Bulk Shipping ‘At The Very Bottom’ as Carrier Earnings Plunge

Vessels carrying dry bulk commodities are struggling to make a profit because of the double hit of lower seasonal demand for cargoes and the Covid-19 pandemic that’s wrecking trade and industrial activity worldwide. “We’re really at the very bottom for dry bulk,” William Fairclough, managing director of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings Ltd., one of …

Iron Jumps as Brazil Virus Cases Stoke Supply Concerns

Iron ore futures head for the highest close in four months on supply concerns, as the number of coronavirus infections in major producer Brazil continues to soar. Brazil added more cases after a record number of infections Friday, overtaking Spain as the nation with the world’s fourth- highest number of confirmed Covid-19 patients. Brazil’s new …

Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance: Rio Tinto’s first blockchain trade

Mining major, Rio Tinto’s first blockchain iron ore trade with Baosteel this week may set the trend for more such trades to come. The paperless trade transaction was done via the Contour trade finance blockchain platform, that breaks away from the traditional paperwork when documents were normally couriered for inspection. This ‘breakaway’ buried the image …

Sub-$2,000 a new norm for Capesize

Capesize market seemed to dive to a new low with each passing days, prompting trade participants to think if the market has bottomed or another V-shape recovery is around the corner. Gone are the heydays of the boom days when spot cape was trading high toward $200,000 per day in the 2008 and instead the …

DCE ends in high notes

Chinese futures ended the week on high note, due to better buying interests over tightness in port inventory. The most-actively traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE), for September delivery, hiked by 3.33% on-day to RMB 668 per tonne at Friday. Following the rally, the steel rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures …

China April Crude Steel Output Rose 0.2% Y/y to 85.03m Tons

China’s statistics bureau releases industrial output data. Crude steel output in April rose 0.2% y/y to 85.03m tons Crude steel output in Jan.-April rose 1.3% y/y to 319.46m tons Steel products output in April rose 3.6% y/y to 107.01m tons Steel products output in Jan.-April fell 0.2% y/y to 374.39m tons Primary aluminum output in April rose 1.5% y/y to …

China’s Industrial Economy Improves While Consumers Remain Wary

China’s industrial output increased in April for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak, adding to early signs of a recovery that economists cautioned would be slow and challenging. Industrial output rose 3.9% from a year earlier, reversing a drop of 1.1% in March, data showed Friday. Fixed-asset investment decreased 10.3% in the first four …

Saudi Loss of China Oil Market Share Likely Brief, Say Analysts

Saudi Arabia’s loss of oil market share in China last month to Russia and Iraq is likely to be fleeting, with analysts saying shipments from the kingdom to Asia’s largest economy are rebounding in May. Saudi crude exports to China could more than double to 10 million tons this month from April, according to ship-tracking …

Wheat Set for Worst Week in a Month on Record Stockpile Outlook

Wheat futures headed for their biggest weekly loss in a month on prospects for record global stockpiles, though prices held just above $5 a bushel on Friday with some areas still dry and on demand from importers. The July rice contract rose for a ninth day on tightness in U.S. old crop supplies. Soybeans advanced …

Is Australia the fall guy for the China – U.S. phase one trade deal?

I own a springer spaniel called Molly, she is small and gentle and knows never to pick a fight with a bigger dog as she was on the losing end of an altercation a few years back. The Australian government has an economy that is largely dependent on exports to China, not just minerals, but …