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China’s iron ore imports fell 3.5% in April from a month earlier, official customs data showed on Friday, as shipments to the world’s top iron ore consumer from major suppliers were disrupted by inclement weather. Arrival volumes of the steelmaking ingredient stood at 98.57 million tonnes last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. That compared with imports of 102.11 million tonnes in March and 95.71 million tonnes in April 2020. “Shipments from Australia declined recently due to a cyclone in early April,” Tang Binghua, analyst with ...

The tanker market is still rather undewhelming, as demand hasn’t yet rebounded to a level, sufficient to generate positive momentum. Examining North-West Europe crude oil export trade, shipbroker Banchero Costa said in a recent report that “2020 was overall a very negative year for crude oil trade, although of course the tanker market was partially shielded by the increased demand for floating storage. Total loadings in the 12 months of 2020 were down -5.6% year-on-year to 2027 million tonnes, according to vessels tracking data from Refinitiv. Some exporters were more ...

Time charter rates The Container market has seen an unprecedented increase in rates since the end of 2020. Container 1 year TC rates have surged to extraordinarily new highs with 8,500 TEU values rising to a record 54,000 USD/day for April. This is an increase of 350% since June 2020. Throughout 2020 the market fell significantly from impacts due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a significant decrease in demand as the uncertain circumstances surrounding the beginning of a global pandemic hit the consumer market hard. Towards the end of ...

Drewry’s composite World Container index increased 9.8% or $489 to $5,472.33 per 40ft container. Two-year spot freight rate trend for the World Container Index: The composite index increased 9.8% or $489 this week, and also, remains 278.4% higher than a year ago. The average composite index of the WCI, assessed by Drewry for year-to-date, is $5,110 per 40ft container, which is $3,272 higher than the five-year average of $1,838 per 40ft container. Drewry’s composite World Container index increased 9.8% or $489 to $5,472.33 per 40ft container. Freight rates on Shanghai-Los ...

Global steel demand is expected to grow by 5.8% this year, and by a further 2.7% next year, more than offsetting the 0.2% decline in demand in 2020. In real terms this means an extra 102 million tonnes will be needed this year, with a further 50.6 million tonnes anticipated in 2022, according to the World Steel Association’s (worldsteel) Short Range Outlook. Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, chairman of the worldsteel Economics Committee, commented: “Despite the disastrous impact of the pandemic on lives and livelihoods, the global steel industry was fortunate ...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday said the federal government should end the $300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package to ease a labor shortage that limited hiring in April. “The disappointing jobs report makes it clear that paying people not to work is dampening what should be a stronger jobs market,” the Chamber’s chief policy officer Neil Bradley said in a statement, adding that unfilled positions threaten to slow economic recovery. “Based on the Chamber’s analysis, the $300 benefit results in ...

The Ministry of Health (MOH) will conduct “special testing operations” for PSA Singapore port workers at Pasir Panjang Terminal as a precautionary measure, after a new COVID-19 cluster was reported there. This comes after a trailer truck driver at Brani Terminal and Pasir Panjang Terminal tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday (May 4), said MOH. The 59-year-old Singaporean man is employed by GKE Express Logistics and was last at work on May 1. The man, identified as Case 62824, is linked to three previous dormitory cases, all of whom had ...

A new U.S. push to cut ship emissions will kick into high gear a multibillion-dollar quest for nonfossil fuels to power oceangoing vessels, but likely will face a backlash from Asian and South American nations that fear rising export costs. The U.S. has stayed on the sidelines of a multiyear effort by the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations’ global maritime regulator, to slash CO2 emissions from ships by half in 2050 compared with 2008 levels. But in April, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry signaled a change ...

The Asian Development Bank will no longer finance coal mining or oil and natural gas activities, it announced in a draft policy statement on Friday, a move welcomed by environmental groups, which said it was a decade overdue. The multilateral development bank, which focuses on eradicating poverty in Asia, provided no timeline for its commitment. It also laid out conditions under which fossil fuel projects would continue to receive funding, such as where no other cost-effective technology was available. Yongping Zhai, head of the ADB’s energy sector, said the draft ...

China’s imports of major commodities mostly rose in April from a year ago, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday, as the world’s second-biggest economy continued its post-COVID-19 gains. China’s overall imports rose 43.1% from a year earlier, the fastest gain since January 2011. Below are comments from analysts on the commodities data. KEY POINTS: *Crude oil: April imports were at 40.36 million tonnes, down 0.2% yoy *Iron ore: April imports were at 98.57 million tonnes, up 3.0% yoy *Copper: April imports were at 484,890 tonnes, up ...

The condition of French soft wheat declined for a fourth consecutive week but remained well above the level a year earlier, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed on Friday, as crops emerged from a chilly, dry April. An estimated 79% of French soft wheat was in good or excellent condition in the week to May 3, down from 81% a week earlier, FranceAgriMer said in a cereal crop report. The drop was less than the four-point decline in the previous week, suggesting last week’s return of rain in parts of ...

German steel market participants aregearing up for further price increases in May following the latest round of hikes from market-leading mill ArcelorMittal on April 29 to Eur1,020/mt delivered across Europe for hot-rolled coil, with additional price increases expected this week at Eur1,050/mt ex-works Ruhr, data from the monthly steel sentiment survey by S&P Global Platts showed May 6. In the survey conducted among German producers, distributors, traders and end-buyers at the start of May, the index for steel price development stood at 96, indicating a notable expansion — an index ...

U.S. employers added a modest 266,000 jobs in April, far short of the 1 million expected among economists, and unemployment rose to 6.1%. The slowdown in hiring signaled a potential slowdown in economic momentum, at least temporarily, as some businesses struggled to find workers and faced supply-chain issues. The deceleration came after payrolls rose a downwardly revised 770,000 in March and an upward revision of 536,000 in February, the Labor Department said Friday. Unemployment rose from 6% a month earlier, but more people entered the workforce in April. Higher vaccination ...

The US oil and gas rig count climbed seven to 545 in the week ended May 5, rig data provider Enverus said, as the number of oil rigs tested one-year highs. The number of oil-focused rigs climbed 10 to 417, leaving them just two rigs shy of 12-month highs seen in early April. The number of active rigs chasing mainly gas, which had been at a 13-month high the week prior, fell back three to 128. Among the major named basins, the Permian saw the biggest uptick, with the addition ...

Figures from the corresponding period in 2020 are presented in brackets. • Aspo’s net sales reached the comparative period’s level, being EUR 132.3 (133.2) million. • Operating profit increased considerably to EUR 7.9 (4.0) million, driven by the improved results of ESL Shipping and Telko. • Profit for the period increased and was EUR 6.4 (2.6) million. • Earnings per share increased and were EUR 0.19 (0.07). • Operating profit of ESL Shipping was EUR 4.5 (2.3) million, Leipurin EUR 0.3 (0.6) million, and Telko EUR 4.5 (2.4) million. • ...