculture's prospective planting report that showed estimated corn acreage for the 2018-2019 marketing year could be on the lower end of expectations. S&P Global Platts assessed US corn, CIF New Orleans basis, for April delivery at $4.3475/bu, an increase of 14.25 cents com...>>>