A run of weak economic data in China is likely to show up in softer imports of key commodities, albeit with a lag given the time taken to physically ship resources from around the globe. The manufacturing indicator, the official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), dropped to a five-month low of 48.8 points in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday. This was the second month the measure was below the 50-level that separates expansion from contraction, and it was also weaker than the median forecast for a ...

France and the UK were the top destinations for US LNG cargoes delivered in May, with Europe maintaining an outsized share of American volumes even as weakening European LNG demand saw prices continue to drop in the region. Atlantic LNG market participants were closely watching for arbitrage opportunities into Asia, but inter-basin spreads were not yet wide enough to prompt a large shift in the flow of cargoes to major Asian markets. Europe, plus Turkey, received about 71% of the 112 US LNG cargoes delivered in May. That represented a ...

A flood of potentially “dubious” biodiesel imports into Europe from China needs to be subject to closer EU vetting or it could trigger the collapse of the European Union’s biofuels industry, top producer body EWABA said on Wednesday. The European Waste-based Advanced Biofuels Association (EWABA) said 11 European biodiesel plants have already halted production and another 10 have reduced their capacity. The EU has provided incentives for the production of biodiesel made with waste oils and fat as part of its efforts to increase renewable energy use. At the same ...

Measures to reduce stainless steel production are expected to become more commonplace as producers try to mitigate against price erosion, amid weak demand. MEPS has reduced its full-year global crude stainless steel production forecast from last quarter by 800,000 tonnes, to 59 million tonnes, after buying activity cooled and prices declined in the latter part of the first quarter. This would represent a 6.8 percent increase on 2022’s output. Producers are now exploring mechanisms that could be employed to rebalance supply and demand, particularly in Europe and Japan. One EU ...

Total quarterly coal production across the United States has held relatively flat since late 2021, but average employment in the sector has grown steadily since the third quarter of 2021, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The number of US coal miners increased 1.3% in the first quarter of 2023 from the prior quarter to an average of 45,473 employees. Coal employment has been rising incrementally since the third quarter of 2021, according to an S&P Global Commodity Insights analysis. Employment growth has primarily occurred in the Eastern US, ...

Venezuela’s oil exports fell 14% in May from the previous month as crude upgraders at its main oil region produced less exportable grades and state-run oil firm PDVSA struggled to replenish inventories, according to shipping data and documents. PDVSA is under a widespread anti-corruption probe that uncovered billions of dollars in unpaid cargoes and led to a temporary suspension of some contracts. The investigation has led to more that 60 people arrested and a management overhaul. In May, PDVSA and its joint ventures shipped an average of 606,258 barrels per ...

U.S. corn and soybean futures closed higher on Friday, lifted by bargain-buying following this week’s multi-month lows, dryness in the Midwest crop belt and spillover strength from equities and crude oil, traders said. Wheat followed the firm trend, drawing additional support from weather concerns in China and tensions over a shipping corridor from war-torn Ukraine. Chicago Board of Trade July corn settled up 16-1/2 cents at $6.09 per bushel, pushing through chart resistance at its 50-day moving average near $6.05. CBOT July soybeans SN3 ended up 23 cents at $13.52-1/2 ...

The London Metal Exchange (LME) is once again looking to shine more light on what lies in the shadows of its warehousing system. The exchange’s daily stocks reports offer a rare hard data point in a murky statistical landscape for metal traders. But their usefulness as a market signal has been steadily undermined by the emergence of a shadow LME storage function, which can mean large amounts of previously uncounted metal suddenly “arriving” in a single day. The LME extended its stocks reporting requirements in 2020 to try to capture ...

Poland is expected to soon surpass Germany as Europe’s top power polluter due to aggressive planned reductions in fossil fuel use across Germany and assumptions that Poland will have no choice but remain Europe’s most coal-reliant nation for years to come. But so far in 2023 Poland has defied expectations by cutting coal use and pollution to the lowest since at least 2014, and by raising clean power output to record highs just as Germany cut its clean generation by shutting nuclear reactors. So instead of emerging as a climate ...

Green steel price premiums are likely to be linked to carbon market prices, participants in a webinar on prospects for the green steel market organized by the Brazilian Association of Metallurgy, Materials and Mining (ABM) said May 31. Price premiums paid in the future for green steel products should help finance steelworks’ installations of new technologies to be able to produce that carbon-neutral green steel. However, government financing or subsidies – for instance to help cover the costs of natural gas in Brazil – may still be needed to produce ...

China’s Securities Regulatory Commission has approved the registration of alumina futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), it said on Friday. The decision opens the door for the exchange to launch the world’s first alumina contract with physical delivery. “The listing of alumina futures will enhance the competitiveness for China’s alumina industry and its price influence and also improve companies’ risk-management abilities,” the SHFE said in a notice. It did not specify when the contract will start trading. China is the world’s top producer and consumer of alumina, which is ...

Malaysian palm oil futures closed higher on Friday for a second straight session, as stronger rival oils and concerns about the impact of El Nino stoked buying interest after heavy losses earlier in the week. The benchmark palm oil contract for August delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange gained 111 ringgit, or 3.39%, to 3,390 ringgit ($764.37) a tonne, its highest daily gain in nearly a month. For the week, the contract has declined 5%. The recent strong reversal in prices widened arbitrage trading in destination markets, especially in ...

U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fell in May to 7.66 million tonnes from a record 8.01 million tonnes in April as plant maintenance curbed some output and weaker prices in Europe cut flows to the region, shipping data showed. U.S. LNG exporters reduced cargoes to Europe last month while more LNG was delivered to Asia and Latin America, partially offsetting the European weakness, according to Refinitiv Eikon preliminary vessel tracking data. Asia LNG prices for July delivery have rebounded from earlier declines, making U.S. LNG more attractive for ...

Russian crude oil imports by China and India in May are expected to hit an all-time high as buyers gorged on discounted supplies, reducing demand for oil from the Middle East and Africa, shiptracking data showed. The jump in Russian supplies comes ahead of a meeting between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies including Russia on June 4. Producers face some pressure to act to support Brent futures LCOc1 which have fallen 5% this week to about $73 a barrel despite an OPEC+ pledge in April ...

Aluminium available to the market in London Metal Exchange (LME)approved warehouses fell to near four-month lows after large amounts of inventory were earmarked to leave the LME system, data from the exchange showed. Total stocks of aluminium in LME warehouses stand at 579,025 tonnes. Of that 42% or 243,525 tonnes has been set aside or cancelled for delivering out over coming weeks. LME stock data published with a two-day lag shows fresh cancellation of warrants — documents that confer ownership — of 56,425 tonnes in Port Klang in Malaysia, where ...