China Abandons Hard Growth Target, Shifts Stimulus Focus to Jobs

The Chinese government abandoned its decades-long practice of setting an annual target for economic growth amid the storm of uncertainty unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic, and said it would continue to increase stimulus. Speaking at the National People’s Congress in Beijing on Friday morning, Premier Li Keqiang delivered an annual policy address that instead laid …

Iron ore blips back on supply fears, stimulus hopes

Iron ore futures recovered from yesterday’s blip to trade above $95 as investors become increasingly concerned over the coronavirus crisis in Brazil. Brazil’s iron ore shipments had their slowest start to a year in the last five years. Brazilian miner Vale downgraded its production guidance early in the year, Morgan Financials Ltd noted that more …

Robust Pacific drives Capesize rates higher

Capesize market continued the good run, thanks to the robust Pacific market with better freight rates. Reflecting the better physical market, the Capesize 5 time charter average increased by $489 to $3,951 on Wednesday. With Capesize market as the driving force, the Baltic Dry Index spiked again and gained over 5.30% on-day to 477 readings …

Iron ore futures retreat as traders take profits ahead of Two Sessions

Iron ore futures retreated on Wednesday ahead of China’s Two Sessions meeting which is scheduled to convene tomorrow. Some profit-taking activities could be attributed to the decline as investors await the annual meeting for news of fresh impetus.   Iron ore has enjoyed a stellar run of late, gaining over $13 since the start of …

German shipping industry heavily impacted by coronavirus pandemic

Revenues of German shipping companies declined by 30 to 40 percent on average in March and April, according to a company survey published by the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR) on Tuesday. At the same time, 44 percent of shipping companies were already recording a “substantial impairment” of their liquidity, according to the survey among 50 …

Capesize continues the good run with better demand

Capesize market rebound to better shipping demand, with improving freight rates in both the Atlantic and Pacific basins. Thus, the Capesize 5 time charter average rose by $587 to $3,462 on Tuesday, as some trade participants believed that the market had bottomed out. Buoyed by the better Capesize market, the Baltic Dry Index rose over …

Capesize extends positive run on better bunker prices

Capesize market continued its positive run with more fixings and stronger Pacific market that drove better freight rates. As such, the Capesize 5 time charter average rose by $481 to $2,875 on Monday, as some trade participants were heard to do “bottom picking” after another round of short covering. Driven by better Capesize rates, the …

China construction in the bubble, iron ore demand risk remains

Ferrous Sector Money Flow: DCE iron ore aggregated open interest is up 38.97% from April 29th and reached the highest level in Q2, coking coal decreased by 18.55% during the same period. Steel, coke and flat glass used in house construction remained stable on open interest. Investors should be aware of money flow out of …

China Mulls Targeting Australian Wine, Dairy on Coronavirus Spat

Australian exports of wine, seafood, oatmeal, fruit and dairy are in danger of being targeted by China if Beijing decides to escalate a row over Canberra’s calls for an investigation into the origin of Covid-19, according to people familiar with the matter Chinese officials have compiled a list of potential goods that it could target …