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Euro steady on improved economic views, euro zone PMIs awaited

The euro was steady on Thursday after evidence of strength in China improved the outlook for the global economy, with the market looking next to European indicators to provide the currency with a further boost. The euro traded little changed at $1.1293 , having eked out a gain of 0.1 percent the previous day. The single currency has steadily recovered from a low of $1.1183 plumbed at the start of April. The euro was lifted after data on Wednesday showed China’s economy grew at a steady 6.4 percent pace in ...

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China’s Policy Priorities Deliver ‘Front-Loaded’ Growth

At the start of a politically sensitive year in China, policy makers are promoting economic expansion and putting aside restructuring needed to keep debt from hobbling the economy. A 6.4% expansion in China’s economy during the first quarter reported on Wednesday matched the pace of last year’s final quarter despite widespread market expectations — and a good deal of evidence — that growth would decelerate. Growth did remain near three-decade lows as China digests the debt buildup and excess capacity from the frothy years of a decade ago. But economists ...

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China and India can propel global growth

On the eve of the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank-which saw finance ministers and central bankers from across the world gathering in Washington on April 12-14-the IMF World Economic Outlook 2019 projected a sharp decline in the growth rates of 70 percent of the economies including the advanced G7 economies, except Japan. However, this global deceleration, already softened to 3.6 percent for 2018 and estimated to slide further to 3.3 percent for 2019, is projected to stabilize at 3.5 percent from 2020. What ...

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U.S., China Set Tentative Timeline for Next Round of Trade Talks

The U.S. and China are planning two rounds of face-to-face meetings as they seek to wrap up a trade deal, with negotiators aiming for a signing ceremony in late May or early June, according to people familiar with the situation. Under the tentative schedule, U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer is set to travel to Beijing the week of April 29, the people said, with Chinese envoy Liu He coming to Washington the week of May 6. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also will be a part of the delegation to China, ...

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U.S. firms no longer ‘positive anchor’ for Beijing ties – AmCham in China

Frustrated U.S. businesses can no longer be counted on as a “positive anchor” in U.S.-China relations, a top U.S. business lobby said on Wednesday, arguing any deal to end trade tensions must address structural problems in China’s economic system. Long considered the ballast in a relationship fraught with geopolitical frictions, the U.S. business community in China in recent years has advocated a harder line on Beijing’s trade policies. “Crucially, the mood has shifted,” the American Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement accompanying its annual report on China’s ...

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Commodity-dependent countries urged to diversify exports

Developing countries that depend on commodities ought to pursue diversification strategies to address the adverse effects of price volatility in international markets, said speakers at UNCTAD’s meeting of experts on commodities and development on 15 April at the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. UNCTAD defines a country as dependent on commodities when these account for more than 60% of its total merchandise exports in value terms. Today 67% of developing countries (91 out of 135 countries) are dependent on commodities, a situation that has changed little in the last ...

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Tanker Market Rates 18/04/2019

Daily rates on main tanker routes as compiled by shipbroker Charles R. Weber.

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Dry Bulk Market: New Peaks a Thing of the Past as Harsh Reality Sets In

With the first quarter of 2019 already past us, it’s now becoming increasingly obvious that the dry bulk market will find it hard to experience a third consecutive year of recovery, not to mention new peaks. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Allied Shipbroking said that “a mere 6 months ago, the prevailing sentiment was that 2019 would be the third year of a consecutive recovery in the market, with the shared prevailing thought being that the market was finally ready for new peaks. Strong fundamentals and bullish sentiment were ...

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Japan exports hit by weak China demand, raising risk of economic contraction

Japan’s exports fell for a fourth straight month in March as China-bound shipments slumped again, reinforcing growing anxiety that weak external demand may have knocked the economy into contraction in the first quarter. Ministry of Finance data out on Wednesday showed exports fell 2.4 percent in March from a year earlier, compared with a 2.7 percent drop predicted by economists in a Reuters poll, and followed a 1.2 percent decline in February. The data reinforces worries that weak external demand may hurt company profits and in turn curb business expenditures, ...

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BIMCO Sees Hard Times Ahead for Capesizes

China’s increased use of scrap metal for its production of crude steel is fundamentally critical to the dry bulk shipping industry. Mostly Capesize ships are impacted by this, way beyond the temporary iron ore export disruptions in Brazil and Australia. Chinese steel production grew by a massive 12.6 million tonnes (+9.2%) in the first two months on 2019 as estimated by China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). During the same period, Chinese imports of the paramount steel production ingredient, iron ore, fell by 5.6%, or 10.3 million tonnes. All numbers ...

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Potential US-China trade deal would boost US met coal exports, uplift global economic activity: Seaport

While a US-China trade deal might lead to a prompt response in met coal exports from the US to China, the larger outcome would be an improved global economy and boost to the steel market, a Seaport Global report said Tuesday. Seaport analysts Mark Levin and Nathan Martin noted Xcoal’s Jack Porco’s claim that if an agreement between the US and China is reached, and coal is included, the market should expect to see a prompt response from the US and a surge in exports. “A trade deal that includes ...

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IMO 2020 – scrubber FAQs for charterparties

The below FAQs about scrubbers are intended to assist members (as owners and charterers) in preparing their charterparties for IMO 2020. Whilst this is not intended to be formal legal or technical advice or an exhaustive list of FAQs, it seeks to identify chartering issues arising from IMO 2020, including potential contractual responsibilities and liabilities in respect of compliance. Are ship owners obliged to install scrubbers? In general terms, shipowners are not obliged to install scrubbers. However this question cannot be considered in isolation from the wider implications of MARPOL ...

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A floating world

A floating pen for mariculture with no environmental footprint; Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae to produce biofuel; a self-sustainable, submerged astronaut training facility to simulate living in the depths of space; ocean thermal energy conversion, floating solar-powered bike paths, floating solar and wind farms, floating urban dairy farms and even autonomous floating communities or cities with their own cryptocurrencies! This is not a sneak peek into the future but a reality that’s already taking shape across oceans and seas around the world. Why float? Well, because given the expected ...

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Indian refiners turn to OPEC, Mexico, U.S. to make up Iran oil gap

Indian refiners are increasing their planned purchases from OPEC nations, Mexico and the United States to make up for any loss of Iranian oil if the U.S. enforces sanctions more harshly from next month, sources and company officials said. All four Indian state-owned refiners that buy Iranian oil are confident of securing additional barrels from other producers, officials from the companies told Reuters. The state refiners have not yet placed orders for Iranian oil for May, when the current waiver expires, pending clarity from the United States. India’s Bharat Petroleum ...

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ABS Teams with Industry Leaders to Improve Container Vessel Safety

ABS and leaders representing the Cargo Incident Notification System (CINS) are teaming up to develop actionable recommendations to help mitigate risks posed from the stowage of dangerous goods on containerships. ABS has been working with CINS members over the past six months to develop best stowage strategy guidelines. Following a three-month trial, the best practice guidelines will be published on the CINS website www.cinsnet.com. The collaboration assembles key industry stakeholders to examine the challenges and risks containership owners and operators face when stowing dangerous goods. “Carriage of dangerous goods, not ...

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