In February, world steel production was maintained at a healthy 143.3m tonnes – an increase of 2.8% year-on-year. But with the world’s top steelmakers shuttering mills in response to Covid-19, the next batch of production figures could look decidedly less robust. Data from the World Steel Association released this week painted a rosy picture of global steel supply. China’s crude steel production for February 2020 was 74.8m tonnes, an increase of 5.0% compared with February 2019; India produced 9.6m tonnes of crude steel in February 2020, up 1.5% on February ...

Chinese iron ore futures marked their first weekly fall in four on Friday as the widening economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic darkened the demand outlook for the steelmaking raw material and steel products. However, expectations for supply disruptions in the wake of lockdowns across the world to contain the contagion limited iron ore’s losses. Iron ore’s most-traded May contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended a volatile session 0.2% lower at 659 yuan ($93.20) a tonne and lost 1.5% this week. The Singapore Exchange’s front-month April contract slipped 0.5% ...

Castor Maritime Inc. (CTRM), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, announced that the Magic P, its 76,453 dwt Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2004, completed its scheduled dry-docking and special survey on March 21, 2020. On March 22, 2020, the vessel commenced employment under a new charter contract with an approximate duration of 90 to 105 days at a gross charter hire rate of $7,000 per day. “The novel COVID-19 virus is causing unprecedented uncertainty, affecting the global economy and the majority of ...

Today, Friday, March 27 2020, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 13 points, reaching 556 points.

SMM estimates that there were 71 vessels carrying 11.75 million mt of iron ore arrived at major Chinese ports during March 15-21, down 260,000 mt from the week ended March 14 but up 1.65 million mt from the same period a year earlier. Arrivals in China’s steelmaking hub Tangshan declined on the week, while shipments arrived in Shandong edged higher. During the same period, iron ore deliveries leaving Australian ports rose 1.63 million mt on the week to 17.39 million mt, 1.55 million mt higher than the same period last ...

China bought 6 million mt of soy from the US in the first two months of 2020, up 500% year on year as it ramped up purchases under its phase one trade deal commitments, while purchases of Brazilian beans were down 26% to 5.14 million mt, Chinese customs data showed Wednesday. Under the phase one trade deal, signed on January 15, China committed to purchase $80 billion worth of US agricultural products in two years. Soybean purchases are a vital aspect of the agreement, since historically the commodity comprises over ...

Brazil is forecast to export over 9.50 million mt of beans in March, up 12% year on year, based on current pace of weekly exports, according to the market sources. The country has already shipped out 7.18 million mt of soybeans in the first three weeks of March, double February’s volume, the Brazilian foreign trade department said Tuesday. Also, its soy exports so far in March have averaged 479,200 mt/day, from 445,200 mt/day in the same period last year, the trade data showed. Brazil is the world’s largest soybean supplier. ...

Today, Thursday, March 26 2020, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 13 points, reaching 569 points.

Brazil shipped out 7.18 million mt of soybeans in the first three weeks of March, up 102% month on month, the Brazilian foreign trade department said. Despite the US-China phase one trade deal, signed January 15, Chinese crushers still prefer the more price-competitive Brazilian beans over the US-origin, market sources said. Additionally, profitable crush margins have encouraged Chinese soybeans buyers to continue covering their old crop and new crop demand. China is world’s largest soybean purchaser and the primary market for the world’s largest soy supplier. Brazil’s soy exports so ...

A spectacular upwards trend in global iron ore trade unfolded for almost two decades. But in the past couple of years signs of faltering have emerged, and prospects for 2020 are subdued. Following an article published by Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide on 11 March 2020, about the world’s rapidly expanding ore carrier fleet, this article looks in more detail at how iron ore trade has been evolving and expectations for the future. Steel industry features In many countries around the world steel is mainly produced from the primary raw material, ...

At least 7.8 million mt of soybeans are expected to sail out from Brazilian ports in April, with almost half of the volumes set for China, recent lineup data from shipping agency Williams showed. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, local authorities in Brazil have taken measures to limit the spread of the virus, raising concerns in the market about possible work stoppages at key agriculture ports. However, loading and discharging of vessels has so far continued normally at key ports in Brazil, including Santos, Paranagua and Rio Grande, according to ...

China’s soybean imports from the United States in the first two months of the year rose sixfold from the same period last year, customs data showed on Wednesday, as cargoes booked during a trade truce between the countries arrived. China, the world’s top importer of the oilseed, brought in 6.101 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans in January and February, up from 1.044 million tonnes in the same months in 2019, when shipments were still largely curbed because of the Sino-U.S. trade war. The imports were in line with China’s shipments ...

Today, Wednesday, March 25 2020, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 21 points, reaching 582 points.

The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index fell on Tuesday, recording its steepest fall in over a month on lower rates across all vessel segments. The Baltic index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels that ferry dry bulk commodities, dropped 14 points, or 2.3%, to 603, its biggest daily percentage decline since Feb. 7. The panamax index declined by 28 points, or 3.6%, to 746, its 12th successive fall. Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 tonnes to 70,000 ...

Today, Tuesday, March 24 2020, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 14 points, reaching 603 points.