South America

Shipping sources claim that the cost of shipping oil will remain high during the first half 2026, as the global fleet is aging and an increasing number of vessels face Western sanctions. However, rates may be capped in the second half. In recent weeks the cost of shipping crude oil for very large crude carrier (VLCC) vessels has risen by about $130,000 a daily due to OPEC's and its allies' high demand. Moreover, the number of ships available has decreased due to sanctions imposed on some vessels for transporting oil from Iran and Venezuela. Jan Rindbo is the chief executive...

Six sources with knowledge of the situation said that the U.S. was preparing to intercept additional ships transporting Venezuelan crude oil after the seizure this week of a tanker. This is part and parcel of increasing pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. It was the first time that a Venezuelan oil tanker or cargo had been intercepted by U.S. authorities since 2019. The seizure came at a time when the U.S. is executing a massive military buildup on the southern Caribbean and as 'U.S. Donald Trump is pushing for Maduro to be ousted. Sources said that the latest U.S. actions...

Six sources familiar with this matter told AFP on Thursday that the U.S. was preparing to intercept additional ships transporting Venezuelan crude oil after the seizure a tanker earlier this week. This is part of an effort to increase pressure?on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. This was the first time that an oil tanker or cargo from Venezuela had been intercepted by U.S. authorities since 2019. The U.S. is executing a massive military buildup in southern Caribbean, and U.S. president Donald Trump is campaigning for Maduro to be ousted. Sources said that the seizure had put shipowners and operators involved in...

Six?sources with knowledge of the situation said that the U.S. was preparing to intercept additional ships transporting Venezuelan crude oil after the seizure this week of a 'tanker. This will increase pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. This was the first time that an oil tanker or cargo from Venezuela had been intercepted by U.S. authorities, who have imposed sanctions on Venezuela since 2019. The U.S. is executing a massive military buildup in southern Caribbean, and President Donald Trump is campaigning for Maduro to be ousted. Sources said that the seizure had put shipowners and operators involved in transporting Venezuelan...

The Senate Commerce Committee's top Democrat said that the Federal Aviation Administration chief failed to divest a?his holdings in Republic Airways, in violation of an ethics agreement. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington stated that FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford who was previously CEO of Republic Airways had agreed to sell his holdings in 90 days after confirmation. Bedford, at the time of confirmation, reported owning stock in Republic Airways worth between $6 and $30 million. It appears you have retained significant equity in the conflicting asset for months after the deadline set to divest fully from Republic. This is a...

The airport operator reported that a passenger plane from Polish carrier LOT veered from a taxiway on the Lithuanian Vilnius airport's Vilnius after arriving from Warsaw, halting traffic. The airport announced on Facebook that all passengers of flight number LO771 had disembarked. There were no injuries reported. A LOT spokesperson posted on the social media platform X that the Embraer 170 was carrying 63 people and four crew. The spokesperson said that "after landing, all passengers safely debarked via mobile stairs. They were then transported to the terminal." Airport officials have announced that the runway will be closed until 5pm...

Fernando Fauche said that the Dutch port operator APM Terminals would invest $550m to expand Peru's Callao Port starting in January. Fauche, who spoke to journalists at an event to celebrate the start of direct arrivals to the facility in Peru's central coastline, said that the two-year project will increase the terminal capacity to 24,000 container. Port officials confirmed Wednesday that Peru's Callao began offering direct shipping routes in November from China and South Korea. This reduced transit times to approximately 23 days. The service is intended to improve trade relations with Asia and establish Callao as an important Pacific...

Motiva announced on Tuesday that Mexico's Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste signed a deal to purchase the Brazilian infrastructure operator Motiva's airport portfolio for $11.5 billion (about $2.16 billion), which includes net debt. ASUR will pay ASUR 5 billion reais to acquire Motiva's airport stake, with the remainder being paid through net debt. This is according to a filing by Motiva. The sale is still subject to antitrust approvals. It includes Motiva's stakes at 17 Brazilian airports as well as international hubs located in the capital of Ecuador, Quito, Costa Rica, and Curacao. Motiva says that these airports serve about 45...

The state government reported that a tornado, accompanied by high winds and heavy rainfall, struck Parana in the south of Brazil, killing six. Rio Bonito do Iguacu, the town that was hardest hit, suffered multiple structural failures and roof collapses. The state's civil defence agency reported that more than half of the city area had been affected. The power lines and roads were damaged. The authorities reported that 437 people received treatment for injuries, and approximately 1,000 were forced to relocate. Guarapuava, a nearby city, was also affected. According to the Parana Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring System the winds of...

The differentials between Russian Urals and other oil products remained stable on Friday despite low trading activity. Sellers and buyers were not rushing to begin December trading due to the uncertain political climate. The Suez Canal has seen two tankers with around 1.5 million barrels each of Russian Urals crude drop anchor in the sea. This is an indication of the difficulties Moscow faces selling oil following the tightening of Western sanctions last month. The supply problems are expected to worsen next week, as the deadline of November 21 for Rosneft's and Lukoil's transactions is fast approaching. The schedule shows...

The price differential between Urals and Brent for December arrived in India on Thursday, as the flagship blend of Russia was traded at its steepest discount in over a year. This is due to new U.S. sanctions against Russia's top oil producers. The price difference for Russia's flagship Urals oil in Indian ports has widened from $2 to $4 per barrel under Brent for December arrival. This is the largest discount in about a month. According to estimates and shipping and trading sources, Russia's oil imports to western ports will decrease in November due to higher refinery runs but remain...

Iraqi government awarded $764 million to Corporacion America Airports, a Luxembourg-based company, and Amwaj International of Iraq. The companies announced the award in a joint statement released on Wednesday. Amwaj CEO Namir El Akabi said the project will be a build, operate, and transfer model over a period of 25 years, starting with the expansion of the airport’s capacity up to 8.5 millions passengers in the initial phase through the construction of a brand new terminal. Phase 1 of the project is expected to be finished in three years. Baghdad’s international airport was constructed in the 1970s-80s. Since then, little...

The federal government of Brazil plans to auction off the massive Tecon '10 container terminal at Santos Port in the first half of March, said Minister of Ports and airports Silvio Costa Filho on Friday. He said that more than 10 bidders have expressed interest in the auction, including the Philippines-based ICTSI, JBS, JSL and unnamed 'Arab investors. The Minister said that the minimum bid price will be below?6.4 billion (about $1.19 billion), the amount of money the winning bidder must invest to build and run the terminal. Roberto Lopes confirmed that the Rio Brasil Terminal, controlled by ICTSI will...

Argentina, a global food supplier, is planning to boost its grain and mineral exports through privatization, and a modernization program of its railway network. Industry leaders claim that this will reduce freight costs in regions located far from ports by half. The first tender will be for the Belgrano Cargas, which runs the three biggest freight train lines in the country. The initiative, which will be launched in early 2019, could increase production of global commodities like soybeans and corn. It also includes copper and lithium. The project could also help transport sand from Vaca Muerta in Argentina's Southwest. The...

The Brazilian Agricultural Exchange (BAB), announced on Thursday, had recorded the first physical settlement in Brazil of a grain derivative in over 15 years. Corn was delivered to a railroad terminal in Rondonopolis in Mato Grosso. Eric Cardoni, chief executive of BAB, a platform for agricultural trading that started operations in September, said that the volume of trading at BAB increased dramatically last month. Cardoni stated that the first delivery of corn was 1,800 metric tonnes, which is equivalent to three contracts. Cardoni also said that another 9,000 metric tons (15 contracts) will be delivered later this month. The market...

Sources in Berlin confirmed that the German government supports Brazil's proposal for a fund to protect rainforests, but it hasn't yet decided on how much money they will contribute. Brazil, as host of the COP30 Climate talks, will launch its flagship Tropical Forests Forever Facility next week in order to raise $125 billion for the conservation of endangered forests. Sources claim that the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will attend the talks and finds the idea extremely interesting. They added that the amount of the financial contribution should be left undetermined for the time being. The German development minister indicated that...

In a statement released on Wednesday, the workers' union of BHP's Escondida copper mine in Chile, which is the largest mine in the world, expressed concern over two recent accidents that involved autonomous trucks. The union, who has been critical of BHP in the past and has held strikes during contract negotiations, stated that on August 25, an autonomous truck crashed into shovel machinery, and the previous week, another truck overturned. No injuries were reported. Patricio Tapia, head of the Union, said that workers do not operate vehicles but they are responsible for other tasks, such as maintaining the roads....

The Brazilian coffee harvest for 2025/26 accelerated in the last week to 35% but remained lower than the level in 2024. Sales of the anticipated output were on par with last year's, at 22%. Safras & Mercado reported that the robusta bean harvest increased by seven percentage points in the week ending June 11. The dry weather favored the robusta beans. Rains have slowed down the work on arabica fields in the states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Parana in the southeast. This is two percentage points less than the level of 37% seen at the same time last...

Brazilian rail operator Rumo has terminated a 2024 deal to sell a part of the terminal at Latin America’s largest port, to U.S. commodities traders Bunge and to a subsidiary from Japan’s Zen-Noh Group. Rumo stated in a filing with the Securities Commission that the conditions of the agreement for a 50% stake in the XXXIX Terminal, located in Santos Port, had not been fully met before the deadline. It did not give any further details. The parts were Announcement of the Deal Rumo reported that the agreement would be worth 600 million reais ($107.44 millions) in May 2024. Bunge...

Abiove, the traders' association, and a toll-road operator announced on Tuesday that indigenous Brazilian protesters had lifted their blockade of Brazil's Trans-Amazonian Highway. This reopened a vital grain shipping route connecting farmers to the Miritituba River Port. On March 25, Munduruku activists shut down the road (also known as BR-230) to pressure Brazil's Supreme Court into overturning a law that limits indigenous land rights in 2023. Grain traders reported that the protests prevented the shipment of around 70 000 metric tons worth nearly $30 million of grains every day. Abiove reported that it had learned on Tuesday morning the indigenous...

In recent days, protests by indigenous peoples and poor roads disrupted the shipping of Brazil's bumper soya crop via the river port Miritituba within the Amazon rainforest. This has caused concern for global companies such as Cargill and Bunge who have important operations. Abiove, the association of grain handlers in Nigeria, reported on Friday that road access to Miritituba had been partially or totally blocked for two weeks. This has prevented the shipment of almost 70,000 tons per day of grain, equivalent to almost $30 millions of product value. In a statement issued jointly with the farm group Aprosoja Brasil,...

The tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump on Mexican imports pose a significant risk to farmers in Jacksonville. This is because Mexico's retaliation could cause corn buyers to switch to South American rivals. Mexico is the top corn-importing country in the world. At a time when prices of grains have plummeted and chemical and seed costs for crops are on the rise, this market is crucial for U.S. producers. Farmers in Jacksonville, a small city of 17,000 residents, are more likely to benefit from Mexican demand than other farmers. The residents live near a grain loading facility where corn...

Analysts said that the sale of Brazil's soy crop was lagging, due to high freight costs, an increased local currency, and the extra caution taken by trading companies to complete purchases. According to the consultancy Safras & Mercado, Brazil's soybean crop for 2024/25 has already sold 39.4% more than total production expected. This is higher than the 31,9% recorded in the same time period of 2024. It is still below the average for five years of 43.2%. Guilherme Palahares, Santander Research's head of food and beverage research, said that "Freight was the biggest factor in limiting business." To reduce risk,...

Brazilian conglomerate Cosan has actually sold some 173 million shares it owned in Vale, it stated on Thursday, dumping a stake that made it a crucial shareholder of the mining giant as it looks to reduce financial obligation. Cosan, which did not divulge monetary information, stated in a. securities filing that its decision to sell the stake of approximately. 4.05% in Vale was based exclusively on the goal of enhancing its. capital structure. According to a source familiar with the transaction, Cosan. raised around 9 billion reais ($ 1.5 billion) with the sale,. permitting it to decrease its financial obligation...