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China’s crude steel output grew 10 percent in March compared with the same month a year ago as mills ramped up operations amid a profit margin recovery and less stringent curbs on production in the country’s anti-smog crackdown. Mills in the world’s biggest market for the metal churned out 80.33 million tonnes last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday, up from 73.98 million tonnes in March 2018. Average daily output in March was 2.59 million tonnes, the strongest level since October and up from 2.39 ...

After managing to revive oil prices through production cutbacks, OPEC now risks squandering its victory again by letting crude surge too high. In the first quarter, coordinated production curbs by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies helped oil rally the most in almost a decade, restoring prices to over US$70 a barrel. Saudi Arabia, the group’s most powerful member, has made clear that it’s determined to keep supplies tight. That risks a repeat of 2018, when production cuts propelled oil to a four-year high, provoking a backlash ...

Upstream oil and gas producers in the US are trapped in a dilemma they might have previously thought would be desirable: abundant production at low cost. For decades, higher production from oil companies was what the market wanted and rewarded. If producers had to borrow and overspend to do it, the attitude was “c’est la vie”. But in the last couple of years, it has become clear that what is desired, often voiced and certainly rewarded, is slower production growth and reined-in spending. Capital discipline has been the watchword among ...

Gas is the future. Among the reasons oil companies are latching onto gas as the energy transition looms are that it’s plentiful, future demand growth outstrips oil and it has relatively low carbon intensity. Amidst all this, the LNG market is set to flourish. Yet prices today are collapsing. I turned to Massimo Di-Odoardo, Head of Global Gas Research, to make sense of what’s going on. So, Massimo, what’s triggered the price crash? We’ve just come off the back of two strong years when surging demand growth absorbed new supply. ...

The European Union’s trade surplus in goods with the United States increased in the first two months of 2019 while its deficit with China widened, figures that could increase global economic tensions. The European Union’s surplus with the United States grew to 21.6 billion euros in Jan-Feb 2019 from 20.9 billion euros (£18.2 billion) in the same period of 2018, EU statistics office Eurostat reported on Wednesday. With China, the EU’s trade deficit expanded to 37.8 billion from 35.5 billion euros. The United States has hit the European Union with ...

The European Commission yesterday launched a public consultation on a preliminary list of products from the United States on which the European Union may take countermeasures in the context of the ongoing Boeing dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The public consultation will last until 31 May 2019. On 11 April 2019, the WTO adopted its final compliance report in the Boeing dispute, confirming that U.S. subsidies to Boeing continue to cause significant harm to Airbus, including lost sales. Today’s publication comes as a follow-up to that decision. The ...

China’s economy is off to a robust start this year, defying fears of a sharp slowdown, with Beijing’s pro-growth efforts successfully offsetting the effects of the trade war with the United States. China’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.4 per cent in the first quarter compared to a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday, beating analysts’ expectations of 6.3 per cent growth and remaining at the top end of Beijing’s target growth range of 6.0 to 6.5 per cent for this year. All major indicators released ...

Only one trading company participated in the international tender from Jordan’s state grains buyer to purchase 120,000 tonnes of wheat which closed on Tuesday, traders said. Participant was believed to be Ameropa, they said. No purchase has yet been made and results are expected later on Tuesday, traders said. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Michael Hogan and Maha El Dahan)

The Standard Club has appointed Jamie Wallace to the role of Legal Director. The role will manage the key legal functions for the organisation, including supervising the handling of Defence Class claims, promoting the club’s policies on legal issues and managing the implementation of key processes Jamie brings to the role 17 years’ legal experience, principally in the maritime sector. Previously a Partner at Bentleys, Stokes and Lowless, Jamie’s experience involves advising owners, charterers and cargo interests in global jurisdictions on a variety of issues, including market collapses and cargo ...

* Morocco’s state grains agency ONICL on Tuesday announced a tender to buy 363,636 tonnes of European Union soft wheat under a preferential-tariff trade agreement. * The deadline for bids is on April 25, ONICL said in a tender announcement on its website. * The tender called for wheat to arrive in Morocco by May 31 at the latest. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Valerie Parent Writing by Gus Trompiz, Editing by Bate Felix)

Malaysia kept its export duty on crude palm oil for May at zero percent, according to a circular on the Malaysian Palm Oil Board’s website on Wednesday that cited the national customs department. The duty has been at zero percent since September. Malaysia, the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil, calculated a palm oil reference price of 1,981.03 ringgit ($479.32) per tonne for May. Any price above 2,250 ringgit incurs a duty. Malaysian benchmark palm oil futures rose 1.6 percent to 2,207 ringgit a tonne on Wednesday, after earlier reaching ...

PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines, Inc. has strengthened its partnership with its Chinese counterpart in the planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Batangas with a visit to a facility in Tianjin, China that can serve as a model for the local project. In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday, Phoenix Petroleum said Henry Albert R. Fadullon, its chief operating officer, met with officials of CNOOC Gas and Power Group Co., Ltd. to check the foreign company’s technical expertise and capability in building and running gas plants. Mr. Fadullon, ...

Highlights for Q1 2019 -excluding exceptional items-: • EBITDA of EUR 215 million (Q1 2018: EUR 190 million) increased by EUR 25 million, including positive IFRS 16 effects of EUR 12 million, increased contributions from joint ventures and positive currency translation effects • Occupancy rate of 86% (Q1 2018: 87%) reflected ongoing market conditions at oil hub terminals whereas other product-market segments remained solid • EBIT of EUR 137 million (Q1 2018: EUR 123 million). Adjusted for positive currency translation effects of EUR 4 million and IFRS 16 effects of ...

Importers and freight forwarders have appealed to government to implement a 21 day demurrage free period for clearing goods at the ports to significantly reduce the cost of port business. “While I am commending government for reducing import duties at Ghana’s designated ports, I will appeal to President Akuffo-Addo to extend the 7 day Demorrage free clearing period to 21 days to make the port very friendly for business,” Mr Daniel Kwadwo Yeboah, Operations Manager, Reliable Air Cargo Service, told the Ghana News Agency. Vice President Mohamudi Bawumia announced the ...

The Port of Takoradi has hit a major milestone in terms of its capacity to receive larger cargo vessels. The port, has on three consecutive times, and by incremental volumes of storage capacity had ships call into its anchorage to load and export manganese to China and other countries. The latest and record breaking, is the MV Semirio of 290 meters’ length, and destined for China, has been loading 175,000 metric tonnes of manganese at the port. According to Peter Amoo Bediako, Acting Marketing and Public Affairs Manager of the ...