Symax Fintech Daily Market Insights 08.01.24

Saudi Arabia cuts Feb Arab Light crude price to Asia to 27-month low – Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia on Sunday cut the February price of its flagship Arab Light crude to Asian customers to the lowest level in 27 months, a company statement showed, amid competition from rival suppliers and concerns about supply overhang. Saudi Aramco slashed the official selling price (OSP) for February-loading Arab Light to Asia by $2 a barrel from January to $1.50 a barrel over Oman/Dubai quotes, a level last seen for November 2021.

Iran’s oil trade with China stalls as Tehran demands higher prices – China’s oil trade with Iran has stalled as Tehran withholds shipments and demands higher prices from its top client, tightening cheap supply for the world’s biggest crude importer, refinery and trade sources said. The cutback in Iranian oil, which makes up some 10% of China’s crude imports and hit a record in October, could support global prices and squeeze profits at Chinese refiners.

Brazil’s soy exports forecast to rise in January despite possible shortages – Brazilian soy exports will reach at least 1.3 million metric tons in January, a sharp increase from the 940,000 tons exported in the same month last year, according to projections released on Friday by Anec, a grain exporters group. Brazil starts planting its soybeans around September and normally harvests the crop in the first two months of the following year. Dry weather, however, delayed some planting last year and will affect the harvesting of the 2023/2024 crop.

Polish farmers to suspend protest at key Ukraine border crossing – Polish farmers have decided to suspend a protest at the border crossing with Ukraine at Medyka after the government agreed to their demands, interia.pl website reported on Saturday citing the local province governor. Polish truck drivers have been blocking several crossings with Ukraine since Nov. 6, demanding that the European Union reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian companies obtain permits to operate in the bloc.

US sets final food can steel dumping duties on China, Canada, Germany, Korea – The U.S. Commerce Department said on Friday it found that imports of tin mill products from Canada, China, Germany, and South Korea are being dumped onto the U.S. market and imports of tin mill products from China are also being subsidized. The department also found that imports of tin mill products – a shiny silver metal widely used in cans for food, paint, aerosol products and other containers – from the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom are not being dumped, it said in a statement.

First Quantum ‘deeply concerned’ about planned mine protest, urges officials to act – Canadian miner First Quantum’s local unit in Panama said on Friday it is “deeply concerned” about protests announced for Jan. 9 to take over its closed copper mine and urged the government to take action to guarantee security at the site. The union representing workers at the company’s Cobre Panama mine warned earlier this week of the plan by the separate SUNTRACS union and an allied group to “invade” the site, in the latest face-off over the mine that provoked nationwide protests last year.

Britain to invest 300 mln pounds in next-generation nuclear fuel programme’ – Britain said it plans to spend 300 million pounds on a new programme to produce advanced nuclear fuel suitable for the next generation of power-generating reactors, seeking to dislodge Russia as the main international supplier. Britain was one of over 20 countries – including the United States, France and South Korea – that recently signed a pledge to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 as part of international efforts to cut climate-damaging carbon emissions.

Asia’s LNG imports hit record, but supply surge keeps price muted – Asia’s imports of liquefied natural gas rose to a record in December, but spot prices remained subdued as shipments from top exporters Australia and the United States also hit all-time highs. Asia, the top buyer of the super-chilled fuel, saw imports reach 26.61 million metric tons in December, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Odesa region ports cargo rises 15 pct in ’23, governor says

Ports in Ukraine’s Black Sea region of Odesa boosted cargo handling in 2023, amid the war with Russia, by 15 percent year-on-year, regional Governor Oleh Kiper said on Friday. Kiper, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the ports processed more than 50 million tonnes of cargo last year.

 River Rhine in Germany reopens to shipping after high water recedes – The river Rhine in Germany has been reopened to shipping after being halted due to a rise in water levels following rain last week, German authorities said on Monday. Rhine river shipping had been stopped around the western city of Koblenz on Friday. But water levels have fallen again to levels permitting ships to operate, the German inland waterways navigation agency said.