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Pakis¬tan LNG Ltd, a subsidiary of state-owned Government Holdings Ltd, is seeking to buy 240 liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes for delivery over a 10-year period, a document on the company’s website showed. It is seeking two cargoes a month of 140,000 cubic metres each of the super-chilled fuel on a delivered ex-ship basis (DES) at Port Qasim in Karachi, according to the document. The document does not state when the delivery period starts. Offers are due by July 18. Source: Dawn

The fresh round of the US-China trade spat, and its expansion by America to several other nations has hit industrial commodities the most. US had imposed hefty duties on Chinese imports, raising fears of an economic slowdown. China’s subsequent response to the US move has only worsened the scene. Commodities have been falling since the beginning of the current financial year, but the trade war exacerbated the sharp decline in prices May onwards. Most commodities are down 5-15 per cent, with copper and zinc having shed over 10 per cent, ...

Oil prices firmed on Thursday after falling to near five-month lows in the previous session, but sentiment stayed weak due to rising U.S. supply and a stalling global economy. Front-month Brent crude futures were at $61 a barrel at 0831 GMT, up 37 cents or 0.6%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fetched $51.84, up 16 cents or 0.3%. The two benchmarks on Wednesday hit their lowest since mid-January at $59.45 and $50.60, respectively, amid a surge in U.S. crude inventories and record production, and as a global economic slowdown ...

Japanese refiners produced 19.1 million barrels of oil products over May 26-June 1, up 8.9% from 17.54 million barrels the week before, the Petroleum Association of Japan said. The May 26-June 1 output also rose 7% from 17.85 million barrels produced a year earlier, S&P Global Platts data showed. Middle distillates production over May 26-June 1 totaled 9.77 million barrels, up 13.7% from the week before, PAJ data showed. It also rose 16.6% year on year, according to Platts data. Gasoline and naphtha output, however, dipped 1% week on week ...

Hedge fund managers have stepped up their sales of crude oil and refined fuels amid growing concerns about the outlook for the world economy and oil consumption. Hedge funds and other money managers sold 122 million barrels in the six major petroleum futures and options contracts during the week to May 28, the heaviest one-week selling since October 2018. Fund managers sold Brent (41 million barrels), NYMEX and ICE West Texas Intermediate (38 million barrels), U.S. gasoline (11 million barrels), U.S. heating oil (12 million barrels) and European gasoil (20 ...

China’s looming pipeline reform is poised to spur competition in its natural gas industry, lowering prices and supercharging demand from the world’s top importer in years to come, according to Credit Suisse Group AG. The government is creating a national pipeline operator from the assets of its three biggest oil and gas companies. The move — likely to happen before year-end — will break a monopoly that China’s state-owned giants have over downstream users and result in gas prices falling 10% over 2020 and 2021, the bank’s analysts including Horace ...

German bond yields plumbed new record lows on Thursday and U.S. treasury yields resumed their fall as renewed trade tensions doused a rally fuelled by hopes for more central bank stimulus ahead of a European Central Bank meeting. Sentiment had soured on a lack of progress in talks between U.S. and Mexican officials and President Donald Trump issuing a fresh threat to hit China with tariffs on “at least” another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. The latest flare up in tensions follows a mixed bag of economic data that ...

The yen edged up versus the dollar on Thursday as sentiment soured over U.S.-Mexico talks on tariffs and immigration, fuelling broader concerns about global trade hostilities and raising appetite for safe-haven currencies. Mexican officials met with their U.S. counterparts for negotiations in Washington on Wednesday aimed at averting U.S. tariffs on Mexican goods next week, although there were no immediate signs of a rapprochement. In a move that could deepen Washington’s trade conflict with its partners, U.S. President Donald Trump unexpectedly told Mexico last week to take a harder line ...

By introducing an unreliable entities list targeting rule-breakers, China aims to ensure a reliable market environment for those who abide by the rules. The Ministry of Commerce on Saturday outlined factors for consideration in listing unreliable foreign entities to warn market disruptors. China will consider whether the foreign entity has adopted discriminatory measures on Chinese entities including a blockade or supply cut, whether the foreign entity violates market rules or contract spirit for non-commercial purposes, whether it causes actual damage to Chinese firms or related industries, and whether it poses ...

Foreign firms operating in China have felt a negative impact from the trade row between China and the United States, state news agency Xinhua reported, quoting a state planning official. Among foreign companies, manufacturers bore the brunt of the trade friction, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) vice chairman Ning Jizhe said during a meeting with foreign firms, according to Xinhua. China would protect legal investment rights of foreign firms operating in the country and keep the industry chain basically stable, Xinhua quoted Ning as saying. Source: Reuters (Reporting ...

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday reported that its contacts at companies across the country were worried that international trade tensions could weigh on business even as economic activity picked up. The U.S. central bank said its surveys of business contacts pointed to a “slight improvement” in growth in economic activity, which it described as being “modest” from April through mid-May. The Fed’s so-called “Beige Book” report, a compendium of anecdotes on the state of the economy, pointed to numerous cases of businesses citing concern over the Trump administration’s trade ...

China’s economic data looks pretty good. But don’t be fooled, China bulls. A lot of this is export front-loading. This week’s Caixin manufacturing PMI, a survey of China’s small and medium-size enterprises and export-oriented businesses remained unchanged at 50.2 in May. Anything over 50 is good. So the numbers could give China bulls a reason to believe recent stimulus measures have inoculated it from tariffs. The first quarter average PMI was 49.7, and last year’s average at this time was 50.7. But stronger-than-expected PMI for smaller firms is inconsistent with ...

The alignment of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is expected to be a hot topic at this year’s International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in the Russian city of St. Petersburg from June 6 to 8. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Russia, as well as the 5th anniversary of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the 25th anniversary of the Eurasian idea. Leaders of both China and Russia pay great attention to ...

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

German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told Reuters on Wednesday that he expects progress in tax cooperation at a G20 meeting in Japan this weekend as a growing number of countries support a German-French proposal for a minimum corporate tax level. “It looks like we can get support from many of the finance ministers of the participating countries. Japan will be a milestone,” Scholz said in a Reuters interview. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is working on plans for a minimum corporate tax rate as part of a global ...