China’s imports of copper rose 9.3 per cent from a year earlier, customs data on Sunday (Aug 7) showed, as a sharp drop in the price of the metal triggered buying appetite amid falling domestic inventories. Unwrought copper and copper product imports into China, including anode, refined, alloy and semi-finished copper products, totalled 463,693.8 tonnes in July, compared with 424,280.3 tonnes a year earlier. July’s copper imports, however, were down 13.8 per cent from the previous month’s 537,698 tonnes. Copper prices, often seen as an economic bellwether, plunged by one-third ...

China’s crude oil imports remained weak, as expected, in July, edging up a mere 0.9% to 8.83 million b/d from the 47-month low in June amid destocking activity and slow domestic demand recovery, data from the General Administration of Customs showed Aug. 7. The increase in inflows in July was contributed by independent refineries which lifted their crude imports by 25.4% to 3.16 million b/d, from 2.52 million b/d in June, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data. Meanwhile, their state-owned peers are more likely to continue reducing spot purchases ...

China’s imports of major commodities presented a mixed picture in July, with crude oil undeniably weak, but some signs of life in industrial metals such as copper and iron ore. The standout performer was coal, with arrivals jumping some 23.9% from the prior month, but this was likely driven by short-term factors and doesn’t alter the overall picture of a weaker trend in commodity imports so far this year. China, the world’s biggest crude buyer, imported 8.79 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, fractionally above June’s 8.72 million bpd, ...

China’s soybean imports in July fell 9.1% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Sunday, as poor crushing margins and weaker consumption in the world’s largest buyer of the oilseed reduced appetite for shipments. China brought in 7.88 million tonnes of the oilseed in July, versus 8.67 million tonnes a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Sunday. The imports were also down 4.5% from a month ago. Soybean prices soared this year after bad weather hurt production in and exports from Brazil, China’s top ...

Russia’s Gazprom GAZP.MM said it was shipping 41.8 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Monday, versus 41.3 mcm on Sunday. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Reuters Editing by David Goodman )

The parliamentary standing committee on energy has said that the union ministries of power and coal should ensure optimum utilization of locally-produced coal through effective collaboration so that imports can be phased out over time. In its 26th report, the panel chaired by member of parliament Rajiv Ranjan Singh, said efforts made by both ministries led to a 56% drop in coal imports for blending in FY21, but higher international prices hit imported coal-based power plants. This led to increased demand for domestic coal, and consequently reduced domestic coal stocks ...

International and local traders started to offer more Ukrainian-origin grain for sale on Friday as news of the first shipment from the country since Russia’s invasion boosted confidence in a deal to unblock exports from its sea ports. Prices were discounted, with roughly 20 million tonnes of grain from last year’s crops still stuck in the country. Diplomatic efforts have focussed on finding a way to transport around 1.5 million tonnes of grain loaded on ships or housed in port storage and millions more in silos across the country, as ...

Brazil shipped 55.1 million tons of soybeans in the first half of 2022, which is 8.87% less than in the same period of 2021 (60.5 million tons), according to the National Association of Cereal Exporters. (Anec). The decline is explained by lower shipments to China (main destination, with 41.6 million tons in 2021 and 36.9 million tons in 2022) and the Netherlands (4th largest destination, with 2.5 million tons in 2021 and 1.7 million tons in 2022), respectively, 11.2% and 32.2% less compared to 2021. Anec admits that in this ...

In its bid to meet the country’s growing energy needs, Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL), has invited bids for 72 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargoes from international suppliers across a period of six years. Suppliers are asked to submit bids by September 14, while bids are invited from reputed companies to ship cargo on a Delivered Ex-Ship basis (DES) at Port Qasim, Karachi, stated PLL. “Bid documents shall be available from 10 August 2022 to 13 September 2022,” it said. The company ...

China’s crude oil imports in July fell 9.5% from a year earlier, with daily volumes at the second lowest in four years, as refiners drew down inventories and domestic fuel demand recovered more slowly than expected. The world’s top crude buyer took in 37.33 million tonnes last month, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Sunday, equivalent to 8.79 million barrels per day (bpd). That edged up from June’s 8.72 million bpd, but was down sharply from 9.7 million bpd in July 2021. Imports for the first seven ...

An indication of demand destruction, US steam coal exports fell 15.2% on the year in June as the CIF ARA monthly average price more than tripled to $371.02/mt, according to US Census Bureau data released Aug. 4. Compared with May, the CIF ARA price rose 13.2% while US thermal coal exports fell 1.3% to 2.8 million mt. The decline in US June thermal coal exports was due to a steep reduction in subbituminous coal shipments, which fell 63.8% on the month and 74.1% on the year to 132,471 mt. Year-to-date ...

China’s coal imports in July rose by nearly a quarter from June to near the highest levels so far this year as power generators increased purchases to provide for peak summer electricity demand. Arrivals of the fuel totalled 23.52 million tonnes last month, up sharply from 18.98 million tonnes in June but 22% lower than a year earlier, data issued by the General Administration of Customs showed on Sunday. Over the first seven months of the year, China imported 138.52 million tonnes of coal, down 18% on the same period ...

China’s imports of iron ore in July rose 3.1% from a year earlier, customs data showed on Sunday, as steelmakers’ margins improve despite concerns over demand. The world’s top iron ore consumer brought in 91.24 million tonnes last month, up from 88.51 million tonnes in July 2021, the General Administration of Customs said. The July import level was also 2.6% higher than the previous month. Improved profitability has prompted mills in China to restart some blast furnaces that were previously idled as widespread COVID-19 lockdowns hit demand. A total of ...

The export duty imposed on certain steel products recently will not force steel makers to review their capital expenditure plans as top producers expect it to be a ”short-term” move to stabilise inflation. On May 21, the government hiked the duty on exports of iron ore by up to 50 per cent and for a few steel intermediaries to 15 per cent. It also waived customs duty on the import of some raw materials, including coking coal and ferronickel, used by the steel industry. The measures were taken to boost ...

Kazakhstan has prepared a draft order to ban coal exports via road for the next six months, as part of its efforts to secure domestic supplies and cater to local power needs, the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development told S&P Global Commodity Insights Aug. 4. The draft order — reviewed by S&P Global and which is currently under public consultation — comes at a time when global markets, especially Europe, is scrambling to maintain coal supply security amid elevated prices as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war. Kazakhstan, for ...