China’s iron ore imports fell 3.5% in April from a month earlier, official customs data showed on Friday, as shipments to the world’s top iron ore consumer from major suppliers were disrupted by inclement weather. Arrival volumes of the steelmaking ingredient stood at 98.57 million tonnes last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. That compared with imports of 102.11 million tonnes in March and 95.71 million tonnes in April 2020. “Shipments from Australia declined recently due to a cyclone in early April,” Tang Binghua, analyst with ...

China’s imports of major commodities mostly rose in April from a year ago, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday, as the world’s second-biggest economy continued its post-COVID-19 gains. China’s overall imports rose 43.1% from a year earlier, the fastest gain since January 2011. Below are comments from analysts on the commodities data. KEY POINTS: *Crude oil: April imports were at 40.36 million tonnes, down 0.2% yoy *Iron ore: April imports were at 98.57 million tonnes, up 3.0% yoy *Copper: April imports were at 484,890 tonnes, up ...

South Korea’s major petrochemical makers have stepped up efforts to boost production of polypropylene as base material demand for medical device manufacturing surged following the rollout of vaccination programs across Asia, opening the door for the country to import more petrochemical feedstock naphtha. South Korea’s demand for polypropylene and polyethylene, which are essential for making general medical devices including mask filters, plastic disposable syringes and hypodermic needles, as well as protective medical suits and gears, jumped by more than 34% in the first-quarter from a year earlier, according to downstream ...

Bangladesh’s state grains buyer received a lowest offer of $324.90 a tonne CIF liner out in an international tender on Thursday to purchase and import 50,000 tonnes of wheat, traders said. No purchase has yet been made and the offers are still being considered, they added. The south Asian nation is importing rice and wheat to shore up depleted reserves after repeated floods last year damaged its crops, sending domestic prices to record highs. The offer was submitted by trading house Soubhik Exports for Indian-origin wheat, traders said. This was ...

Colombia exported roughly 598,272 mt of coal on 12 coal carriers in the week ended May 5, down 65.1% from 22 ships carrying 1.71 million mt the previous week, according to commodities data provider Kpler. More than 53%, or 317,365 mt, are headed to Panama, while 148,600 mt and 86,345 mt were shipped to Israel and Chile, respectively, according to the data. In the week ended April 28, the top export destinations were Turkey, at 260,018 mt; Brazil, at 205,249 mt; Chile, at 199,179 mt; and the Netherlands, at 186,498 ...

China’s crude oil imports in April fell 0.2% from a year earlier as refiners curbed production to relieve a squeeze in profit margins brought about by rising crude oil prices and bulging inventories. The world’s biggest crude oil buyer brought in 40.36 million tonnes of crude oil in April, or 9.82 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday. That was the lowest since December and was down from 11.69 million bpd of imports in March. As crude oil prices hovered above $60 ...

Ukrainian grain exports have fallen by 23.6% to 39.24 million tonnes so far in the July 2020 to June 2021 season, agriculture ministry data showed on Friday. The exports included 15.14 million tonnes of wheat, 19.36 million tonnes of corn and 4.12 million tonnes of barley, the data showed. Traders have used about 86.5% of the total wheat export quota of 17.5 million tonnes, which was imposed for the whole 2020/21 July-June season. The ministry has said that wheat exports are unlikely to reach the full quota this season. Ukraine ...

Indian edible oil refiners are curtailing palm oil imports for May and June as most states have imposed curbs on hotels and restaurants to arrest rising coronavirus infections, denting institutional demand, industry officials said. Lower imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer of the edible oil, could limit a rally in benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, which hit their highest level since 2008 on Thursday. “Palm oil demand from hotels, restaurants and other institutional buyers has been falling rapidly due to lockdowns,” said Govindbhai Patel, chief of trading firm G.G. ...

Brazil’s cereal exporter association Anec on Wednesday maintained the country would ship some 32 million tonnes of corn this year, 1.6 million tonnes less than in 2020, despite a drought that is affecting yields in certain producing areas. Sergio Mendes, Anec’s director general, said Brazil’s corn export prospects remain good thanks to the relatively good conditions of corn fields in Mato Grosso, the state’s superior logistics capabilities, and a favorable exchange rate. Mendes said that his estimates in the beginning of the corn season already indicated potentially lower shipments compared ...

The US Department of Agriculture’s India attaché sees the country’s wheat exports reaching 2 million mt in the 2021-22 trade year, 26% lower on the year, as output is also forecast to decline. The trade year begins in July for all countries. India’s wheat production will be 105 million mt in the 2021-22 marketing year, the New Delhi attache said, down from 107.86 million mt a year earlier, according to the report published on the USDA website on May 4. India’s wheat marketing year runs from April through March. “[F]ield ...

China’s decision to suspend trade activities under a strategic economic dialogue with Australia is unlikely to affect Australian wheat exports in the 2020-21 marketing year, as most of the supplies expected during the season have been already booked or sailed, sources said. China on May 6 said it was indefinitely suspending all activities under the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue, countering a series of measures, which China said were taken to disrupt the normal exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. The trade dispute between China and Australia has been brewing ...

Ukrainian grain exports have fallen by 24% to almost 39 million tonnes so far in the July 2020 to June 2021 season, agriculture ministry data showed on Wednesday. The exports included 15.13 million tonnes of wheat, 19.14 million tonnes of corn and 4.12 million tonnes of barley, the data showed. Traders have used around 86.5% of the total wheat export quota of 17.5 million tonnes imposed for the whole 2020/21 July-June season. The ministry and traders have said wheat exports were unlikely to reach the full quota this season. Ukraine ...

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE American: LNG) and Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE American: CQP) (together, “Cheniere”) today announced that Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC has supplied a carbon neutral cargo1 of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) to Shell2 as part of the companies’ long-term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement. Cheniere and Shell worked together to offset the full lifecycle greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions associated with the LNG cargo by retiring nature-based offsets to account for the estimated CO2e emissions produced through the entire value chain, from production through use by the final ...

French soft wheat shipments outside the European Union last month were the lowest for an April in nine years, as exports to Morocco and Algeria eased, Refinitiv data showed. Soft wheat exports to destinations outside the EU-27 and Britain totalled 665,600 tonnes in April, the 10th month of the 2020/21 season, an initial estimate based on Refinitiv loading data showed. That was the lowest April volume since 2011/12, the data showed. Last month’s haul was also more than a quarter less than March’s 908,400 tonnes. The March figure was revised ...

Iran’s First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri has said the country is able to increase its oil exports up to 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) once the U.S. sanctions are lifted. “Oil sales have dropped a lot, but now the situation is better, and we are in control. We will be able to increase oil exports to 2.5 million barrels per day after the removal of the sanctions,” Jahangiri said on Friday. Iran has been ramping up its oil production over the past few months as talks for reviving the 2015 ...