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South Korea's MFG purchases about 66,000 T of corn, traders claim
In an international auction held on Tuesday, the Major Feedmill Group of South Korea (MFG), a group that owns and operates feed mills in South Korea, purchased approximately 66,000 metric tonnes of animal feed corn, which could have been sourced from either the United States, South America, or South Africa. A consignment of goods was purchased at an estimated cost and freight rate (c&f), plus an extra $1.50 per ton for port unloading. It was thought that the seller would be ADM, a trading house. The shipment was purchased for arrival around the 28th of July. A second consignment up to 70,000 tonnes also sought for the tender's arrival on August 3 was not purchased. The reports reflect the opinions of traders, and it is still possible to estimate prices and volume later. The consignment was to be shipped between June 24 and July 13 if it came from the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast, between June 4 and 23 if it came from the U.S. Gulf coast, May 30 to June 18 if coming from South America, or between June 9-28 from South Africa. Only 55,000 tons are required if South African origins is chosen. The traders said that Asian import interest had been sparked by the Chicago Board of Trade Corn futures falling on Monday due to spillover pressure caused by weaker wheat and progress made in U.S. sowing. A group in Taiwan bought 65,000 tons of U.S. origin corn on Tuesday. (Reporting and editing by Kirsten Doovan, with Michael Hogan)
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South Korea's MFG purchases between 50,000 and 65,000 T of feed wheat, traders claim
Major Feedmill Group, a South Korean company, purchased between 50,000 and 65,000 animal feed wheat from around the world in a private transaction on Tuesday. The deal was made without a formal international tender. A consignment of goods was purchased for an estimated cost and freight (c&f), plus $1.50 per ton, as a surcharge to cover additional port unloading. Cargill was thought to be the seller. Arrival of corn in South Korea was scheduled for September 15th. If the corn was sourced in the Black Sea area, then shipment would have been between July 11 and September 11. Origins are not allowed for Russia, China and Pakistan. Argentina, Denmark, and Pakistan are also excluded. By May 31, the volume of goods to be delivered must be determined. The reports reflect the assessments of traders, and future estimates on prices and volume are possible. In a separate international bid, the MFG purchased animal feed corn on Tuesday. Michael Hogan reports.
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Honeywell leads first-quarter aerospace results
Honeywell's revenue and profit for the first quarter of 2018 exceeded Wall Street expectations on Tuesday as a lack of new aircraft fueled demand. The shares of the industrial giant and aerospace company rose by 5.5% during premarket trading, as the company raised its lower-end profit expectations for the year. Honeywell's projection, which takes into account the impact of tariffs on demand and the global uncertainty, shows confidence in Honeywell's ability to cushion this hit thanks to the rising sales of firms that provide parts and jet maintenance services. The airline industry has had to fly older, more maintenance-intensive planes, while an attempted production rampup by planemakers has resulted in a surge of orders for parts suppliers. While the U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on metals like aluminum and steel, along with high tariffs against countries such as China, they have threatened to increase costs and put pressure on an already stressed supply chain. Honeywell expects to achieve adjusted profit per share between $10.20 and $10.50 in 2025. This is a significant increase from its previous forecast between $10.10-10.50. The company has, however, slightly reduced its sales projection for the year. It now expects between $39,6 billion to $40.5 billion compared with its previous guidance of $39.6 and $40.6 billion. In the first quarter, sales at its largest revenue generator, the aerospace division, increased by about 14%, to $4.17 Billion. Honeywell announced in February that it will separate its automation and aerospace businesses. The separation is expected to be completed in the second half 2026. LSEG data shows that the company's total sales for the quarter rose by about 8%, to $9.82 Billion, compared with an expectation of $9.59 Billion. The adjusted profit per share was $2.51, which beat the Street estimate of only $2.21. (Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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What could be causing the Iberian Power Outage?
A massive blackout in Spain, Portugal, and parts of France has prompted a search for the cause. The outage, which halted traffic lights, trains, and bank machines, was one of Europe's largest ever power system failures. Cyber Attack? Portugal's Premier Luis Montenegro said that there were no signs of a cyberattack. However, both countries continue to investigate all possible hypotheses. EXPLAINATIONS SO FAR In a Monday night statement, Spanish grid operator Red Electrica pointed out a "strong fluctuation in the flow of power" that caused "a very substantial loss in generation." The electrical system was not designed to handle this loss in generation, and so the Spanish grid has been disconnected from the European grid. Red Electrica reported that the electrical system collapsed and caused voltage losses at the supply points for both the Spanish peninsular electrical system and the Portuguese peninsular electrical system. What causes power outages? Extreme weather conditions such as high winds, storms or lightning are the most common causes of unplanned power cuts that disable electricity on a wide scale. These faults can also occur when power stations, power lines, substations, or other parts or the grid or transmission system are affected. The majority of power outages last anywhere from a few seconds to several hours. What is the IBERIAN Power Mix? Spain is Europe's largest producer of renewable energy. The Monday shutdown has already sparked a debate over whether the volatile supply of solar or wind power made its systems more susceptible to an outage. Red Electrica data indicates that solar photovolatic energy (PV) provided almost 59% Spain's electrical power at the time the blackout occurred. Wind power contributed nearly 12% of Spain's electricty, nuclear approximately 11%, and combined cycle gas plant 5%. Red Electrica data shows that in just five minutes, on Monday between 1230-1235 local time (1030-1035 GMT), the solar PV generation fell from 18 GW down to 8 GW. What factors could be involved? Sources with direct knowledge in the sector have confirmed that the Spanish grid had very little "inertia" at the time the outage occurred. Inertia is the amount of energy in large rotating masses like generators or industrial motors. Inertia stabilizes the grid when demand or production suddenly drops or increases. In those conditions, if production drops for any reason (there is less inertia), the grid will lose (more) inertia. Everything fails. In a blackout you have to rebuild the inertia, which can take a few hours, before things are brought back online. Victor Becerra of the University of Portsmouth in the UK, a professor of power system engineering, said that the Iberian blackout showed the complexity of managing energy systems, especially as they incorporate increasing amounts of intermittent renewable energies, such as solar and wind. Reporting by Nina Chestney and Pietro Lombardi; editing by Susan Fenton.
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Data shows that Kazakhstan Q1 oil imports are up 7% year-on-year due to a CPC boost.
Calculations based on official sources and data showed that Kazakhstan increased its oil exports from January to March by 7%, to 19.51 million metric tonnes (1.63 millions barrels per day), thanks to an increase in supply via the Caspian Pipeline. The oil output and exports of Kazakhstan, a country that ranks among the top 10 oil producers, are in the spotlight. This is because the Central Asian nation has exceeded the quotas set by the OPEC+ group, which has angered several members, including Saudi Arabia. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium exports oil via the Black Sea from Kazakhstan. Drone attacks have plagued it, as has a dispute over terminal equipment in Russia's Black Sea Port of Novorossiisk. In February, a Russian drone is believed to have attacked a CPC pumping facility in the southern part of the country. A nearby oil depot in March was also set on fire by an alleged Ukrainian drone. According to the Situational and Analysis Center for Fuel and Energy Complex of the Energy Ministry in Kazakhstan, exports through the CPC increased 11% compared to a year ago to 16,388 millions tons. The data revealed that supplies from the Chevron Tengiz oilfield - the largest in the country - grew by 26% during the period, to 8.944 millions tons, due to the expansion of the field. Exports via the Atasu - Alashankou pipeline to China dropped by 11% to 238,000 tonnes in the first quarter of this year. The amount of oil exported by Kazakhstan via the Druzhba pipe, built in the Soviet Union and running through Russia into Germany, increased from 300.000 tons to 377,000 tonnes in January-March 2024. Kaztransoil reports that supplies through the Baku-Tbilisi - Ceyhan pipeline, which was designed to bypass Russia, decreased in the first quarter from 364,650 tones in the previous period. Mark Potter is responsible for reporting and editing.
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The German LNG import terminals
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, Germany has sought to import liquefied gas (LNG), to replace Russian gas piped to Germany. The first step was to deploy floating storage units (FSRUs), which receive seaborne LNG. Longer term, it planned shore-based regasification facilities and terminals to import and manufacture ammonia and clean hydrogen. Here are the latest updates: MUKRAN Gascade's OAL pipeline supplies the terminal on Ruegen Island in Baltic Sea with LNG. The private operator Deutsche ReGas announced on April 16 that there were no regasification slots left at Mukran until 2025. They said LNG carriers arrive weekly with approximately one terawatt-hour of gas. ReGas had cancelled the Energos Power FSRU in February due to low usage. The company now only uses the Norwegian FSRU Neptune of Norwegian operator Hoegh, after it said that it was struggling with the fees offered by DET to attract cargoes to terminals in North Sea supervised by DET. ReGas said that the gas demand would be high ahead of winter next year, citing EU decision to extend the requirements for refilling underground storage facilities. ReGas has launched, in April, a three-month round of bidding to expand Mukran’s capacity. The bids will offer an additional 5 Bcm per year between 2027 and 2043. It plans to restart a 2nd FSRU, and restore the full capacity of 13,5 bcm in 2027. LUBMIN ReGas signed a 2024 agreement with Hoegh to convert the Baltic Sea port (a precursor of Mukran) into an ammonia/hydrogen terminal. WILHELMSHAVEN Utility Uniper launched Germany’s first FSRU operations, Wilhelmshaven 1 on the North Sea in 2022. Uniper has plans to build a 200-MW electrolyser that will be powered by local wind energy and a land based ammonia reception terminal. DET confirmed that on April 28, the Excelsior regasification vessel arrived at an jetty constructed by Tree Energy Solutions. This ship provides another option for imports, DET stated. Previous announcement . Over the next few weeks, Excelsior is going to be tested and connected. Hanseatic Energy Hub took a final decision in 2024 to invest in a terminal that is ammonia ready and will be located at the Elbe River inland port. The terminal will start operating in 2027. The terminal will cost approximately 1 billion euro ($1.14 billion). The employment of the FSRU Energos Force that was supposed to last until 2027 ahead of the start of operations at the onshore terminal is being delayed until further notice. This comes after DET and HEH canceled contracts due to unresolved differences about construction schedules, payments, and other issues. BRUNSBUETTEL Brunsbuettel FSRU began operations in 2023 along the North Sea Coast. It was initially chartered by RWE and operated by its trading arm, before being handed over to DET. The facility is a precursor to a land based LNG plant that has been approved for 40 million euro of state assistance. The terminal could begin operations by the end of 2026 when an adjacent ammonia facility, which was recently inaugurated, could also be operational. ($1 = 0.8772 euro) (Reporting and editing by Vera Eckert)
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China's Guangzhou Port opens shipping route to Peru
China's Guangzhou Port opened a direct shipping route to Chancay Port in Peru on February 2, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The move, it reported, would reduce logistic costs and boost trade with Latin America. Chancay, located north of Lima and offering non-stop trips to Asia, is now open for business. It can accommodate the largest vessels along South America's Pacific Coast. Beijing announced the announcement as it aims to strengthen its relationship with Latin America, a resource-rich region, amid trade tensions between the United States and China. CCTV reported that on Tuesday the 300-metre COSCO Volga vessel was loading 400 containers with refrigerators, auto parts, household appliances, and other goods produced in Guangdong, onto a ship. The broadcaster stated that the direct route would reach Peru in 30 days or less and would reduce logistics costs by 20%. The new route will speed up the connection between Guangzhou Nansha Port, Mexico's Port of Manzanillo, and Chile's Port of San Antonio. CCTV reported that exports of household appliances, electronic goods, furniture, and toys to Latin America are increasing. They also said that red wine and high-quality fruits and seafoods from the Andes and Pacific coasts would be more readily available in China. The first phase of the Chancay port, which was built by Cosco with a $1.4billion investment, has been inaugurated by Peruvian president Dina Boluarte, and Chinese president Xi Jinping, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit (APEC), held in Lima, in November. Xi hailed a 15-berth deep-water port as the start of a 21st century maritime Silk Road and part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This initiative is a modern revival of China’s ancient Silk Road trading routes. China will spend more than $1 billion to make Lima a major hub for shipping between Asia and South America. Farah master in Hong Kong, Beijing and the newsroom. Michael Perry edited.
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South Korea's MFG bids up to 140,000 t corn, traders claim
European traders reported on Tuesday that the Major Feedmill Group of South Korea (MFG) had issued an international bid to purchase up 140,000 metric tonnes of animal-feed grain. Also, the deadline for submitting price offers is Tuesday, April 29, 2019. Two consignments of between 55,000 and 70,000 tons are expected to arrive in South Korea during July and August. Shipping of one consignment to arrive in South Korea on July 28 was requested between June 24-July 13, if it is sourced from U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast, between June 4-23, if it is sourced from U.S. Gulf coast, May 30-June 18, if it comes from South America, and between June 9-28, if coming from South Africa. A second consignment was requested for arrival on August 3, if it came from the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast, the U.S. Gulf coast between June 10 and 29, South America between June 5 and 24 or South Africa between June 15 to 4. The tender is seeking price offers both in terms of outright cost per ton and freight included (c&f), or at a higher premium than the Chicago corn contract for July 2025. Chicago Board of Trade corn contracts sparked Asian interest in corn imports, traders said. On Monday, a group from Taiwan purchased 65,000 tons U.S. origin corn as a result of the spillover pressure caused by falling wheat prices. (Reporting and editing by Michael Hogan)
Discounts on Western Canada Select Heavy Crude are now wider.
On Tuesday, the discount between West Texas Intermediate (WTI), North America's benchmark futures contract, and Western Canada Select (WCS), a heavy crude from Western Canada (WCS), widened.
WCS for delivery in May at Hardisty, Alberta settled at $9.30 per barrel below WTI according to brokerage CalRock. It had settled at $9.10 per barrel under the U.S. benchmark Monday.
* The WCS Discount briefly increased last week, following an oil spillage in North Dakota that caused Keystone Operator South Bow to temporarily close the 4,327 km (2,689) pipeline between Canada and the U.S.
It has returned to historically tight levels due to increased demand for heavy oil as a result of U.S. sanctions against countries that produce heavy crude, such as Venezuela. Also, Mexico's heavy crude exports have decreased. * The global oil price was little changed Tuesday, as investors digested headlines about President Donald Trump's on and off again tariffs. They also tried to determine how much the U.S. China trade war would reduce global economic growth. (Reporting and editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi in Calgary)
(source: Reuters)