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Indian edible oil buyers secure immediate shipments as prices rise
Five dealers said that the Middle East conflict and rising vegetable oil prices are driving Indian buyers to purchase oil as soon as possible. India, the world's largest vegetable oil importer, may be able to limit any further price increases in palm oil, sunflower oil and soyoil. However, it could tighten up local supplies by April. Mumbai-based dealer of a global trading house said that local edible oil prices have increased in recent days in response to a rally on global markets. However, refiners are reluctant at these higher levels to purchase overseas. He said that "buyers are not confident that prices will continue to rise or that suppliers of soyoil, sunflower oil, and other oils will be able deliver on time" because freight rates were rising. India imports a large amount of sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine and a lot of soyoil from Argentina and Brazil. The average sea voyage from South America takes six weeks, while the Black Sea usually takes three to four weeks. Sandeep Bajoria is the chief executive officer of Sunvin Group. A vegetable oil brokerage. The market is worried that if the Middle East conflict escalates sunflower oil shipments may be diverted to Africa rather than passing through the Red Sea. He added that diverting via Africa could add more than ten days to the transit time, and would increase freight costs up to $20 per ton. India imports palm oil, and also purchases it from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Shipments usually reach India's ports within a week. A New Delhi-based trader at a global trading house said that palm oil shipments would be able to meet Indian demand. However, buyers are still reluctant as recent price increases have pushed the refining margins down into negative territory. "Buyers prefer to purchase the lower priced inventory from local sellers than higher-priced exports. He said that they are waiting for global prices to be corrected. Last month, the landed price of crude palm oil imported was almost $100 lower per ton than crude soyoil, but now the two oils can be purchased at the same price.
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Fuel costs are increasing, so airlines are reducing their prices and cutting back on their outlook.
The U.S. and Israel war against Iran has caused a surge in jet fuel costs, which has impacted the global aviation industry. Airlines have raised fares, revised financial forecasts, and increased fares. In recent days, jet fuel prices have risen from $85 to $90 per barrel up to $150 to $200 per barrel for an industry that accounts for as much as a quarter in operating costs. Here is an alphabetical list of the ways airlines are responding to this issue: AIR NEW ZEALAND - The airline announced on Tuesday that it would be increasing ticket prices and suspending its earnings forecast for fiscal 2026 due to the unprecedented volatility of global jet fuel markets. Price increases for domestic flights are NZ$10 ($6), NZ$20 on short-haul services, and NZ$90 for long-haul flights. Further price, schedule, and network changes may be made if jet fuel costs continue to rise. CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS Hong Kong Airlines said Tuesday that it had added additional flights in March to London and Zurich to deal with disrupted travel routes. The airline stated that it reviews fuel surcharges on flights from Hong Kong to Europe and North America monthly, and they remained at $72.90 last month. HONG KONG Airlines Local carrier announced that it will increase fuel surcharges up to 35.2% starting Thursday. The biggest increases are on flights between Hong Kong, the Maldives and Bangladesh, and Nepal, where the charges will go from 284 Hong Kong dollars to 384 Hong Kong dollars ($49). QANTAS AIRWAYS On Tuesday, the Australian airline announced that it would 'raise fares' on international routes during the week of the 9th March and is looking at adding capacity to its existing Europe routes. SAS (Scandinavian Airlines). The dominant airline of the Nordic countries announced on Tuesday that they had made a temporary adjustment to their prices due to the rising costs for jet fuel. VIETNAM Airlines Local officials said that the Vietnam-based airline had requested assistance from the government to remove an "environmental tax" on jet fuel. Operating costs for Vietnamese airlines, they claimed, have risen by 70% as a result of rising jet fuel prices. Reporting by Mireia Kaesebier and Marleen Merino; editing by Matt Scuffham
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Gold gains and oil price declines counteract each other to boost TSX futures.
The Canadian stock index futures rose on Tuesday as the gold rally cushioned the oil price decline after President Trump said that the Middle East war could soon be over. This kept investors cautious in the resource-heavy markets. As of 5:57 a.m., March futures for the S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.4%. ET. U.S. Stock Futures edged upwards Tuesday, as optimism about a faster resolution of the Middle East conflict eased fears over inflation due to energy. Toronto's benchmark index closed higher on Tuesday after briefly reaching its lowest intraday levels since February 6. Trump said Monday that the conflict with Iran might end "soon", causing crude oil prices to fall below $100, after spiking as high as $119 one day earlier. Crude oil remains volatile, with crude falling as much as?11%?the day after a?20% gain on Monday. This is affecting Canada's commodities-heavy markets. The G7 nations announced on Monday they are ready to take the "necessary steps" to reduce surging oil prices, but did not commit to releasing emergency reserves. As of 0954 GMT, spot gold was marginally higher at $5,182.85. U.S. Gold Futures for April Delivery rose 1.9% to $5199.70. The monetary policy outlook will be determined by the U.S. jobs report and U.S. inflation numbers due later this week. The timing is perfect as the Bank of Canada faces increasing geopolitical risks and supply-side challenges ahead of its policy decision on March 18. Scotiabank has downgraded Air Canada from "sector Outperform" to "sector Perform" and reduced its target price from C$27 to C$21. CLICK CODES TO GET CANADIAN MARKETS UPDATES TSX Market Report Canadian Dollar and Bond Report Global Stocks Poll for Canada Canadian Markets Directory (Reporting and Editing by Vijay Kishore in Bengaluru, with Rashika Singh reporting from Bengaluru)
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India increases coal usage for summer electricity as Mideast crisis affects LNG supplies
Two industry 'officials' said that India would likely rely more on its coal -capacity this summer to meet the peak demand for electricity as liquefied gas supplies become tighter after shipping disruptions caused by the u.s.-israeli war against Iran impacted?exports of major producers. New Delhi usually pushes the power plants to increase production during the summer months of April-June, including expensive gas-fired generators, to meet the surging demand for electricity. It also subsidises companies' costs to shield the customers from higher prices. An official familiar with the matter said that the government has not received any bids yet from power companies for supplying 12,000 megawatts-hours of gas-based electricity during the summer months. The tender will be closed in two days. Second official stated that the power ministry is working to get coal plants back online after planned outages. They also advise generators to avoid shutting down during summer peak months. Two sources from the company said that NTPC, India's largest utility, has informed India's grid regulator they will not be able to provide gas-fired power? during the summer months of April-June. NTPC and federal power ministry have not responded to emails seeking comments. EMERGENCY DISPOSITIONS India invoked emergency provisions, declared force majeure and reprioritised natural gas supply to key sectors like households and fertiliser factories. Petronet LNG Ltd., India's largest?gas importer has also sent a notice of force majeure to its customers, including the top power suppliers GAIL (India) Ltd., Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petrol Corp., after supplies from Qatar and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company ceased. The country has about 20 gigawatts of gas-based power generation capacity. This is typically operated at 6-10% due to the high cost of LNG but increases to around 30% in summer. India will not face any material power cuts even if the peak demand reaches between 250 and 260 GW in this?summer. This is because there are ample coal, lignite nuclear, hydro, and wind capacities, according to Gautam 'Shahi senior director at Crisil Ratings. India relies on coal for?75% or its electricity generation. Vasudev Pamanani, director of Gujarat-based coal trader i-Energy Resources, said that India's thermal market has seen steady import demand. This is especially true for coal grades used by electricity producers. Sethuraman NR, Saad Sayeed (Editing and Reporting)
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Operator: No signs of sabotage during the Finland-Sweden outage
'An undersea cable connecting?Finland to Sweden suffered a sudden outage - on Tuesday - due a 'technical problem, but there was no evidence of sabotage.' The operators Fingrid & Svenska kraftnat confirmed this. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 the Baltic Sea region is on high alert due to a series?of underwater cable, telecom link, and gas pipeline outages. Sabotage and?shipping accident are blamed. Fingrid's spokesperson Jonne Jappinen stated that the outage of the FennoSkan 2 interconnector on Tuesday was caused by a malfunction at a substation. The undersea cable segment appeared to have not been affected. Svenska kraftnat, a Swedish news agency, also stated that the outage had been caused by technical problems and that the police - or any other law enforcement agencies - were not involved in the investigation. According to a statement posted by Svenska 'kraftnat to the Nord Pool Message Platform, it was estimated that the outage would?last for?around 18 hours. The?Swedish firm said that it expected Fenno-Skan to be back in operation soon. Stine Jacobsen, Soren Jeppesen at Copenhagen and Essi Lahto at Helsinki report. Editing by Terje Solsvik & Louise Heavens.
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Kenya Pipeline Company shares slightly higher in early trading after IPO
Kenya Pipeline Company shares?traded slightly?higher on Tuesday in?early _trade after listing on Nairobi stock exchange. At 0715 GMT, the shares traded at 9.4 shillings compared to the Initial Public Offering price of?9 shillings. Kenyan government sold a 65% stake in pipeline company raising 823.07 million dollars. This was the 'first major IPO' for the East African nation in nearly 20 years. The IPO received a high level of interest despite concerns about lower valuations by some banks, a longer offer period, and media reports about?investor apathy. The government said that it would use between 15 and 20 billion shillings from the proceeds of the IPO to expand the main airport in Nairobi. The President William Ruto administration, with a limited fiscal space to finance a tax- or debt driven development, has turned to securitising income streams and selling state assets.
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North Korea and China resume passenger trains service after a six-year break
The Unification Ministry of South Korea announced on Tuesday that passenger train services between Pyongyang, North Korea and Beijing will resume this week. This marks the end of a six-year suspension due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. After years of border closures, which began in early 2020, the resumption of traffic restores an important transport link between North Korea's primary economic ally and itself. China's State Railway?told Yonhap News Agency the Pyongyang to Beijing train would?begin round-trip service starting March 12 and operate four times per week. Yonhap reported that only 'the last two carriages would initially carry passengers, mostly diplomats or others on official business. Ticket sales to the public are possible if there are seats available. North Korea is closed to foreign tourism for the most part, except in limited circumstances, mainly for Russian tour groups with restricted arrangements. This is according to travel agencies that organise trips to North Korea. The agencies reported that before the pandemic, Chinese tourists accounted for the majority of foreign visitors to North Korea. The tour organizers announced?on a Monday that North Korea has cancelled the Pyongyang Marathon next month?for reasons not specified. The race is one of the few international events in the isolated country that are open to foreign participants. (Reporting and editing by Ed Davies.)
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Qantas increases fares on international flights as fuel prices rise due to the Mideast conflict
Qantas Airways announced on Tuesday that it would increase fares for its international flights 'this week' due to the'surge' in jet fuel prices caused by the Middle East conflict. In a press release, the Australian flag carrier said that it would be considering increasing capacity on existing routes to?Europe in the months ahead. The U.S. and Israel war on Iran 'has sent oil prices soaring, upending travel around the world and sparking fears of a travel slump. Due to the closure of airspace and capacity constraints, airfares on Asia-Europe routes are already higher. Air New Zealand's competitor, Qantas, announced an increase in ticket prices earlier that day, making it the first airline to do so since World War II. Qantas stated in an email that its European flights were "operating as planned" and were over 90% full in March, which is about 15 percentage points higher than the typical levels at this time of year. Qantas reported that more customers are choosing to travel via the United States and other Asian cities as well as Johannesburg. They connect through Qantas partner airlines'?network. In the next few months, we will be exploring options to redeploy existing capacity onto European routes.
US container imports dropped 6.5% in February but are still the fourth highest on record according to Descartes
According to Descartes Systems Group, a provider of supply chain technology, U.S. container volumes dropped 6.5% in February compared to last year. This is typical for the holiday shopping season following the winter holidays.
The U.S. seaports handled 2,093,422 TEUs (standard measure of container volume)?last?month. Descartes reported that this was the fourth strongest February in history. This performance highlights the relative resilience in U.S. demand for imports, despite ongoing policy and economic uncertainties," the 'firm' said. It added that import volumes in February 2025 were likely inflated due to importer frontloading aimed at rushing goods into the country before U.S. president Donald Trump’s new tariffs took effect. Imports from China were 728,562 TEUS last month. This is a 16.5% drop year-over-year. Descartes reported that China's share in total U.S. container imports rose marginally to 34.8%. Imports from India, Thailand, and South Korea each experienced larger declines.
Descartes stated that "trade conditions are increasingly shaped by geopolitical shifts and escalation,"
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision on February 20, that Trump had overstepped his powers by using emergency powers to impose "sweeping tariffs." His administration announced an immediate 10% tariff on all imports, with plans to increase it to 15% for 150 days. On a different front, the?U.S. The attacks by the U.S. and Israel on Iran has slowed down the essential oil trade across the Strait of Hormuz, causing fuel prices to soar. MSC, the industry leader in container carriers, has implemented emergency fuel fees and stopped picking up and delivering cargo to Gulf ports. This could cause a 'backup' that would cascade throughout global supply chains.
It has also reignited fears that Iran-backed Houthi militants may resume attacks against commercial ships in Red Sea. (Reporting and editing by Jamie Freed; Lisa Baertlein)
(source: Reuters)