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U.S. manufacturing output surged in December likely as production at Boeing picked up following the end of a crippling strike by factory workers at the aerospace giant. Factory output increased 0.6% last month after an upwardly revised 0.4% rebound in November, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast production rising 0.2% after a previously reported 0.2% gain. Production at factories was unchanged on a year-on-year basis in December. It fell at a 1.2% annualized rate in the fourth quarter after contracting at a 0.8% pace ...

On 16th January, Damen Shipyards Galati cut steel on the third vessel in an order of four Island Class Ferries from Canada’s BC Ferries. At the same time, another vessel in the series reached the grand block assembly stage of construction at the yard. The vessels, based on Damen’s double-ended 8117 E3 Ferry, will be the first fully electric ferries to sail in the organisation’s fleet. They will bring the total number of Damen vessels operated by BC Ferries to ten. Enabling sustainable ambitions BC Ferries’ fully electric vessels are ...

Russia on Thursday accused NATO and the West of making “evidence-free” allegations against Moscow over ships purportedly involved in sabotaging undersea cables in an effort to curb sea-borne Russian oil exports. Finnish police last month seized a tanker carrying Russian oil and said they suspected the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said earlier this week that NATO members are looking at targeting Russia’s shadow fleet in the area with sanctions as ...

U.S. natural gas futures dropped about 5% on Friday from a two-year high in the prior session on forecasts for milder weather in late January and early February that should cut demand for gas for heating. This weekend, however, extreme cold weather over the Martin Luther King Jr. and Inauguration Day holidays was on track to cut output by freezing gas wells and pipes and boost usage of the fuel to heat homes and businesses to record highs. Front-month gas futures for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange ...

U.S. equity funds saw a spike in outflows for the week ending Jan. 15, as the outlook for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year had dimmed while investors were cautious about the ongoing quarterly earnings season. According to LSEG Lipper data, investors withdrew a sharp $8.23 billion from U.S. equity funds during the week on top of a net $5.01 billion worth of sales in the prior week. U.S. shares rose after a lower-than-expected core inflation reading and strong financial results from firms like JP Morgan JPM and Goldman Sachs ...

The European Central Bank should continue with monetary easing with a series of rate cuts in the coming period as possible further protectionism by the United States could hurt the euro zone’s moderate growth, the bank’s policymaker Yannis Stournaras said late on Thursday. Any further pressure on world trade from fresh protectionist measures imposed by the United States and others could impact the euro zone’s very moderate growth, leading to below-target euro zone inflation, Stournaras said at an event in Athens. “For these reasons, monetary policy easing should continue with ...

China’s economy grew 5% last year, matching the government’s target, but in a lopsided fashion, with many people complaining of worsening living standards as Beijing struggles to transfer its industrial and export gains to consumers. The imbalance raises concerns that structural problems may deepen in 2025, when China plans a similar growth performance by going deeper into debt to counter the impact of expected U.S. tariff hikes, potentially as soon as Monday when Donald Trump is inaugurated as president. December data showed industrial output far outpacing retail sales, and the ...

Incident in Ship Channel 17 Jan 2025, Houston, United States Around 8pm yesterday evening (16 January), a tow maneuvering 2 barges off Texas International Terminals struck at least one power pole near the Pelican Island Bridge. READ MORE Smit Towage industrial action 17 Jan 2025, Gladstone, Australia Members of the Australian Maritime Officers Union employed by Smit Lamnalco Towage in Gladstone shall engage in protected industrial action from 22 January to 5 February. READ MORE Ports prepare for possible Tropical Cyclone 17 Jan 2025, West Australia, Australia A possible Tropical ...

The euro zone’s current account surplus narrowed in November on a drop in the services surplus and lower primary income, which includes items like wages and dividend payments, European Central Bank data showed on Friday. The combined current account surplus of the 20 nations sharing the euro narrowed to 26.98 billion euros ($27.8 billion)in November from 30.17 billion a month earlier based on calendar and seasonally adjusted data, while it fell to 34.62 billion euros from 36.32 billion according to unadjusted figures. In the 12 months to November, the surplus ...

Chinese industrial production grew more than expected in December as recent stimulus measures from Beijing supported business activity, while retail sales beat expectations as private spending rebounded. grew 6.2% year-on-year in December, higher than the median forecast of 5.4% growth, government data showed on Friday. It compares to a 5.4% rise seen in the prior month. This brought the for 2024 to 5.8%, in line with last year’s rise. The reading indicated that the country’s massive manufacturing sector was beginning to pick up following more supportive measures from Beijing over ...

Divergence and fragmentation. The latest World Economic Forum Chief Economists Outlook reflects concerns about both; divergence in terms of parts of the world likely to enjoy enviable amounts of growth relative to a more sluggish pace elsewhere, and fragmentation in relation to imperiled trade relations. It’s no surprise that looming policy shifts weigh more heavily than usual on the minds of the economists these days. The incoming US administration, after all, has signaled that its trade policy may lean heavily on prohibitive tariffs. And potentially interventionist industrial policy in other ...

Agora Shipbroking Corporation: Snapshot of Commercial Indicators Report – Week 03 2025

A tanker subject to the new U.S. sanctions is discharging Russian oil at a port operated by Shandong Port Group in east China, shipping data on LSEG Eikon showed on Thursday. The tanker is the first since last week’s sanctions announcement to discharge in Shandong province where many of China’s independent refineries that have been big importers of Russian crude are based. It will be monitored closely by those in the industry anxious to know how strictly the measures will be implemented. The sanctions include a grace period exempting cargoes ...

Drewry’s Intra-Asia Container Index (IACI), a weighted average of regional spot container freight rates, fell 6% in the fortnight to 15 Jan 25 to $828 per 40ft container. Intra-Asia Container Index assessment for 15 January 2025 Drewry’s Intra-Asia Container Index (IACI) decreased 6% to $828 per 40ft container in the first half of January. Currently, the IACI is 56% higher compared to the same period last year, indicating the continued strength of intra-Asian trade. We expect rates to decline slightly but remain within a stable range in the coming weeks. ...

Two of the world’s top shipping companies, Maersk MAERSK_A and Hapag-Lloyd HLAG, said on Thursday they did not see an immediate return to Red Sea after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was announced. Both companies said they would be closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East and would return to the Red Sea once it was safe to do so. “The agreement has only just been reached. We will closely analyze the latest developments and their impact on the security situation in the Red Sea,” a Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson ...