Chemical News
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China Dec ethanol imports dive 73% from Nov, spike from 33 cu m a year ago Jan 28,2019
Chinese ethanol imports slumped 73.2% month on month to 25,178 cu m in December last year, with both denatured and undenatured imports falling month on month, latest customs data showed. On a year-on-year basis, however, the ethanol imports had spiked from 33 cu m in December 2017. Denatured ethanol shipments to China fell 91.4% month on month ...>>>
Japan's Cosmo Oil loads first Iran crude cargo after US sanctions waiver: source Jan 28,2019
Cosmo Oil has started loading its first Iranian crude oil cargo, the latest Japanese refiner to resume import of Iranian oil more than two months after the US sanctions waiver was granted, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told S&P Global Platts Monday. The VLCC Jin-Ei commenced loading 850,000 barrels of Iranian crude -- 200,000 barr...>>>
Crude oil futures dip as demand concerns outweigh tightening supply Jan 28,2019
Crude oil futures dipped in mid-morning trade Asia Monday as risks of a downside in demand outweighed lingering concerns of tightening supply. At 11:30 am Singapore time (0330 GMT), ICE March Brent crude futures were down 28 cents/b (0.45%) from Friday's settle at $61.36/b, while the NYMEX March light sweet crude contract was down 38 cents/b (0....>>>
Japan's Dec stainless cold rolled sheet sales drop 6% on year Jan 28,2019
Sales of austenitic and ferritic stainless cold rolled sheet through Japanese coil centers in December 2018 dropped 6.1% year on year, and fell 6.8% from November to 55,640 mt, according to the latest data released last Friday by the Japan Stainless Coil Center Association, or JSCA, showed. JSCA officials were unavailable for comment Monday. Ho...>>>
China imports 64.23 mil mt of coking coal in 2018, down 8% from 2017 Jan 28,2019
China coking coal import volume saw a slight decline in 2018, according to China's customs data released Saturday. China's coking coal import fell 8.11% to 64.23 million mt in 2018, down from 69.90 million mt in 2017. Imports from major coking coal producers in Australia, Canada and the US to China declined in 2018. Imports from Australia fe...>>>
Saudi Aramco plans to buy up to 19.9% stake in Hyundai Oilbank for $1.6 bil Jan 28,2019
Saudi Aramco plans to buy up to 19.9% stake in Hyundai Oilbank from its parent company Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings Co. for $1.6 billion, a move that could give the major Middle Eastern crude producer a strong foothold in one of Asia's leading oil consumers. Hyundai Heavy Industries said the company is currently in talks with Saudi Aramco o...>>>
Unipec's 2018 losses due to 'inappropriate' hedging, says Sinopec Jan 28,2019
China's state-owned Sinopec said Friday that the refiner's trading arm, Unipec, suffered losses of Yuan 4.65 billion ($687.4 million) in 2018 as a result of "inappropriate" techniques applied to hedge positions at a time when crude oil prices were relatively lower. "Further investigations have indicated that the misjudgment about global crude oi...>>>
US OFAC lifts sanctions against Russian aluminum producer Rusal Jan 28,2019
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control announced that it has lifted sanctions on Russian aluminum producer Rusal, copper and ferromolybdenum producer EN+ Group, and JSC EuroSibEnergo on Monday. The measure follows its notice to Congress on December 19 where OFAC expressed its intent to lift the sanctions, given that the companies have reduced d...>>>
Brazil faces iron ore disruption after Vale warns of second dam alert Jan 28,2019
Brazil's iron ore output faces potential outages after dam warnings were triggered in the Corrego do Feijao Mine region in Brumadinho just days after a nearby tailings barrage suffered a catastrophic failure, producer Vale reported early Sunday. "This dam forms part of the Brumadinho complex," Vale said on its website. "Authorities have been adv...>>>
German commission recommends phasing-out power from coal by 2038 Jan 28,2019
Germany is set to phase-out coal-fired power generation by 2038 after the government-appointed coal commission reached a compromise Saturday. The coal phase-out is in addition to the 2011 landmark decision to end nuclear power generation by 2022 with Germany's future power mix to be made up entirely of renewables and gas, currently accounting fo...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 28/01/2019 Jan 28,2019
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,18 commodities increased in prices, 17 fell and 65 remained unchanged on 28/01/2019.The largest rises were Silver (2.07%),Iron ore (1.90%),DME(1.21%),while the largest falls were Anili...>>>
China steel, iron ore price support dependent on stimulus into softening economy: Wood Mackenzie Jan 31,2019
Chinese steel demand may recover as stimulus and economic reforms carry the market higher following a sharp deceleration in the fourth quarter, with domestic mine cuts boding well for seaborne iron ore demand, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said Wednesday. Iron ore and steel industries in China are restructuring and closing mines in response to incr...>>>
EIA says US propane stocks continue to draw, Midwest sees largest drop Jan 31,2019
Total US propane stocks fell to their lowest level in nearly eight months amid a nationwide cold spell, with Midwest inventories taking the steepest fall, Energy Information Administration showed Wednesday. Nationwide inventories fell 3.6 million barrels for the week ended January 25 to 60.2 million barrels, the data showed. Coast to coast, pro...>>>
US cash grain markets frozen by polar vortex Jan 31,2019
Record-low temperatures and dangerous wind chills in the US Midwest have caused loading operations, docks and barge fleets to halt operation until weather improves. Downtime is expected to be limited with warmer temperatures expected by the end of the week, but barge lines could see limited operations on the Illinois River for a more extended pe...>>>
EU backs antisubsidy duties on Argentinian biodiesel: trade group Jan 31,2019
EU member states backed a proposal to impose antisubsidy duties on Argentinian biodiesel imports from February 28 onward, the European Biodiesel Board said Wednesday. The EU Trade Defence Committee also backed an exemption clause for those producers who agree to a minimum price undertaking, which will enable Argentinian sellers to export a maxim...>>>
US metallurgical coal output plateauing into 2019, despite high prices: Seaport Jan 31,2019
US metallurgical coal production is plateauing, despite higher than average prices, US investment bank Seaport Global said Wednesday. "We simply haven't seen any growth the last three quarters," senior analyst Mark Levin said in a note. US met coal output was just over 80 million st in 2018, Seaport estimated. "US met coal production has now de...>>>
Lack of consensus on precious metals price forecasts: LBMA Jan 31,2019
There was no clear consensus among analysts on the direction of the gold price in 2019, although the average forecast of $1,311.71/oz signaled a modest 1.8% increase, industry body the London Bullion Market Association said Wednesday. "While gold is causing even the professionals to scratch their heads, the picture is even less clear for the pro...>>>
China imposes coking coal import restrictions at Northeast China ports: sources Jan 31,2019
China has imposed port restrictions on coking coal imports at several ports in Northeast China including Bayuquan, Dandong and Dalian effective Tuesday afternoon, market sources with knowledge of the matter told S&P Global Platts Wednesday. Three Chinese steelmakers confirmed that they had received verbal notice from Northeast China ports' agent...>>>
China's Dec increment in crude stocks hits record high of 65.35 mil barrels Jan 31,2019
China's implied crude oil stocks as of end December surged 65.35 million barrels from end-November, registering another record high monthly increment. The last record high for the implied crude stock build was 56.29 million barrels in November 2018, S&P Global Platts calculations based on official data showed. The strong increment lifted China'...>>>
China's Hengli aims to start first paraxylene line in Mar, second line 2 months after Jan 31,2019
China's Hengli Petrochemical plans to start test runs at the first of its two new paraxylene production lines in Dalian, Liaoning province, in March, following the start of its new 20 million mt/year (400,000 b/d) refinery in mid-December 2018, a source close to the company said Wednesday. Both lines have a production capacity of 2.25 million mt...>>>