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Oversized US corn crop responsible for swell in global supplies

Global corn stockpiles are set to reach five-year highs later in 2024, undergoing their largest annual expansion in seven years. But the United States’ contribution to that growth is much larger than normal after a record harvest last summer. That would usually spur a bit more U.S. demand than is currently projected for 2023-24, though ample supplies in rival exporters have cut into U.S. market dominance, suggesting last year’s huge U.S. corn acreage was excessive. However, this anomaly should correct in 2024-25, which starts Sept. 1 for the United States. ...

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Soybeans rise but hefty South American supply keeps speculators bearish

Chicago soybean futures extended gains on Monday after last week’s three-year lows but plentiful supply from South America and weak U.S. exports limited gains, with speculators still betting on lower prices. Corn and wheat futures also rose, but with markets well supplied, both contracts were near their lowest since 2020. The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was up 0.8% at $11.60 a bushel by 0641 GMT after dropping to $11.29 on Thursday, its lowest since November 2020. CBOT corn Cv1 rose 0.8% to $4.28-1/4 ...

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The Commodities Feed: OPEC+ agrees to extend output cuts

Energy – OPEC+ extends oil output cuts ICE Brent traded little changed at $83.5/bbl in the morning trading session as OPEC+ members agreed to extend their voluntary 2.2MMbbls/d oil output reduction through the end of June, largely in line with market expectations. Saudi Arabia will continue to dominate the pledged output reduction share at 1MMbbls/d, while Russia promised to focus more on oil output cuts rather than exports. The group further added that “these voluntary cuts will be returned gradually subject to market conditions.” Meanwhile, preliminary OPEC production numbers for ...

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Oil steadies after OPEC+ extends output cuts as expected

Oil prices were little changed on Monday following the widely expected extension of voluntary output cuts through the middle of the year by the OPEC+ producer group on Sunday. Brent futures slipped 14 cents to $83.41 a barrel at 1035 GMT after rising 2.4% last week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell 23 cents to $79.74 a barrel following a 4.6% gain last week. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) are extending their voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) into ...

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Record US oil and gas production keeps prices under pressure

U.S. production of oil and gas set new seasonal records in December, capping off an unprecedented year, according to data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Production continued to climb even as prices slumped from the very high levels seen in mid-2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, contributing to the accumulation of inventories. On the oil side, total production of crude and condensates increased to 413 million barrels in December from 376 million in the final month of 2022 (“Petroleum supply monthly”, EIA, Feb. 29, 2024). Production was ...

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Eurozone economy helped by another mild winter

Lower natural gas prices Another mild winter and well-filled gas inventories have pushed down natural gas prices in Europe to the lowest level since the second quarter of 2021. That is not only helping to bring inflation further down, but also constitutes a tailwind for the eurozone economy. Sentiment indicators continue to climb higher, albeit from depressed levels. As such, the PMI composite indicator rose to an eight-month high in February, though remains below the 50 boom-or-bust level. The German Ifo indicator also made minor progress in February. That said, ...

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Record US oil and gas production keeps prices under pressure

U.S. production of oil and gas set new seasonal records in December, capping off an unprecedented year, according to data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Production continued to climb even as prices slumped from the very high levels seen in mid-2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, contributing to the accumulation of inventories. On the oil side, total production of crude and condensates increased to 413 million barrels in December from 376 million in the final month of 2022 (“Petroleum supply monthly”, EIA, Feb. 29, 2024). Production was ...

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Saudi Aramco holds OSPs for LPG in March, Sonatrach raises OSPs by 3-7%

Saudi Arabia’s state oil producer Aramco 2222.SE has left unchanged official selling prices (OSPs) for liquefied petroleum gas in March, while Algeria’s Sonatrach has raised OSPs for LPG by 3.8-7.4% due to rising oil prices and increased demand from the Mediterranean region, traders said. Aramco’s March OSP for propane was stable at $630 per metric ton PRO-OFFCL-SA and for butane was $640 per ton BUT-OFFCL-SA. Propane and butane are types of LPG with different boiling points. LPG is mainly used as a fuel for cars, heating and as a feedstock ...

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Rising gas supplies may cap China’s near-term domestic trucked LNG prices

Modest growth in China’s trucked LNG prices in the week to Feb. 28, due to factories resuming their operations after the holiday season, may be capped in the near term as supplies of both LNG and pipeline gas rise over March-April, industrial and trade sources said. Chinese factories, which were largely shut for the Lunar New Year holidays over Feb. 10-17, have resumed their operations after the Lantern Festival on Feb. 24. The average price of trucked LNG at 97 domestic LNG plants and receiving terminals, which are not regulated ...

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Nikkei leads world higher in event-packed week ahead

World shares tipped higher Monday as a mixed European open could not dispel enthusiasm over record heights reached by Japan’s Nikkei and as investors braced for a week packed with central bank events and major data that could refine market wagers. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday, though analysts assume he will stay in wait-and-see mode on policy given recent upside surprises on inflation that have helped temper market rate cut bets. The February payrolls report on Friday could also shift the calculus with ...

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Currency markets steady, busy week ahead for investors

The U.S. dollar weakened slightly on Monday, at the start of an action-packed week for markets with Britain’s budget, a European Central Bank meeting, U.S. jobs data and important political moments in both China and the U.S. all due. Eyes were also on , which rose to a more than two-year peak above $64,000 after a quiet weekend, pushed higher in recent weeks by big flows into cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds, above all in the United States. The euro was a fraction firmer at $1.08455, sterling was up 0.13% at $1.2670 ...

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FX: A dollar decline is delayed, not deterred

The FX market continues to be an extension of market expectations on Fed policy. The latest data on US jobs and inflation led investors to price out cuts before June and to reduce the anticipated easing package to 75-80bp. The month of February has seen a 50bp bump in the 2-year USD swap rate, which is trading around 4.55%, the highest since November. So, the dollar has become even more expensive to sell, and dollar bears are now on the hunt for more conclusive evidence on US disinflation/hard landing. That ...

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Avance Gas agrees one-year Time Charter for Avance Polaris

Avance Gas Holding Ltd yesterday announce that it has agreed a new one-year variable Time Charter for the dual fuel VLGC Avance Polaris (built 2022) with an energy major. Avance Polaris has been on a two-year variable Time Charter since delivery in early 2022 and this new Time Charter will commence in direct continuation from the existing Time Charter until end of February 2024. Øystein Kalleklev, CEO of Avance Gas, commented: “We are pleased to announce a new Time Charter for Avance Polaris in direct continuation of its existing Time ...

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JAPEX, JGC , and “K” LINE Sign a Storage Site Agreement with PETRONAS and PETROS for the CCS Project in Malaysia

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. (JAPEX), JGC Holdings Corporation (JGC) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE) (hereinafter referred collectively as the “Japan Consortium (JC)”) have agreed and signed the Storage Site Agreement (“SSA”) with PETRONAS CCS Ventures Sdn. Bhd. (PCCSV) and PETROLEUM Sarawak BERHAD (PETROS) for the M3 depleted field in offshore Sarawak, Malaysia on 26th February 2024. The SSA not only enables the feasibility studies of the CO2 storage sites starting with the M3 depleted field (M3 CCS Project), but also the planning of relevant CO2 storage site ...

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BIO-UV Group Cuts Ribbon On New Bio-Sea Bwts Training Facility As Aftersales Market Grows

BIO-UV Group, the manufacturer of the BIO-SEA ballast water management system, has cut the ribbon on a new 1,200m² maritime training, R&D, engineering, and production facility, increasing the footprint of its existing Lunel-based site to 6,400m². The completion of the €2.2 million extension allows BIO-UV Group to increase production of its UV-based water treatment systems and to deliver a comprehensive range of BIO-SEA training modules to ships’ crews. The company, which specializes in water disinfection by ultraviolet light, salt electrolysis, ozone, and AOP for a myriad of industrial sectors, has ...

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