China’s benchmark iron ore futures ticked higher in volatile trade on Friday, but posted their first weekly loss this year as demand for the steel-making raw material remained weak, despite concerns over supply. The most-active iron ore contract, for May delivery, on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended the session just 0.1 percent up at 618.5 yuan ($92.05) a tonne, after trading lower by as much as 3.2 percent earlier in the day. It fell 3 percent from a week ago. “China’s steel mills appeared reluctant to restock despite the supply ...

The Korea Trade Commission has proposed antidumping duties on stainless steel bars from Italy and Taiwan for a period of five years, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. Citing that the imports have damaged the domestic industry, the commission will ask the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to impose duties of 9.47%-18.56% and 10.21%-13.74% on stainless steel bars from Taiwan and Italy, respectively. The tariffs were decided after the commission concluded an investigation that began in May 2018. The trade ministry said the domestic market for stainless steel ...

Stops classifying steel producers as integrated steel producers, primary steel producers & secondary steel producers In order to provide a level playing field to steel manufacturers, both SMEs and large players, with different capacities and following different routes of steel production, Ministry of Steel has stopped classifying steel producers as integrated steel producers, primary steel producers, secondary steel producers. Instead, once the steel product is certified by the Bureau of Indian Standard and meets the desired specifications, no distinction shall be made on account of the basic input material and ...

Weekly US coal production totaled an estimated 13.78 million st in the week that ended February 16, up 5.6% from a week earlier but down 10% compared with the year-ago week, US Energy Information Administration data showed Thursday. It was the third time in the first seven weeks of the year that all four basins saw week-on-week increases. The total for Week 7 was 18.3% below the five-year average and was the lowest output in the last 20 years for the corresponding week. Utility stockpiles remain low on an aggregate ...

Brazil’s mining regulator has ordered Vale SA to suspend activity at its Fabrica and Vargem Grande complexes, the iron ore miner said late on Wednesday, as authorities crack down after last month’s fatal dam break. In a statement, Vale said the ANM mining regulator ordered the suspension in light of the possible failure of five dams at the mining sites in the interior state of Minas Gerais. In late January, a tailings dam at Vale’s Corrego do Feijao mine failed in the same state, likely killing more than 300 people. ...

Argentina’s soy crop is in mostly good condition with recent hot, dry weather helping to stabilize flooded areas, keeping the country on track for a 53-million-tonne harvest, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said. “More than half of the area planted with soy has already gotten through its yield-setting stages, with some areas in the central farm belt only a few weeks from harvesting,” the exchange said in its weekly crop report. “Eighty-seven percent of planted area is in favorable condition, permitting us to maintain our crop estimate of 53 million ...

At least 15 mining firms in South Africa have received notices of strikes to be held next week in support of colleagues at Sibanye-Stillwater who downed tools over wages and job cuts, Minerals Council South Africa said on Friday. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) has been on strike at Sibanye’s bullion operations since mid-November and plans to extend the strike to its platinum mines as well as all other mines where the AMCU has members. Firms to be affected include AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Anglo American Platinum ...

U.S. Department of Agriculture has paid out $7.7 billion so far to farmers, William Northey, Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, said on Friday, in aid designed to offset the negative impact of tariff imposition. The administration of President Donald Trump has pledged up to $12 billion in aid to help offset losses for crops hit by retaliatory Chinese tariffs imposed in response to Washington’s tariffs on Chinese goods. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

CIF-Marmara Russian 13.5% protein wheat slid to its lowest level in three months Wednesday at $242.50/mt amid strong coverage among buyers for high protein wheat and lengthy stocks in the EMEA region. Prices have dropped $15.75 on the month, down $10 since February 11 as spot builds up, prompting sellers to slash their prices. Buyers in Turkey are well covered for high protein wheat primarily due to the Turkish state grain buying authority’s (TMO) recent tender for 13.5% protein wheat. On January 31, TMO booked 292,500 mt of 13.5% protein ...

Central China’s Henan Province plans to cut its coal consumption by 5 percent in 2019 in a bid to improve its energy mix. The provincial government aims to further cut local coal consumption by 10 million tonnes this year, the provincial energy saving and pollution reduction office said Wednesday. It plans to cut the coal consumption for industries other than coal-fired power plants by 15 million tonnes and limit the increase in coal consumption at power plants to within 5 million tonnes. The provincial government ordered strict approval restrictions on ...

U.S. wheat futures were set to finish the week down more than 2 percent despite inching up on Friday, pressured by tepid interest in North American supplies from some major importers. Grain markets were also keeping a close eye on talks to end trade conflict between the United States and Washington. FUNDAMENTALS * The most active wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were down more than 2 percent for the week, set to extend three-week losses to 6 percent. * The most active soybean futures were up nearly ...

The United States will be able to quickly recover lost markets for U.S. farm products to China once Washington and Beijing clinch a trade deal, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said. He said that China has pledged to purchase “significant” quantities of U.S. agricultural products, but that “those proposals are all contingent upon a grand deal” that must include Chinese assurances on intellectual property issues. “I think if we could get those types of assurances regarding China taking intellectual property theft seriously, then we could see a renewed and expanded ...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with China has roiled agricultural markets and given the world’s top grain merchants the one thing they have long claimed was essential to turn a trading profit: volatility. And yet, Archer Daniels Midland Co, Bunge Ltd, Cargill Inc and Louis Dreyfus Co, the so-called ABCDs of grain, have not performed as well as expected – and, in some cases, failed to deliver the profit windfall promised by company executives, investors and analysts said. If anyone should have been a winner in the Trump administration’s ...

Australia needs to capture as much of the ‘booming’ coal market as possible, a government minister said on Thursday, a day after major producer Glencore said it would curtail further coal output expansions to limit climate change. Glencore, which produces around one-fifth of Australia’s coal, said that it would limit its total coal capacity to current levels of around 145 million tonnes to support a global transition into a low carbon economy and limit increasing the risks from climate change. The call occurred as Reuters reported on Thursday that the ...

India produced 88.05 million mt of crude steel from April 2018 to January 2019, 3.5% higher year on year amid higher domestic consumption, latest provisional data from the country’s Joint Plant Committee showed. Overall consumption rose 7.8% year on year over the 10 months, according to the data. Hot metal production amounted to 59.97 million mt over Apil-January, up 6.5% year on year, while pig iron production reached 5.01 million mt, achieving a 5.2% gain. India’s financial year begins in April and ends in March. In addition to the higher ...