Chemical News
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Asia: The week ahead in petrochemicals, w/c Apr 16 Apr 17,2018
Asian petrochemicals generally received a boost last week from strength in upstream crude, as ICE June Brent crude futures surged $4.50/b over the week to $72.50/b at 0830 GMT last Friday. Correspondingly, major feedstock naphtha also jumped, with Mean of Platts Japan naphtha assessed $30.25/mt higher at $613/mt last Friday. This week, ongoing ...>>>
European styrene surges to one-month high, pulling US prices up Apr 17,2018
European styrene prices surged to a one-month high on Friday and pulling US prices up in tandem, according to S&P Global Platts data. The 5-30 day forward styrene spot price was assessed at $1,477/mt FOB ARA Friday, its highest since March 13. Prices in the US jumped in tandem and April was assessed at 60.80 cents/lb ($1,340/mt), marking a 1.60-...>>>
Brazil's Vale nickel output down 17.9% year on year in Q1 to 58,600 mt Apr 17,2018
Vale produced 58,600 mt of finished nickel in the first quarter of 2018, down 17.9% from Q1 2017, the Brazilian miner said Monday. The drop mainly reflected "Vale's rigorous capital allocation process based on returns, that resulted in decreased Voisey's Bay production output to extend its mine life while the Voisey's Bay Mine Extension project ...>>>
About 3% of intended US corn acreage planted: USDA Apr 17,2018
A total of 3% of the intended US corn acreage had been planted through Sunday, the Department of Agriculture said in its weekly crop progress report after Monday's market close. This level was 2 percentage points below the five-year average for this week and 3 percentage points below planting at the same time last year. Little progress was ex...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 13/04/2018 Apr 17,2018
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,32 commodities increased in prices, 22 fell and 46 remained unchanged on 13/04/2018.The largest rises were Chloroform (2.92%),Nickel (2.04%),LPG (1.31%),while the largest falls were Pa...>>>
Analysis: China Q1 steel output, prices supports iron ore Apr 18,2018
A number of steel and iron ore indicators have turned more bullish since March, with iron ore prices recovering over the past week. China's first quarter steel output growth was confirmed Tuesday, which manifested despite a series of winter mill bottlenecks mainly in northeast China to improve air pollution. There was another rebound in steel...>>>
Argentina expects exemption from US steel, aluminum import tariffs: sources Apr 18,2018
Argentina's government expects the country to attain an exemption from US tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum as a result of meetings between the countries' officials at the weekend at the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, according to sources. According to sources, an agreement between the countries is already settled, but has yet to b...>>>
Europe styrene imports from US delayed, but prices fall as Total unit restarts Apr 18,2018
European imports of styrene from the US have been delayed, but prices have declined due to the reported restart of Total's styrene unit at Gonfreville, according to S&P Global Platts data. Vessels from the US have been delayed, contributing to a surge in prices last week, several sources said Monday. Styrene prices jumped to a month high amid ri...>>>
European ethylene cargoes head to Asia as supplies lengthen: sources Apr 18,2018
There has been a surge in ethylene cargo fixtures from Europe to Asia as traders attempt to clear a surplus of material in the region, according to market sources. Between 30,000-50,000 mt of ethylene will be heading to Asia in April, with the trend likely to continue in to May, sources said. Little ethylene has been moved east so far this ...>>>
Atlantic thermal coal bid, offered lower Apr 18,2018
The delivered-Europe thermal coal market saw lower prices at the start of the week as spot demand from utilities continued to dwindle. Russian and US origin coal remained well-offered to the market but no spot deals were heard, while stockpiles at European terminals EMO Rotterdam, OBA Amsterdam, and OVET Vlissingen fell to 3.67 million mt, down ...>>>
Germany confirms target to halve coal-fired power output by 2030: energy minister Apr 18,2018
German energy minister Peter Altmaier reiterated Tuesday plans to halve coal-fired power output by 2030, but dashed hopes for quick action on coal by saying plans to exit nuclear power generation by 2022 are a 'double challenge' preferring a more gradual approach with the 'coal commission' to safeguard jobs. Climate plan target sets 60% cut for ...>>>
Lawmakers grill FERC on response to resilience issues, out-of-market state actions Apr 18,2018
Lawmakers Tuesday pressed members of the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on two of the most high-profile and "tricky" regulatory challenges facing the agency -- grid resilience and the interplay between state public policies and wholesale power markets. Addressing state-subsidized generation's impact on the wholesale markets is "one of t...>>>
NYMEX May natural gas futures steady at $2.751/MMBtu in morning trading Apr 17 Apr 18,2018
NYMEX May natural gas futures was steady in US morning trading Tuesday as the market appeared to be balanced from a mixed weather outlook, falling demand and a drop in production. As of 10:37 am EDT (1437 GMT), the May contract was trading at $2.751/MMBtu, down 0.1 cent from Monday's close. So far on Tuesday, the May contract has traded in a ran...>>>
China imposes 178.6% anti-dumping duty on US sorghum Apr 19,2018
China has imposed a 178.6% import duty under "Anti-dumping Regulations of the People's Republic of China" on US origin sorghum effective from April 18, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday. The duty added to the measures imposed by China in an ongoing spat since the US announced steel tariffs. The new "margin call" formula on sorghum said th...>>>
US EIA says propylene stocks, refinery run rates fall Apr 19,2018
US stocks of propylene for non-fuel use fell 180,000 barrels in the week that ended April 13 to 2.612 million barrels, Energy Information Administration data showed Wednesday. Inventory levels currently are 89,000 barrels above their year-ago level, data showed. US refinery run rates shed 0.9 percentage point to 92.40% last week, 0.5 percenta...>>>
Traders moving US-origin EDC to Thailand, India after China imposes tariff Apr 19,2018
Traders are moving US-origin ethylene dichloride cargoes to Thailand or India instead of China since an additional 25% tariff was imposed on US-origin EDC and PVC imports to China earlier this month, market sources said Thursday. However the impact on PVC would likely be limited as China's PVC imports from the US are mostly for re-export, avoidi...>>>
US coal carloads fall to 14-week low of 75,778: AAR Apr 19,2018
US coal carloads dropped to a 14-week low of 75,778 in the week ended April 14, down 7% from the previous week and the lowest since 69,973 carloads in the week ended January 6, the Association of American Railroads said Wednesday. The latest week was also 7.6% lower than 81,942 in the year-ago week and was the first time in eight weeks to fall b...>>>
South32 cuts Australian Illawarra's coal output guidance by 9% on mine issue Apr 19,2018
Australian-listed miner South32 Thursday cut fiscal 2017-18 (July-June) production guidance for its Illawarra Metallurgical Coal business by 9% as it continues to grapple with issues at its Appin mine. "Given a greater focus on coal clearance and ground rehabilitation activities at the Appin colliery... and with two longwall moves planned befor...>>>
New German-Dutch power interconnector set for late summer/Q4 start Apr 19,2018
Dutch power is set to get a supply boost from two major new power cables from Denmark and Germany expected to start operations earlier than recently planned, according to the latest project updates. Dutch TSO TenneT is finalizing works on a new 380 kV HVDC cable that will boost transmission capacity between Germany and the Netherlands by 1 GW to...>>>
Trade group eyes FERC, FCC collaboration to better address utility communications needs Apr 19,2018
Hitting a roadblock at the Federal Communications Commission, a trade group serving critical infrastructure providers is calling on lawmakers and other agencies to aid its pursuit of telecommunications policy reforms it believes are necessary to ensure grid reliability and resilience. Currently, there is a disconnect at the federal level between...>>>