Although the port sector has been classified under essential services and remained operational during the lockdown, the adverse impact on domestic economic activity as well as a slowdown in global trade has resulted in a steep contraction in cargo volumes at the major ports. Similar to the 22 per cent decline in April, May also saw a 22 per cent decline in throughout output, according to a research report by rating agency ICRA. While the decline was across major cargo categories, petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL), thermal coal and container ...

Collection of the investment charge in Russian ports will start in 2020, head of the Federal Maritime and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot) Alexander Poshivai told reporters on Friday. “It was approved in thirteen ports of our country and we will accordingly start working with the already approved investment charge. Certainly [the charge collection will start this year – TASS],” the official said. “Concerning the investment charge, it has been introduced in just 13 of our 67 ports, that is, it was enacted exactly where needed,” Podshivai said. Its effect on ...

Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT), the managers and operators of Khalifa Port Container Terminal, recently welcomed yet another new main line service to its growing network. The JADE service which forms part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and 2M alliance networks, provides ADT customers with additional direct coverage and fast transit times from the Mediterranean and Red Sea into Abu Dhabi and from Abu Dhabi into South East Asia and North Asia. The first vessel call on this new service to Abu Dhabi took place on Monday, 8th June when ...

Subcontinent markets finally started to display some encouraging signs this week, as positive movements on prices

Cádiz-Port, the Association of the Port Community of Cádiz, addressed the possibilities of development of the renewable energy industry in the Bay by holding its first round table on the 1st of July: “Renewable Energies and the Industry of the Bay of Cádiz. A look at the future”. An initiative that forms part of the Neo Cadiz Bay project, in which one of its main objectives is the creation of a debate on the current scenario of Renewable Energy in Spain, and the strategic and legal mechanisms necessary to transform ...

Pakistan’s Energas has sought government approval to start importing LNG cargoes from July as the country looks to buy cargoes from the spot market to plug its energy deficit, Energas CEO Anser Ahmed Khan told S&P Global Platts. “We are waiting for a final nod from the regulator, allowing our company to import LNG,” Khan said June 26. He added that this would allow Energas to place prompt LNG cargoes into the primary capacity owned by the government, which is currently unutilized, thereby reducing the government’s cash liabilities. The company ...

The coronavirus pandemic has obliterated global metals demand as one of the main end uses, automotive applications, has seen major disruptions to the supply chain. The US metals market, in particular, saw the removal of an estimated 33,000 vehicles per day from production as all major auto producers across the country halted operations in response to government mandates and concerns over the welfare of workers. Because the transportation sector is the largest end user of aluminum, accounting for around 35% of aluminum consumption, it is easy to see why so ...

A stunning V-shaped recovery in the price of copper is looking stretched as top consumer China enters its summer construction slowdown and fears of supply disruptions from the coronavirus have been mostly priced into the market. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange leapt 21% in the second quarter – its best quarter in a decade – on a strong post-virus recovery in China, fears of supply upsets, a weaker U.S. dollar and massive global stimulus. The metal used in everything from construction to consumer goods has now recovered ...

European stainless steel prices continued to fall, despite rises in regional mills’ published alloy surcharges, in June. The majority of distributors and stockists now negotiate deals with the stainless steel producers using an ‘effective price’, rather than the traditional ‘basis plus alloy surcharge’ mechanism. Costs for stainless steel raw material ingredients are expected to rise, moderately, in the medium term. However, in the current market climate, where demand is substantially lower than pre-Covid-19 levels, European stainless steel producers are finding it increasingly difficult to pass on rises in raw material ...

U.S. soybeans rose more than 1% on Monday, as concerns about hot and dry weather in a key growing region in the United States pushed prices to a more than a four-month high. Corn rose 1.5%, recouping all the losses from the previous session, while wheat firmed nearly 1%. The most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade hit their highest since March 5 at $9.06-3/4 a bushel and were last up 1% at $9.08-1/2 a bushel. Soybeans fell 0.3% in the previous session. Traders said soybeans were ...

Predictably ignored, one could argue that the biggest energy reality that we face is very low natural gas prices encouraging more infrastructure and demand. Low gas prices forecast over the mid- and long-term are going unmentioned as the driving force behind our “dash to gas.” This year since mid-January, U.S. gas prices have been below $2.00 per MMBtu, an insanely low price for increasingly the world’s go-to fuel. Let me be clear, the floor for gas prices over the past four years has been $2.50. Moreover, at $1.44 last week, ...

Oil prices were mixed on Monday, with Brent crude edging higher, supported by tighter supplies and positive economic data, while U.S. benchmark WTI futures dropped on concern that a spike in coronavirus cases could curb fuel demand in the United States. Brent crude was up 41 cents, or 1%, to $43.21 per barrel by 1042 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $40.60. “We believe that oil market participants are focusing on the current demand trends but are still ignoring the long-term implications ...

Intermonth spreads for benchmark Dubai crude futures narrowed slightly during mid-morning trade in Asia July 6, as expectations of upcoming producer price hikes continued to keep sentiment tepid. At 11 am in Singapore (0300 GMT), the August/September Dubai crude futures spread was pegged at a 17-cent/b backwardation, narrowing 4 cents/b from the Asian close on July 3, S&P Global Platts data showed. The September/October spread was pegged at a backwardation of 8 cents/b, narrowing a cent/b from the Asian close on July 3. Saudi Aramco is expected to raise the ...

As the COVID-19 pandemic bashes economies and demand for oil, many African nations dependent on exporting fossil fuels are “haemorrhaging” cash, African energy experts warned this week. The crisis – which comes as more investors shun carbon-heavy businesses – is a taste of what may happen if Africa’s rich oil and gas reserves become “stranded assets” that cannot be pumped as the world shifts to clean energy to meet climate goals. Fatima Denton, director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, said such a situation had ...

Who won the previous round of the oil price war? Some are now asserting that China — the world’s largest crude importer — emerged victorious at the expense of major global crude oil producers. The battle erupted in March when Russia declined to give in to the Saudi demand to cut output further. Yet, the very next month, US President Donald Trump intervened directly and the battle had to be abandoned. But by the time, the damage had already been done. The cost was immense to major stakeholders, Saudi Arabia, ...