China’s December coal output climbed 2.1 percent from the year before, government data showed, hitting the highest level in over three years as major miners ramped up production amid robust winter demand and after the country started up new mines. Miners produced 320.38 million tonnes of coal in December, according to data released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics. That is the largest volume since June, 2015. China approved more than 45 billion yuan’s ($6.64 billion)worth of new coal mining projects last year, much more than 2017, official ...

Premiums for Vale’s Brazilian Blend iron ore fines (BRBF) against the S&P Global Platts’ 62% Iron Ore index went on a roller-coaster ride in 2018, hitting a peak of $7.5/dmt premiums in the first half of 2018, before plunging to current levels of $2.50-$3/dmt. Market sources pointed to strong demand for BRBF in the first half of the year due to more stringent environmental controls and an overall structural shift in Chinese steel production favouring the usage of higher grade fines. As part of the Chinese government’s aim to lower ...

The ongoing conflict over tariffs between China and the US could have a lasting impact on copper prices, even if negotiators from the two countries strike a deal in the coming weeks, analysts from the world’s leading producer of the metal have warned. In its latest market forecast released Thursday, the Chilean Copper Commission, a government agency, predicted that copper prices will average $3.05/lb this year, up from $2.96/lb in 2018. The forecast is unchanged from its previous forecast released in November despite a continued decline in global copper stocks ...

China’s state grain stockpiler Sinograin said Saturday that it had made breakthrough in inventory reduction last year, with record high sales of 132.73 million metric tons. Sinograin has met its goal in reducing the inventory of cotton, soybeans and rapeseed oil in 2018, second year of its inventory-cutting drive, according to the company’s general manager Deng Yiwu. The company managed to reduce reserves in over 7,000 storehouses by 100 million metric tons of corn, 17 million metric tons of unhusked rice, 10.66 million metric tons of wheat, over 2 million ...

China’s domestic thermal coal prices are likely to come under close watch in coming weeks as the country strives to keep prices of essential goods stable during the Lunar New Year holiday period in February and key annual political meetings in March, market sources said. The country’s top planner National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice on Thursday requesting departments in all regions “effectively ensure stable supply and prices of important goods during the Spring Festival of 2019 and the ‘two sessions’.” The Spring Festival or Lunar New Year ...

The risk of a no-deal British exit from the EU has increased Wednesday following the decisive defeat of the government’s proposed Brexit deal Tuesday in parliament, boosting the potential impact on key commodities. With 72 days to go before the UK is due to leave the EU, S&P Global Platts reporters have updated their September 2018 cross-commodity surveys on the implications of a so-called hard Brexit. OIL **The UK upstream oil and gas industry is concerned about difficulties accessing talent, technology and capital. Industry group Oil & Gas UK has ...

It has been a stormy start to the New Year despite just a few days passing since the celebrations around the world. In financial terms at least, this year has got off to a very bad start and this could set the tone for a volatile year ahead, with US-China trade tensions, Fed Reserve action and ailing equity markets all making the wrong headlines. Despite this bearish market sentiment, the iron ore and steel markets have defied the odds and begun with a promising start of high prices and general ...

Stock of iron ore is piling up at the mines in Karnataka, despite constant reminders to various authorities by miners. The major reason is continuous imports. The miners have now approached the NITI Aayog, seeking intervention. Miners from Karnataka have urged the NITI Aayog to take measures and they referred the letter written by the state Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking intervention. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has written to the Prime Minister about the rising import of iron ore, and has sought ...

Palm oil industry experts mostly expect prices to be higher this year, citing the biodiesel mandate implementation, stronger demand from India and an El Nino impact as factors that could help lift the market. Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) chairman Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh, speaking at the annual Palm Oil Economic Review and Outlook Seminar yesterday, said he expects a turnaround in the industry in 2019, with the average price of crude palm oil (CPO) recovering to a level above RM2,500 a tonne. MPOB director-general Datuk Ahmad Kushairi Din ...

Iran produced 27,031 million tons of iron ore during the nine-month period ended on December 21, 2018, IRNA reported citing the data released by Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO). IMIDRO data also put the amount of raw iron ore extracted during the mentioned time at 48,759 million tons. Furthermore, the country’s non-oil trade data shows that Iran has exported $537.1 million of iron ore concentrate and iron ore pellet in the mentioned nine-month period. The country exported $1.072 billion of iron ore in the past ...

Euronext wheat futures ended flat on Friday with little impetus from a hesitant U.S. market as traders awaited more indications on export trends for the rest of the season. March milling wheat, the most active contract on the Paris-based Euronext exchange, settled unchanged on the day at 204.00 euros ($231.66) a tonne. Volumes on Euronext were light, with some French market players attending a major industry gathering in Paris. Traders were continuing to assess export prospects, notably to see if U.S.-China trade negotiations would generate more Chinese imports of U.S. ...

Chinese corn market end-users estimate stock levels in the country at around 70-80 million mt in 2019, according to one Asian trader, responding to reports that a Chinese agriculture ministry official had said he expected China to sell of the last of its aging corn stocks within 2019. There is no official number released by the Chinese agriculture ministry on the current level of corn stockpiles, so market participants all work on estimates. Usual Chinese corn demand is estimated by market players at around 220 million mt/year, said the source, ...

Russian wheat prices at shallow water ports are rocketing as sellers struggle to originate supply. The shortage of wheat parcels is also driving coaster vessel owners to slash their freight rates as shipowners hunt for cargoes to load. S&P Global Platts assessed FOB-Azov 12.5% protein wheat prompt loading at $218.50/mt Thursday, a surge of $9.50/mt since January 2. CIF-Marmara 13.5% protein wheat jumped $7/mt over the same period to $253.75/mt. The knock on effect is a growing supply of coaster vessels to load at Azov or nearby ports. Freight between ...

Prices of steel and steel-making raw materials in China rose on Friday, with iron ore hitting its highest in more than 10 months and rebar posting the best week in more than a month, amid optimism over progress in the U.S.-Sino trade talks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed lifting some or all tariffs imposed on Chinese imports and suggested offering a tariff rollback during trade discussions scheduled for Jan. 30, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Mnuchin had not made any such recommendations, while the Journal said trade ...

Prices of steel and steel-making raw materials in China rose on Friday, with iron ore climbing to a more than 10-month peak, amid optimism that the United States and China could soon resolve their festering trade dispute. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed lifting some or all tariffs imposed on Chinese imports and suggested offering a tariff rollback during trade discussions scheduled for Jan. 30, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The most traded iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange gained as much as 2.6 percent in early ...