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Euro zone factories ended 2023 on the back foot, with activity contracting in December for an 18th straight month, according to a survey which gave scant signs of any imminent strong bounceback in an economy likely in recession. HCOB’s final euro zone manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, did nudge up to 44.4 in December from November’s 44.2 but remained firmly below the 50 mark separating growth in activity from contraction. A preliminary estimate was for no change from November. An index measuring output, which feeds into ...

U.S. helicopters repelled an attack by Iran-backed Houthi militants on a Maersk MAERSKb.CO container vessel in the Red Sea, sinking three ships and killing 10 militants, according to accounts byAmerican, Maersk, and Houthi officials on Sunday. The naval battle occurred around 0330 GMT on Sunday as the attackers sought to board the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou, Maersk and U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely joined the ship’s security team in repelling the attackers after receiving a distress call, CENTCOM said. Maersk said it was pausing ...

A.P. Moller-Maersk said Dec. 31 it has suspended its vessels transiting the Red Sea for 48 hours after one of its container ships was attacked by Houthi militants following the resumption of its services through the chokepoint. US Central Command confirmed Dec. 31 it attended a distress call from the Maersk Hangzhou container vessel after it came under attack in the southern Red Sea from four small boats launched from the Houthi-controlled Yemeni coast. Maersk confirmed the attack occurred on the evening of Dec. 30, 55 nautical miles southwest of ...

Russia is hoping its shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) will offset a sharp fall in pipeline gas exports to Europe, but a shortage of gas tankers and sanctions hold back its plans, analysts and industry sources said. Russia wants to boost its share of the LNG market to 20% by 2030 from 8% now, but a force majeure declaration by top producer Novatek NVTK.MM over LNG supplies from its future Arctic LNG 2 project due to sanctions shows the hurdles it faces. Novatek’s announcement comes after the United States ...

The US Treasury Department unveiled sanctions Thursday against a network involved in financing the growing number of attacks by Yemen’s Huthi rebels against international shipping in the Red Sea. The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on a network of individuals and entities accused of funding the Huthi rebels in Yemen, who have been launching attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea. The sanctions, announced on Thursday, target the head of the Currency Exchangers Association in Sana’a, as well as three currency exchanges in Yemen and Turkey, that allegedly ...

The Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier will return to its home port, the U.S. Navy said on Monday, ending its deployment to the eastern Mediterranean, which started in support of Israel after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants. The nuclear-powered Ford, the Navy’s newest carrier with over 4,000 personnel and eight squadrons of aircraft, became a powerful symbol of American support by rushing closer to Israel after the Palestinian militant group’s attack. The attacks triggered a war in Gaza with Israeli forces reducing much of the territory to rubble, ...

Commercial shipping resumed on Turkey’s Dardanelles Strait on Monday after an earlier halt due to heavy fog, the traffic authority said. The Directorate of Coastal Safety halted shipping in both directions at 2 a.m. (2300 GMT Sunday). It re-opened northbound traffic at 9 a.m. followed by southbound traffic at 2:30 p.m., it said. The strait connects the Marmara and Aegean seas and is the route for Black Sea commodities exports to world markets. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Azra Ceylan; Writing by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Kim Coghill and Alison Williams)

Algoa Bay offshore bunkering shutdown has limited the country’s capacity to cater to high bunker demand from vessels being rerouted through Africa due to the Red Sea crisis, it said. The Maritime Business Chamber (MBC) of South Africa said the crisis in the Red Sea has created a lucrative opportunity for the country to meet the bunkering needs of vessels being redirected through Africa. However, with the offshore bunkering suspension in Algoa Bay still in place, the anchorage has missed out on this increased demand. The suspension of offshore bunkering ...

In a transformative year marked by unprecedented global expansion and strategic acquisitions, AD Ports Group (ADX: ADPORTS) has further cemented its position as one of the world’s leading facilitators of global trade and logistics. The year has been pivotal in enhancing the Group’s connectivity, capacity, and international presence, underscoring a commitment to drive sustainable innovation and excellence across the global trade and logistics sector. The year began with the inauguration of the Aqaba Cruise Terminal, the first-of-its-kind facility in Jordan and concluded with the signing of a definitive concession agreement ...

At least four tankers transporting diesel and jet fuel from the Middle East and India to Europe are taking the longer route around Africa to avoid the Red Sea, ship tracking data show. Diversions around the Cape of Good Hope can lengthen tanker voyages to Europe by up to three weeks, leading to higher freight costs and potentially supply disruption. But while some charterers including BP BP.L have diverted vessels in the wake of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, others continue to use the shorter Red Sea route via the Suez ...

While Latin America and the Caribbean has led demand for US refined product exports for over a decade, interest might plateau in 2024 given new refinery capacity additions in the region alongside growing competition from Russia. S&P Global Commodities at Sea data shows Mexico fronting most of the demand coming from Latin America, with imports from the US at 630,000 b/d in November, up from 540,000 b/d in November 2022. Chile imported 137,000 b/d November, down from 191,000 b/d in November 2022, while Brazil imported 122,000 b/d in November, down ...

India’s crude oil imports fell in November, as the world’s third-biggestoil importer and consumer saw slightly softer demand, Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) data showed on Friday. Crude imports in November fell 2.3% year-on-year to 18.57 million metric tons, the data showed. Imports were down 0.9% from the previous month. India’s fuel consumption in November fell after hitting a four-month peak in October, with demand hit by reduced travel as a festive boost fizzled out. Data from the PPAC website also showed product imports dropping 6.3% in November, while ...

Copper prices in London advanced on Tuesday on hopes of stimulus in China, the world’s biggest metals consumer, and some improvement in factory activities in the country. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 rose 0.2% to $8,579.50 per metric ton by 0757 GMT, while the most-traded February copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1was flat at 68,960 yuan ($9,671.94) per metric ton. China’s factory activity expanded at a quicker pace in December, a private-sector survey showed. But a separate survey showed manufacturing activity shrank for ...

Euronext wheat edged up on Friday but fell sharply over the year after stiff export competition from the Black Sea region eased worries about war disrupting the grain trade. March wheat BL2H4 on Paris-based Euronext settled 0.3% higher on the day at 222.50 euros ($246.15) a metric ton. The front-month position was consolidating after falling to 220.50 euros twice in the past week, a level not previously seen for the contract since December 2021. Over 2023, front-month prices were down 28%, breaking a run of gains in the past three ...

U.S. crude oil output fell slightly in October to 13.248 million barrels per day, the first monthly decline since April, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Friday. Analysts have been expecting a slowdown in U.S. oil output after it set monthly records in August and September. Falling U.S. output could help ease some oversupply concerns that have weighed on crude prices in recent months. However, the small magnitude of that decline – just 4,000 barrels per day (bpd) – likely shows that U.S. production might still have room ...