Eurobench.com

voda 25 februari 2015 16:30

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Update on weekly raw steel production in USA

In the week ending February 21st 2015, domestic raw steel production was 1,716,000 net tonnes while the capability utilization rate was 72.6%.

Production was 1,824,000 net tonnes in the week ending February 21st 2014, while the capability utilization then was 75.8%. The current week production represents a 5.9% decrease from the same period in the previous year.

Production for the week ending February 21st 2015 is down 2.5% from the previous week ending February 14th 2015 when production was 1,760,000 net tons and the rate of capability utilization was 74.8%.

Adjusted year to date production through February 21, 2015 was 13,353,000 net tonnes, at a capability utilization rate of 76.0%. That is down 1.5% from the 13,551,000 net tonnes during the same period last year, when the capability utilization rate was 75.8%.

Broken down by districts, here's production for the week ending February 21, 2015 in thousands of net tons: North East: 214; Great Lakes: 652; Midwest: 216; Southern: 545 and Western: 89 for a total of 1,716.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 25 februari 2015 16:31

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Indonesia govt to form taskforce to safeguard domestic steel industry

The Jakarta Post reported that after imposing safeguard duties on imported construction steel early this month, the Indonesia government plans to form a task force to draft and evaluate policies to further provide protection for a flailing industry.

Mr Saleh Husin industry minister of Indonesia said that the government will hold further discussions on strategies for empowering the domestic steel industry this week. One item up for discussion was the likely imposition of a 15% import tariff on construction steel, which is hoped to help curb the sharp rise in shipments into the local market.

Mr Husin said that “We will form a team to formulate some policy strategies, including a 15% import tariff. An evaluation into this is necessary to allow the domestic market to flourish. Our steel industry is currently somewhat ailing, so we must act firmly in order to keep it competitive.”

According to data from the Investment Coordinating Board, the steel industry is still highly dependent on raw material imports such as sponge iron, pig iron and pellets, all of which are almost entirely sourced from overseas. This has resulted in a negative contribution of US$8.9 billion to the trade balance in 2013, making the steel industry one of the main culprits in the country’s current account deficit.

Meanwhile, Mr Harjanto, the ministry’s director general for manufacturing industries said that the proposed import tariff was geared toward safeguarding the steel industry, with the expectation that such measures would ensure the development of both upstream and downstream sectors in the country.

Mr Harjanto said that “We want to safeguard the domestic industry, but also keep within the corridors of the World Trade Organization. Even other countries have higher safeguard duties. Despite such measures, businesses not to take it as a mandate to profiteer through price hikes.

He said that “We need to introduce policies that not only protect the upstream cycle, but also the downstream industries. Safeguarding measures like this shouldn’t be taken for granted as an opportunity to raise prices, as that would obstruct other national projects.”

Mr Harjanto said that the government expected the tariff to boost the utilization of local steel production and processing industries. We have our maritime axis plan and other projects in the pipeline. What we plan to achieve with the tariff is for imports to remain competitive with the domestic industry.

Source - The Jakarta Post

voda 25 februari 2015 16:31

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US import volume of ferro silicon up by 20.4pct in 2014

According to the statistics released by the US Department of Commerce, the import volume of ferro silicon as a standard product was 226,424 tons, up by 20.4% from 188,024 tons of the prior year.

In the US, the investigation on antidumping duty took place on Russian and Venezuelan ferro silicon from September 2013 and the final decision was made on August 26 that AD duty would not be levied on both products.

However, during that period, the customers in the US took a stance not to purchase both Russian and Venezuelan products, which has been noticeable especially since March when the possibility of levying an AD duty became strong and the import from Venezuela was completely stopped and there was no result of the import from Russia during August to November after the import from Russia decreased.

The import volume from Russia was 87,765 tonnes which remained at being slightly up by 0.8% from the prior year, but the import volume from Venezuela was 10,400 tonnes, drastically down by 66.7% ditto. What made up for the shortage arising from that was a Chinese product and its import volume was 87,066 tonnes, grossly up by 2.2 times as much as the prior year.

Source - The TEX Report

voda 25 februari 2015 16:32

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Atlas Iron races to cut costs amid AUD 847 million half year loss

Reuters reported that Australian miner Atlas Iron Limited was racing to lower its operating costs after posting AUD 1.09 billion half year loss on the back of a tumble in iron ore prices.

Atlas is one of a handful of small tonnage iron ore miners that have been hurt by moves by mega miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to ramp up output to grab a bigger share of the Chinese market from the country's domestic producers.

Atlas posted a first half underlying net loss of AUD 139 million, down from a profit of AUD 61.2 million in the same period a year ago. Including AUD 834 million in non cash impairments relating to the value of its mines, its net loss ballooned to AUD 1.09 billion from a AUD 73.7 million profit a year earlier.

Mr Ken Brinsden MD of Atlas said that “The Company would be unrelenting in its focus on cost reduction as it combats the supply glut for the raw steelmaking ingredient. An average all in cost for producing iron ore of AUD 60 to AUD 63 per tonne in the six months to June 30th 2015 down from AUD 67.29 in the first half of the 2014 to 2015 financial year.

Source - Reuters

voda 25 februari 2015 16:33

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BC Iron junks dividend on iron price fall

The plummeting iron ore price has forced BC Iron to ditch its interim dividend but managing director Mr Morgan Ball hopes investors will stick by the company as it looks to expand its reach in the Pilbara.

The company said in light of current market conditions and its half-year results, in which it swung to a net loss after tax of AUD 97.3 million, no interim dividend would be paid.

Before the pain of the sustained price slump hit home, BC Iron was know for its generous dividend policy, paying shareholders 17¢ a share in the first half of 2014 and a final dividend of 15¢ a share, equating to a payout ratio of about 54% on net profit after tax.

Mr Ball said that he hoped the market reaction to the decision wouldn't be too negative. BC Iron's shares closed down 3.5¢ at 49.5¢ leaving the company's market capitalisation hovering on the AUD 100 million mark.

He said that "I would hope those who invest in us are close enough to the iron ore market to understand it's a prudent management decision in this environment. We will continue to maintain our dividend policy which does reflect market fluctuations and we will revisit that each period to consider the dividend process."

A AUD 100 million write down, predominantly related to BC Iron's share of Nullagine mine property, dragged the company to a net loss after tax to AUD 97.3 million, from a profit of AUD 69.9 million a year earlier.

The crashing iron ore price and operational problems at the company's Nullagine joint venture impacted BC Iron's revenue stream during the period, with sales revenue falling to AUD 131.3 million from AUD 298.7 million in the previous corresponding period. The average price received for the Nullagine product was 46% lower than the same time last year, at just USD 64 per tonne.

Mr Ball said that the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation plummeted from AUD 119.2 million to a loss of AUD 8.2 million for the half but the company would have generated EBITDA of between AUD 5 million and AUD 15 million if it had been typical operational period.

He said that Nullagine had returned to steady production, giving the company a solid footing to stay ahead of lower prices and expand its footprint in the Pilbara. While we will continue to focus on cost, productivity and drive Nullagine to stay one step ahead of the price if that's how it works, we are not dropping the ball on our other opportunities.

Source - WA Today

voda 25 februari 2015 16:33

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Vale 52pct dividend cut appeasing bondholders

Mr Murilo Ferreira CEO of Vale SA is finally putting bondholders of the world’s biggest iron ore producer first.

After showering stock investors with some of the most generous dividends among major miners, distributing USD 23.6 billion since Mr Murilo took over in 2011 Vale will cut the payout by 52% in 2015. The reduction will save the Rio de Janeiro based company USD 2.2 billion this year.

With iron ore prices down by about 60% since 2011, Vale was hard pressed to continue the payouts as it lost support from bondholders and had its ratings cut by Standard & Poor’s last month for the first time in more than eight years. After trailing industry peers in the three months prior to the dividend change, Vale’s USD 2.25 billion of notes due 2022 have now gained 1.6% more than the average for mining company debt.

Mr Caio Lombardi, a fixed income analyst at Bradesco BBI SA said that “The dividend cut was wonderful news for bondholders. This is money coming out from the stockholders to the debtholders.”

The dividend cut preserves a sound capital structure as it completes projects at a time of lower prices. At the same time, we are intensifying the cost and capex reduction targets announced last December and developing partnerships and divestments to reinforce our free cash flow generation.

Vale’s 2022 bonds had lost 5% in the three months before the January 30 announcement, pushing yields up by 1.63 percentage point to a record 5.78% in December.

Mr Michael Roche, a strategist at Seaport Group LLC said that “Vale bond prices were falling hard and the management had to respond to that risk.”

Source - Bloomberg

voda 25 februari 2015 16:35

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BlueScope shares down despite top result

BlueScope Steel's shares were punished on a day it delivered its best result since 2010 and will pay its first dividend in four years.

The 8% plus fall in the stock was thought to be due to concerns about diving steel prices which BlueScope warned of in its own commentary on Monday.

However Mr Paul O'Malley CEO of BlueScope was upbeat about the company's turnaround, saying that the weaker Australian dollar was helping it grow and if the currency stayed below 80 US cents it would spark a boom in a range of local industries.

Australia's biggest steelmaker lifted first half net profit to AUD 92.7 million, up from AUD 3.7 million a year ago. The Australian steel business, which was the focus of several years of massive financial losses, job cuts in NSW's Illawarra and a painful restructuring of the company was the star performer of its five segments.

It increased its pre tax earnings more than fourfold to AUD 64.7 million, due mainly to new home building in Australia.

Mr O'Malley said that "As the Australian dollar has settled back into the 70s we can compete and the ability of Australian producers to manufacture products, higher education, tourism activities is competitive relative to the rest of the world again. When you get that some sort of competition for a year or two under you belt you start to feel confident about reinvesting in that capability in Australia.

He said that "We are seeing a more positive vibe across sectors, with small customer manufacturers of simple things like window frames or doors starting to say you can do it now more cost effectively than importing from overseas. There is growth to come in industrial construction, education and tourism, but the company's fortunes are subject to the vagaries of the Australian dollar and further falls in steel prices.

Source - AAP

voda 25 februari 2015 16:35

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German steel company to buy vacant building in Arkansas town

Associated Press reported that the Osceola city council has agreed on a proposed sale of a vacant building to the German steel company, SMS.

The council voted Thursday to sell the USD 12 million factories that was opened by German based steel company, Beckmann Volmer in 2011. SMS would complement the Big River Steel mill that is expected to open in Osceola with the next few years. SMS expects to supply USD 600 million of steel mill equipment for Big River's opening.

The city is now waiting on state officials in Little Rock to finalize the deal. The building was originally built to complement Jonesboro's Nordex wind turbine facility, but when the company left Jonesboro due to tax credit delays in Washington, DC, Beckmann Volmer followed.

Source - The Associated Press

voda 25 februari 2015 16:36

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US scrap metal separation may become cheaper - EPA

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States throws 14.8 million tonnes of scrap metal into landfills every year. One of the main reasons is the difficulty of large scale separation of non ferrous metals. Scientists at the University of Utah now say they have solved that problem.

Recycling metals is much cheaper than extracting them from the ore. But chopping up old cars appliances or industrial equipment results in a mixture of different metal parts.

Iron and steel are easily separated with strong magnets, while others, such as copper, aluminum and titanium, either end up in landfills or are shipped to countries with cheap labor to pick out the different metal by hand.

Researchers at the University of Utah now say they have developed a method for mechanically separating light metals with high degree of accuracy.

Mr Don Eggert of O2M Technologies, which partnered with the school in developing the technology, said that the system is based on the fact that all metals react to a strong magnetic field.

Mr Eggert said that “When the metal falls through the field, even it’s non-ferrous, it’s not attracted to the magnet, but the magnet causes there to be an electric current inside the metal and that causes the metal to have a magnetic field itself, which interacts with the magnetic field that it’s falling through and pushes it to the side.”

He said that rapid change in the frequency of the magnetic field results in metal pieces falling into different bins. So, for example, if we want to separate aluminum and copper we hit the right frequency for it and the aluminum would push more away from the magnet than the copper will. So the copper falls straight down, the aluminum falls into a different bucket.

Mr Eggert said that this is just one of the technologies for separating different metals but it is much cheaper to build since it requires only one large circular magnet and a frequency controller. What we have calculated so far is that the expense to value ratio that is how quickly you can pay back the cost of the technology over time we’re currently estimating it to be less than one year.

Source - VOA News

voda 25 februari 2015 16:38

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Freight shipping prices sinks on oversupply and China lower demand

It is reported that freight shipping prices have plummeted to a historic low, fuelled by a long-standing problem of too many ships and lower demand from China but experts cautioned against seeing it as a warning on the global economy.

The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks the cost of transporting dry commodities such as coal, iron ore and grain across 20 shipping routes, dropped Wednesday to 509 points, its lowest level since the creation of the index in 1985.

There have never been more commodities transported by sea but the sector has been plagued with a surplus of ships ordered in good times, while China has put further downward pressure on rates.

The index used to be seen as a reliable indicator of global economic health or looming crisis but the gauge has lost its edge in recent years.

Mr Julian Jessop, analyst at Capital Economics, said that "The BDI adds little to what we already know about global commodity markets from other indicators, and it is a poor guide to the overall health of the world economy."

Mr Marc Pauchet, an analyst at shipbroking company Braemar ACM, said that "The combination of increased speculative investments in the commodities market and an oversupply of ships has thrown the indicator off in recent years."

The BDI is now simply a reflection of the balance of supply and demand for ships carrying dry bulk.

Mr Jessop said that "The key point is that demand for cargo ships has recovered since 2009 but it has failed to catch up with the growth in supply."

The shipping industry has long suffered from the blight of ships ordered when times are good and delivered when they are no longer needed.

The BDI peaked at 11,793 in May 2008 and confident owners ordered more ships to cope with robust demand, oblivious of the coming global economic crisis.

Since then, the market has been hoping for a recovery that has been slow to materialise.

And every tentative upturn has led to increased orders from shipyards, mainly in China and Japan, perpetuating the problem.

Mr George Kalogeropoulos, commercial and chartering director at SafBulk, said that "The market does not learn." Although he said that the extent of the BDI decline this time was surprising.

The Q4 of 2014 was especially bad for business, a period supposed to be the strongest in the year for the dry bulk sector.

This was compounded by a late Chinese New Year in February and the traditionally quiet period preceding it.

China is the world's second biggest economy after the United States and the largest consumer of coal and iron ore, making the shipping industry highly dependent on Chinese demand.

But the Asian powerhouse's economy is slowing down. In 2014, it grew at 7.4%, the weakest rate for 24 years.

According to Mr Pauchet, Beijing's removal of an export tax rebate last month is likely to continue to depress Chinese demand for iron ore.

He said that "Chinese steel mills had been taking advantage of the export tax rebate to sell their production to neighbouring countries. But the re-introduction of the export tax in January weighed on demand for Chinese steel, translating in a drop in iron ore imports."

According to Braemar ACM, prospects for coal are no better. Chinese imports fell sharply in 2014 owing to the increased use of hydropower.

And this year, the completion of nuclear power plants should further reduce Chinese demand for coal.

Shipowners have begun to react, trying to push back new deliveries.

And since the start of the year, the scrapping of ships is increasing, a change from last year when owners were hanging on to their older vessels, anticipating a market recovery.

Some of them such as Scorpio Bulkers, which went on a buying spree in 2013, have also decided to convert some ships on order into oil tankers.

Mr Kalogeropoulos said that he did not think this was enough.

He said that "In my opinion there is only one way for the market to recover and sustain. It's simple. All the shipowners have to lay up 15% of the entire fleet for good. That's the only way."

Source - au.finance.yahoo.com

voda 25 februari 2015 16:38

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Ukraine update on ferroalloys import & export in Jan 2015

February 23rd, 2015 In January Ukraine exported USD 141.04 million worth of ferroalloys, while imports reached USD 8.88 million. One of the main importers of Ukrainian ferroalloys in January was the Netherlands. In December 2014 Ukraine exported USD 93.57 million worth of ferroalloys, with imports reaching USD 15.85 million.

Source - Metal Ukraine

voda 25 februari 2015 16:39

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Ukraine update on steel semis export & import in Jan 2015

February 23rd, 2015 In January Ukraine exported USD 240.88 million worth of steel semi finished products, while imports totaled USD 1.56 million. One of the main importers of Ukrainian steel semis in January was Turkey (USD 73.13 million). In December 2014 Ukraine exported USD 272.02 million worth of steel semis, with imports reaching USD 6.49 million. (Ukrainian metal)

Source - Metal Ukraine

voda 25 februari 2015 16:40

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Oil rigs falls idle after global crude oil prices halves

BBC News reported that with the halving of world oil prices since June last year, the oil industry as a whole has been hit but those involved in the manufacturing and servicing of offshore oil rigs have been especially affected.

Some industry analysts have said that it is the worst market they've seen since 1985, as drilling programmes are postponed or cancelled and oil rigs, together with their staff, are put out of commission.

The number of oil rigs actively drilling at any point in time, is considered a good gauge of the health of the industry.

Currently there are more than 180 oil rigs in South Asia alone but with the downturn in oil prices more than half of those are now effectively without a role.

Worst still, there is an oil rig oversupply, with hundreds of old oil rigs still in the market and newly-built ones waiting for work.

Jack-up oil rigs, many of which are manufactured in Singapore, are used to drill for oil in relatively shallow waters.

There are more jack-up rigs in the worldwide offshore rig fleet than any other type.

Long-time oil industry specialist Mr Ian Craven, with Icarus Consultants, said that 91 new jack-up rigs were delivered to market between 2011 and 2014.

And he said that while those rigs may have been absorbed into the market, up to now few old rigs have been scrapped to make room for them.

The price of oil has halved over the past 8 months but what's the real cost of cheap oil? The BBC's correspondents around the world look at who's benefiting and who's hurting from the shock fall in oil prices.

He said that this has led to a dog-eat-dog market place, with more rigs chasing fewer jobs and consequently losing work.

Many surplus jack-up and floater rigs end up in Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia where they are put into idle mode or what the industry refers to as 'stacked.'

Staff on board are replaced with skeleton teams, and the rigs are either kept ready for a new commission or switched off before they are parked somewhere affordable, often off the shores of Malaysia or Indonesia.

Source - BBC News

voda 25 februari 2015 16:41

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Shipping firms bank on Brazilian iron ore exports to up freight rates

Business Line reported that shipping companies are banking on increased iron ore exports from Brazil to China and India to shore up the dry bulk freight market, after it touched a new low earlier this month.

While the tanker market was relatively buoyant the last few months due to low crude prices and concomitant increase in demand for shipment, the Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping bulk cargoes on key ocean routes, fell to its lifetime low in the first week of this month.

The first week of February saw the BDI slump to 560, it slid steadily from 1,300 in mid-November to 800 odd in mid-December. Before this, the lowest the index had touched was in February 2012, when it slipped to below 700. At its peak since the index came into existence, it touched close to 11,000 in May 2008.

Ship owners who have put their bulk carriers in the spot market are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain the viability of their operations. At the current levels of the index, bulk carriers such as Capesize and Supramaxes are barely getting a rate of USD 5,000 a day.

In the current situation, shipowners feel an increased flow of iron ore from Brazil, the world’s second largest producer, could boost the rates, as hauling the ore from there to China cost almost double than that from Australia.

Mr Shivakumar, Group CFO of Great Eastern Shipping, said that “We hope that they are able to sell their iron ore more competitively than the Australians, because Brazilian iron ore to China is the best possible thing to happen to dry bulk shipping.”

Brazil’s Ministry of Industry, Development and Foreign Trade had, last month, said iron ore exports from the country had increased by over 17% in December to cross 37 million tonne, compared with the year-ago month, as its chief producer Vale SA cranked up production. China remained the top importer of the ore, with more than 20 million tonne, with the other importers being South Korea, India and France.

Another hope of the rates picking up is the higher scrapping of old vessels in the last few months this will keep a leash on the number of ships chasing shrinking cargo volumes. Last year, about 16 million DWT bulk carriers went to scrap yards.

Mr Shivakumar said that “This year, in the first month, we have seen excess of 2 million DWT getting scraped, so that is one sign that scrapping is going to pick up.”

One fall-out of the crashing bulk shipping rates is the fall in prices of second-hand bulk carriers, which are estimated to have fallen by at least 10% last quarter. Shipowners are weighing the option of buying the cheap assets and waiting for the markets to pick up.

Source - Business Line

voda 25 februari 2015 16:42

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ArcelorMittal plans merger with Italian service firm

The Italian unit of ArcelorMittal Distribution Solutions is planning to create a new JV with Italian service CLN (Coils Lamiere Nastri).

The European Commission’s directorate general for competition is in the process of reviewing the combination and has asked interested parties to submit their observations by the beginning of March.

The two companies are active in the distribution and processing of flat steel products, and are set to create a new entity in Italy which will have a strong national reach and become one of the country’s leading flat steel distributors.

A source with knowledge of the situation said that the new joint venture will include mainly CLN’s steel service center operations, without including other downstream activities such as stamping.

The new company will further consolidate the Italian flat steel distribution sector, as post merger four companies are expected to control more than half of the volumes in the country: Ilva, Marcegaglia, Gabrielli and the new entity.

ArcelorMittal is particularly focused in Italy in the distribution of coated products, while CLN is stronger in HRC and pickled; the combination of the two will bring benefits to both realities.

Source - Trade Arabia

voda 26 februari 2015 16:48

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TATA Steel Thailand to post net loss in 2014-15

TATA Steel Thailand PCL, the Thai unit of the TATA Steel Group, said that it expects to post a net loss for the fiscal year ending March 2015 due to falling steel prices and weak demand.

TATA Steel posted a net loss of about THB 252 million for the nine months ended December, compared with profit of THB 4 million a year earlier, hit by poor demand and the impact of imports of steel bar products from China.

Mr Rajiv Mangal President & Chief Executive, TATA Steel said that but improved domestic demand and a better outlook for steel prices should help it flip to a profit in the next fiscal year.

Mr Mangal said that Thailand's domestic steel demand is expected to rise at least 5% to about 18.5 million tonnes, in 2015 on the back of an improving economic outlook, while steel prices have bottomed out and should gradually increase. Mr Mangal said that "Outlook for 2015 should be better than this year, given the country's GDP is forecast to grow 3.5% which should help boost domestic demand for steel."

TATA Steel also plans to focus on value added products and boost the sale proportion to between 40% and 50% of the total over the next two years from 20% now

Mr Mangal said that “As the increase in steel imports continued to put pressure on domestic prices, TATA Steel planned to ask the Thai commerce ministry to take anti dumping measures to tax imported high carbon steel rod from Chinese makers. An anti dumping tax of 5% imposed by the ministry last year is too low to stop Chinese product dumping.”

He said that Thailand's domestic steel consumption fell 3.5% to 17.3 million tonnes in 2014 on slowing construction activity.

Source – Strategic Research Institute

voda 26 februari 2015 16:49

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HC upholds Odisha move to earmark 50pct of iron ore for steel makers in state

Odisha Sun Times Bureau quoted the High Court of Odisha recently dismissed the review petition filed by the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries challenging the circular issued by Odisha Government asking iron ore mines to sell 50% of their produce to steel companies in the state.

The iron ore companies of Odisha had approached the High Court challenging the circular of the state government. The two member bench of Chief Justice Mr Amitabh Roy and Justice Mr AK Rath dismissed the review petition and upheld the decision of the state government.

The High Court had upheld the decision of the government on April 2nd, 2014 while directing it to draft a policy to ensure smooth facilitation of iron ore to the steel companies of the state within three months, following which FIMI had filed the review petition.

FIMI had also registered a complaint with the Union government arguing that the state doesn’t have power to take a decision to this effect. The Union government, in turn, had written to the state government in February 2013 asking it to withdraw the circular. It said that state government had come up with a circular on December 5, 2012 asking iron ore mining companies in Odisha to sell 50% of their produce to steel companies of the state. The iron ore companies were free to sell the rest 50% of their produce anywhere inside or outside the state.

The circular followed repeated requests by steel companies of the state, which rued that they were in dire straits due to the non availability of raw material.

Source – Odisha Sun Times

voda 26 februari 2015 16:50

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Vizag port cargo handling up during April to January period

Business Standard reported that though there was a steep fall in iron ore exports, Visakhapatnam port could register an increase in cargo handling by about half a million tonnes during the April to January period compared with the corresponding period last year owing to an abnormal hike in steam coal imports.

During last fiscal April to January period, the port handled 47.8 million tonne cargo, whereas this year, it increased to 48.3 million tonne. However, iron ore declined to 7.2 million tonne as compared with 10.2 million tonne last year.

Port sources said that government policy and fall in intake from Chain were the main reasons for the decline in iron ore exports. The port lost over 3 million tonnes of ore this year compared with the 11-month period last year. Apart from iron ore, other cargos like coking coal, thermal coal, fertilisers and fertiliser raw materials and even container cargo saw a decline by 2 million tonne.

However, steam coal compensated this. During last April to January period, the port imported only 2.6 million tonne steam coal, which is used in power generation, whereas this year this increased to 8 million tonne. During 2013 to 2014, the port handled 58.50 million tonne cargo. This year, it expects a marginal growth on the back of large steam coal imports.

Source – Business Standard

voda 26 februari 2015 16:54

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Slowing Chinese demand will increase challenges for Asian steel companies - Moody's

Signalling tough road ahead, rating agency Moody has warned that slowdown in Chinese steel sector is likely to take its toll on steel makers in Asian countries as it sees little chance of reversal in downturn in Chinese economy amid continued weakness in it property market, which accounts for more than 50% of Chinese steel consumption

Moody's Investors Service says that Asian steel companies face increasing operating challenges in 2015, as Chinese steel demand slows. Moody's could change its outlook on the Asian steel sector to negative from stable if this weakness persists.

Moody's analysis is contained in its just-released report "Signs of Weakening Steel Demand Are Emerging in China," authored by Jiming Zou, a Moody's Analyst. Moody's last changed its outlook to stable from negative in August 2014.

Source - Strategic Research Institute

voda 26 februari 2015 16:55

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Japan steel exports in January 2015 up by 4.2pct YoY

TEX reported that the Ministry of Finance of Japan released on 19th Japan's import and export of steel products (preliminary) in January 2015.

According to this, its export quantity of steel products (on all steel basis) in January was 3,414,000 tonnes down 10.2% from the previous month and up 4.2% from the same month last year.

Its export amount in the yen was 336.4 billion up 10.0% from the same month last year. While, its import quantity of steel products (on all steel basis) in January was 713,000 per tonne down 2.3% from the previous month and down 18.8% from the same month last year, which maintained the level of 700,000 per tonne for 2 months in a row and remained to be the high level.

By destination of steel export in January, its export to Asia was 2,612,000 per tonne up 0.8% from the same month last year and of these, that to China was 400,000 per tonne down 12.2% ditto and also down 17.7% from the previous month. That to the Asian NIEs was 964,000 per tonne up 1.2% ditto and that to the ASEAN was 1,072,000 per tonne up 5.7% ditto.

For the remote regions and countries, that to the Middle East was 163,000 per tonne up 41.1% ditto and that to Russia was 4,000 per tonne up 22.6% ditto. That to the USA was 192,000 per tonne up 5.9% ditto and that to the EU was 29,000 per tonne also up 68.3% ditto.

While, by supplied country/region of steel import in January, its import from Asia was 617,000 per tonne down 17.2% from the same month last year, and of these, that from China was 178,000 per tonne up 0.6% ditto. That from the Asian NIEs was 422,000 per tonne down 24.0% ditto and that from the ASEAN was 13,000 per tonne up 17.4% ditto. That from the EU was 12,000 per tonne down 14.3% ditto, and that from the USA was 1,000 per tonne up 39.9% ditto.

Source - The TEX Report

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