China imported one of the highest tonnages of barley in years in March, while sorghum arrivals fell by 21 percent, customs data showed on Monday, in a sign that China’s growing trade spat with the United States is roiling grain flows. China imported 860,000 tonnes of barley in March, up 22 percent on a year ago and the third highest monthly level since at least the start of 2016. Demand for barley, used in both animal feed and brewing, has risen since China said in early February it would investigate ...

India ended the first quarter of 2018 with robust oil products demand growth of 8.5%, the fastest quarterly growth since Q3 2016, as a renewed push on infrastructure projects and surging auto sales lifted gasoline and gasoil consumption. – Gasoline posts sharpest growth of 15% in Q1 – Elections, rural spending to support gasoil – Demand recovers from lower base in Q1 2017 “India’s oil products demand has continued on a positive upswing since September on improving economic activity. While impressive, these rates came against a relatively weak base last ...

As OPEC’s efforts to balance the oil market bear fruit, U.S. producers are reaping the benefits – and flooding Europe with a record amount of crude. Russia paired with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last year in cutting oil output jointly by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), a deal they say has largely rebalanced the market and one that has helped elevate benchmark Brent prices LCOc1 close to four-year highs. Now, the relatively high prices brought about by that pact, coupled with surging U.S. output, are making ...

China imported 3.25 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in March, up 64.2 percent year on year, data from the country’s customs authority showed. Total LNG imports in the first three months reached 12.38 million tonnes, up 59.1 percent year on year, according to the General Administration of Customs. China surpassed the Republic of Korea to become the world’s second-largest importer of LNG in 2017, according to IHS Markit, a global marketing information company. China’s imports of natural gas have grown to meet increasing domestic natural gas consumption, which ...

LPG shipments scheduled to be lifted from Iran in April rose further to around 500,000 mt, almost matching January shipments of 520,000 mt which was the highest volume since Western sanctions against the Middle Eastern producer were removed in January 2016, shipping sources said. The April shipments were almost up 14% from March and will bring the total shipments so far this year to 1.86 million mt. Most of the April cargoes are again bound for China, followed by Indonesia, India, Thailand and possibly Kenya, according to shipping sources and ...

Morocco is poised to have a bountiful wheat harvest in 2018, and that may mean another slow year for the North African country’s top suppliers from Russia to France and Ukraine. The crop will be 7.09 million metric tons this year, the Agriculture Ministry said in a document distributed Monday. That’s after the harvest more than doubled in 2017-18 and imports dropped 23 percent, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. The import duty on the grain will be increased in May, Agriculture Minister Aziz Akhannouch said on the sidelines ...

China’s decision to impose fresh restrictions on imports of coal at some ports appears to have caused a sharp fall in inbound shipments of the polluting fuel. The measures, announced on April 16, included banning the unloading of imported coal at some ports and tightening customs clearances. While it’s still too early to discern a definitive trend, China’s seaborne coal imports slumped to 3.45 million tonnes in the week ended April 21, according to vessel-tracking and port data compiled by Thomson Reuters Supply Chain and Commodity Forecasts. This was down ...

With new steel tariffs imposed by the US, Chinese and ASEAN steel is becoming more expensive in the US. While China contributes only 2% of finished steel entering the US, Chinese items made from steel and aluminium – along with countless “transiting metals” – are likely to take a far greater share. In fact, China was the second-largest source of imports of steel and aluminum products into the US in 2017, second to Canada but above Mexico. Should a strong uptick in US domestic steel production fill the gap, Chinese ...

China’s gasoline and diesel exports hit all-time highs in March as refineries churned out fuel in record volumes, outpacing domestic demand, according to China’s General Administration of Customs on Monday. Diesel exports in March were 2.38 million tonnes, up 24.2 percent year-on-year. Chinese refineries processed a record of more than 12.1 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in March, boosted by ample crude import quotas and steady margins. Gasoline exports were 1.7 mln tonnes, up 103 percent. Kerosene exports were 1.34 million tonnes, up 7.7 percent year-on-year. Q1 ...

South Korea’s LNG imports increased by 15% year on year in Q1 2018, with March being the first month in 2018 that the country’s oldest coal-fired power plants have been forced offline. Total imports for Q1 2018 exceeded 13 mt, up by 1.66 mt compared with Q1 2017. Imports in March were up by 23% year on year and exceeded 4 mt for the fourth month running. Source: Interfax Energy

A fall in Iran’s March crude and condensate exports was temporary and they currently stand at 2.5 million barrels per day, state TV on Monday reported Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh as saying. “The decline in March was a temporary issue. It has increased now and currently all together we export 2.5 million barrels of oil and gas condensates,” Zanganeh told state TV. March liftings from Iran, the third-biggest producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), were down 26 percent year on year. Iran has been working hard ...

China’s General Administration of Customs has released the year-on-year percentage changes for commodity exports in March and the first quarter, but did not include in its data release the total volume of exports for each product. It is not clear why customs changed the format or when the full set of data will be released. A customs official said she was looking into the issue when called by Reuters. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Josephine Mason)

Egypt’s state buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), said on Sunday it was seeking at least 30,000 tonnes of soyoil and 10,000 tonnes of sunflower oil in an international purchasing tender. GASC is looking to buy the oils for arrival July 1-15, its vice chairman Ahmed Youssef said. Offers for at least 10,000 tonnes of soyoil in Egyptian pounds will also be accepted. The deadline for offers is Thursday. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Maha El Dahan Editing by Edmund Blair)

Essar Oil, a key Indian client for Tehran, imported nearly 18 percent less oil from Iran at about 143,000 barrels per day in the fiscal year ended March compared with a year ago, according to data from the shipping industry and sources. Essar shipped in about 132,500 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran in March, a decline of about 41 percent from February, the data showed. Imports from Iran in March were about 46 percent higher than a year ago, the data showed. The sources declined to be ...

Chinese traders are preparing to export alumina to reap the profits from record prices for spot cargoes after the United States imposed sanctions on Russia’s United Company Rusal, among the biggest producers of the aluminum raw material. China is the world’s the biggest producer and consumer of alumina, a compound extracted from bauxite ore that is then smelted into aluminum metal. The Rusal sanctions have upended the aluminum supply chain, as companies cut contracts to use Rusal metal, leaving producers of cans or auto parts scrambling for supplies, which is ...