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Oil prices fell on Tuesday as renewed doubts over U.S.-China trade talks stoked concerns over global growth, but U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela tightened supply and helped to stem losses. Brent crude oil futures were down 81 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $70.43 a barrel at 1105 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by 57 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $61.68. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10-25 percent by Friday. The comments dragged ...

Market participants pointed to a firmer near-term outlook for Asian middle distillates, led mainly by gasoil, as buying interest gained momentum against a backdrop of tighter supplies due to impending turnarounds, while healthy cross-regional flows continue to support sentiment. In addition, market participants also look forward to announcement of the second round of China export quotas, expected to be released later this week. Several observers said that it was unlikely for China to export similar volumes seen in March. Latest data released by China’s General Administration of Customs showed a ...

The problem facing the refining sector is simple. Over the next five years, crude processing capacity is set to expand by about 5 million barrels per day (bpd), while non-refinery sources of supply will add a further 1 million bpd. At the same time, demand is expected to grow by about 4 million bpd, which leaves a surplus of about 2 million bpd. This situation – which has a number of causes, one of which could be apparent poor capital discipline – means existing refiners, many of whom have smaller ...

China’s natural gas consumption grew steadily in the first quarter amid the country’s fight against air pollution, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Apparent consumption of natural gas rose 11.6 per cent during the January-March period from a year earlier to 77 billion cubic metres, following robust annual growth of 18.1 per cent in 2018, Xinhua said, citing data from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). China released a three-year action plan in 2018 to fight pollution, aiming to boost the share of natural gas in its total primary ...

With a wave of coal-fired power plant closures coming to Alberta over the next several years, natural gas demand in the province is projected to surge. But it might not arrive soon enough for some producers, as multiple Alberta-based companies have recently declared bankruptcy or shut down altogether because of cash-flow problems, while others teeter close to the edge. Alberta has mandated power companies to shut all coal-fired facilities by 2030. The switch will likely occur much sooner, as most of the companies plan to transition their energy fleets to ...

After a relatively short lull, following the excitement created by the discovery of Glafcos gas-field by ExxonMobil in block 10, Cyprus’ natural gas is back in the limelight. But is it business as usual? The short answer is no. But let’s look at what is happening. Aphrodite gas The news is that the government is close to agreeing to a modified Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with Noble Energy and its joint venture (JV) partners, Delek Group and Shell. It is expected that these will be concluded by early next week, ...

Futures for Canada’s main stock index were lower on Tuesday, as investors cautiously tracked developments around U.S.-China trade talks. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will visit the United States this week for trade talks, Beijing said, playing down a sudden rise in tension after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose new tariffs. June futures on the S&P/TSX index were down 0.57 percent at 7:00 a.m. ET. Canada’s Ivey Purchasing Managers Index data for April is due at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX inched down 0.97 points, ...

The Chinese offshore yuan remained hobbled near 2-1/2 month lows on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of additional tariffs on Chinese goods rattled traders, although broader currency markets were largely stable. Foreign exchange traders have not panicked about the prospect of a breakdown in negotiations between China and the United States to resolve their trade conflict, and the moves on Tuesday were small following a bout of nerves at the start of the week. Trump tweeted on Sunday that he would raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of ...

China had backtracked on commitments in trade talks, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten additional tariffs over the weekend, but Washington would be willing to keep talking if the Chinese changed position, top U.S. trade officials said on Monday. “Over the course of the last week or so we have seen … an erosion in commitments by China,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters. He said China had retreated from specific commitments, a move that would have led to substantive changes in the text of the deal. “That ...

Minerals Council of Australia Chief Executive Tania Constable has highlighted the importance of an ongoing trade relationship with China, saying Australia missed an “opportunity” by not signing up to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) earlier. Constable said that the two countries needed to “work harder” on their relationship which has recently come under strain, the Australian newspaper reported on Monday. In a speech to the China Chamber of Commerce, Constable made it clear that as the single biggest purchaser of Australian minerals, China contributes a large part of the ...

Tariffs won’t resolve any problems in the ongoing bilateral trade dispute between China and the United States, China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, speaking at a daily press briefing, said China hopes that the United States will work with China to resolve each other’s concerns. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; writing by Se Young Lee; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Vale announced that its wet processing operations at Brucutu has been stopped following the Brazil court’s

GoodBulk Ltd., a leading owner and operator of dry bulk vessels, announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2019. 1st Quarter Highlights • Generated $2.6 million of net profit resulting in earnings per share (EPS) of $0.09. EBITDA for the period was $16.7 million, the Company’s eighth consecutive profitable quarter. • Earned an average gross Time Charter Equivalent rate (TCE) of $13,858 per day on our Capesize vessels, $9,988 per day on our Panamax vessel and $8,070 per day on our Supramax vessel. • Averaged direct vessel operating ...

MABUX World Bunker Index (consists of a range of prices for 380 HSFO, 180 HSFO and MGO (Gasoil) in the main world hubs) continued downward trend on May 06: 380 HSFO – USD/MT – 420.21(-6.08) 180 HSFO – USD/MT – 466.86(-6.00) MGO – USD/MT – 654.43(-0.36) Meantime, world oil indexes changed irregular on May 06 after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to sharply increase tariffs on Chinese imports. Brent for July settlement increased by $0.39 to $71.24 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. West Texas Intermediate for ...

Sweden’s domestic shipping emits almost twice the amount of air pollution and greenhouse gases than previously thought. A new measurement method shows that the correct figure is almost twice as large as the one previously calculated, meaning domestic shipping has a greater environmental impact than domestic flights, reports SVT News. The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) has compiled the new figure, by tracking all vessels that go between Swedish ports with the help of GPS data. “We see about twice as high fuel consumption from domestic shipping compared to ...