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South Korea's KFA purchased up to 70,000 T of corn in a private deal, traders claim
According to European traders, the Korea Feed Association in South Korea purchased between 65,000 and 70,000 metric tonnes of animal feed corn on Thursday in a private transaction without issuing a tender to international buyers. The KFA Incheon section was reported to have purchased the corn from CHS at an estimated cost and freight included price of $251.50 per ton and some at 175 U.S. Cents a bushel over the Chicago may corn contract. Incheon's KFA section is also known as the Feed Buyers' Group. Arrival of corn is expected around June 20. The shipment of corn from the Pacific Northwest Coast is between May 5 to June 5. Decide on the volume of goods to be delivered by April 15. The reports reflect the assessments of traders, and it is still possible to estimate prices and volume later. Michael Hogan is reporting.
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Sources say that China's state-owned firms have reduced their Russian oil imports due to sanctions.
Multiple trade sources reported that Chinese state oil companies have shied away from Russian crude oil in the past month. Two importers stopped purchases, while two others reduced volumes to assess compliance after recent U.S. Sanctions on Moscow. The former Biden administration's January 10 sanctions against Russian oil producers Gazprom and Surgutneft, as well as insurance companies and over 100 vessels in an effort to reduce Moscow's oil revenues led to a sharp drop in Russian oil sales to India and China. Sources with knowledge of the situation said that while Russian shipments have recovered after more non-sanctioned tanks joined the trade with China, Sinopec, the state-run oil company in China, and Zhenhua Oil, the Zhenhua Oil subsidiary, halted their purchases of Russian oil loaded on March due to concerns about dealing with sanctioned firms. The reduced purchases by Chinese state-owned companies have weighed down on Russian oil, reducing Moscow's revenues and adding additional pressure to Russia in advance of any possible ceasefire agreement with Ukraine. Beijing-based source of state oil said that his company has ceased Russian oil sales as it conducts compliance checks and awaits a "clearer picture" regarding a possible Russia-U.S. agreement to end the Ukraine War. The person declined to name their company or identify themselves as they were not authorized to speak to media. Surgutneftegaz, and Gazprom neft are responsible for about a quarter of the seaborne shipments in Russia's flagship blend ESPO. Both companies export 1.2 million tons of crude oil to China each month, which is roughly 300,000. An executive in the trading department of a Russian supplier who regularly deals with Chinese state buyers stated that the companies are shunning oil from the newly sanctioned firms. The executive said, "They're taking a rest for the moment while they consider if there is a way to work around." China has stated that it is opposed to unilateral sanctions. Sinopec and Zhenhua Oil have not responded to our requests for comments. Gazprom Neft et Surgutneftegaz have not responded to our requests for comments. Independent refiners are stepping in to support prices, averaging a premium of $2.50 to $3 per barrel over ICE Brent for cargoes loading March, according to the executive and other traders. Recent transactions for April-loadings likely occurred at a premium of $2 or less per barrel. They added that prices differed for different oil companies and vessels. Chinese state-owned firms are the biggest buyers of Russian oil in China. They buy roughly half, or 1.3 million barrels per day, of Russia's exports to China. Independent refiners take the rest. China is the largest crude oil importer in the world, and 20% of its crude oil imports come from Russia. LOWER VOLUMES PetroChina, a major ESPO purchaser from Rosneft - the top Russian producer - continued to make seaborne purchases, but in lower quantities, according to two sources. CNOOC has reduced its March loading volumes as well, according to traders. CNOOC is a regular buyer and seller of Russian oil. PetroChina and CNOOC have not responded to our requests for comments. PetroChina, in addition to the seaborne imports of Russian oil (mostly ESPO grade), continued lifting 800,000.-900,000. bpd via pipelines. This was done under a long term agreement. Traders said Sinopec has filled the gap in Russian imports by importing cargoes from West Africa and the Middle East, as well as Brazil. Reporting by Chen Aizhu, Florence Tan and reporters in Moscow. Editing by Tony Munroe, Muralikumar Aantharaman.
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CK Hutchison shares fall after China issues critical comments on the port sale to U.S. interest
The shares of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison fell more than 6% after China's Hong Kong Macau Affairs Office published a commentary on state media that criticized the company's sale of a port as a betrayal to China. The Hong Kong-based group said last week it agreed to sell most of its global $22.8 billion ports business, including assets it holds along the strategically-important Panama Canal, to a group led by U.S. investment firm BlackRock. The deal has been hailed by U.S. president Donald Trump who had called for the removal of the waterway from what he said was Chinese ownership. The state-owned Ta Kung Pao, based in Hong Kong, published a comment on Thursday saying that the deal "betrays the Chinese people and sells them out", neglects national interest and shows CK Hutchison's "backbone" as well as his profit-seeking. The column was also posted on the website of the State Council, China's highest-level authority overseeing Hong Kong affairs. CK Hutchison is a Hong Kong-based and listed company owned by billionaire Li Kashing. The firm has insisted that its business operations remain independent of China. The comment and the fall in CK Hutchison’s share price is an indication of the complicated geopolitical situation the company faces, amid Trump's pressure on China and investor fears that the deal may not have been backed by Beijing. CK Hutchison and Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. After a drop of up to 6.7% during the early trading, its shares fell 4.6% by noon. The main Heng Sang Index rose 2.5%. Reporting by Clare Jim, James Pomfret and Editing by
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Officials say that the Pentagon requested military options for access to the Panama Canal.
Two U.S. officials said on Thursday that the U.S. Military must provide options in order to guarantee the United States full access to Panama Canal. Donald Trump has repeatedly said that he wants "to take back" Panama Canal He has not provided any details about the specifics of how he will do this, or whether military action may be necessary. Unnamed U.S. officials said that a document - described as a interim national security guide by the new administration - called for the military to consider military options in order to protect access to the Panama Canal. A second official stated that the U.S. Military had many options for safeguarding access. This included ensuring a strong partnership with Panamanian military. In 2022, the Pentagon published its last National Defense Strategy. This document outlines the military's priorities. A document interim provides broad policy direction, similar to what Trump's executive order and public comments have done. This is in advance of a more detailed policy document such as a formal NDS. The Pentagon didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment. CNN was the first to report on this interim document. NBC News reported earlier Thursday that the White House ordered the Pentagon create options for the Panama Canal. Trump asserted the U.S. must take back the canal, because China has control of it and could use it to undermine American interests. In his inaugural speech In January, Trump repeated his accusations that Panama had broken its promises for the final transfer canal in 1999. A foreign power that attempted to forcefully take over the canal would be in violation of international law. Both the U.S.A. and Panama have signed treaties requiring them to defend their canals against any threats to neutrality. They are allowed to act unilaterally to achieve this. Early in the 20th century, the U.S. gained the right to construct and operate the canal. The U.S. signed a 1979 treaty, under the Democratic administration of Jimmy Carter, that agreed to hand over the control of the Canal to Panama by the end of 1999. Reporting by Idrees Al and Phil Stewart. (Additional reporting by Costas Pittas, editing by Leslie Adler.
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Trump, New York governor may discuss Constitution gas pipeline
Donald Trump and New York Governor Kathy Hochul will meet on Friday morning. The U.S. President said that the talks could include reviving a natural gas pipeline called the Constitution in the Northeast. Williams Cos had planned to build a pipeline that would have brought gas from Pennsylvania’s drilling fields into New York. However, the company canceled it in 2020 due to opposition from New York politicians and environmentalists. Trump claimed that a pipeline could lower energy prices in the region. It is still unclear how the pipeline could be approved. Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office: "Kathy Hochul is a very nice woman. She's coming tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock, to meet with me about that and other issues." I hope we won't need to use the extraordinary power of the federal government in order to accomplish this. We will do it if necessary, but I doubt we'll need to. Trump and his Energy Dominance Council, co-chaired with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum & Energy Secretary Chris Wright, have made such pipelines a priority. Williams representatives did not reply to our request for comment. Hochul demanded earlier this week that Trump reverse U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Energy Imports. He argued the tariffs and Canadian Retaliatory Actions threatened to increase electricity and heating costs in New York. Hochul told reporters, "I reached out yesterday to the President and said that I wanted to continue the conversation we had in the Oval Office two weeks ago." "I've got a lot of things on my schedule." We discussed infrastructure and Penn Station. He knows that I would like to discuss congestion pricing once again. "I want to discuss, you know our concerns regarding energy in light the tariffs." (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese, Rod Nickel, Trevor Hunnicutt, and Timothy Gardner. Reporting by Steve Holland and Ryan Patrick Jones.
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The building of a data center in the US has raised concerns about overburdening the largest US grid.
Energy executives and regulators at CERAWeek, a conference held in Houston last week, expressed concern about the ability of an aging U.S. electric grid to meet this demand. Electricity consumption in the United States is reaching record levels due to the construction of giant computer warehouses by Big Tech. A single site can use as much energy as a medium-sized U.S. town. The government agencies predict that data center demand is expected to triple in the next three-years, and consume 12% of all U.S. electricity. In an interview, Samir Vora said that the challenges facing the grid are becoming more pronounced. As electricity demand grows, fossil fuel-powered generators are being retired. Interconnection queues for new generation and power lines can last years, affecting the delicate balance between supply and demand needed to prevent blackouts. Mark Christie, the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said this at a conference held on Thursday. Christie stated that the reality of the situation has been made most apparent in the largest electrical grid of the United States, PJM Interconnection. This grid covers 13 states plus the District of Columbia. PJM has the largest concentration of data centres in the world. Virginia, a member state of PJM, routes about 70% of the global internet traffic. PJM's latest capacity auction saw prices more than 800% above the previous year. The grid operator cited rising demand and shrinking supplies as the reason for the increase. Manu Asthana said in a panel discussion that he was optimistic about the solution to this problem, but it wasn't a trivial one. Asthana, PJM's CEO, said that he expects the peak demand of 184 gigawatts in 2030. Asthana added that nearly all of these additions will come from data centers. FERC's Christie warned that if new power is not added quickly, the supply and demand squeeze will spread to other areas of the country. He warned that the problem would be magnified in other regions with multiple states. (Reporting and editing by Laila KEARNEY; Liz Hampton)
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Trump brings South Africa closer to the EU with 4.7 billion Euros pledged by the EU
On Thursday, European Union leaders visited South Africa and announced a 5.10 billion euro (5.10 billion euros) investment package. This comes at a moment when the United States is on a worse relationship with both countries than it has been in decades. The European leaders claimed that the visit would be an opportunity to deepen ties with Africa’s most developed economy. This coincided with the presidency of the G-20 nations by the African nation, which U.S. officials had so far largely ignored. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has shocked European leaders by his shift towards Russia during the Ukraine conflict. This is a major change in U.S. foreign policy following Moscow's invasion of 2022. His pro-Israel stance brought him into conflict over South Africa's genocide case at the World Court against Israel. The U.S. Administration has also intervened in Europe's and South Africa’s domestic politics. It criticised Europe for trying to isolate the extreme right and ignoring voter concerns about immigrants while cutting aid to South Africa due to its efforts to correct historic racial injustice. The EU visit was an opportunity for South Africa to improve relations, which had soured after it refused to condemn Vladimir Putin of Russia for his invasion of Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said that South Africa played a crucial role in the global stage as the leading voice for the Global South. She said, "In an era of increasing confrontation and competition we must further strengthen our partnership." She told President Cyril Ramaphosa at a meeting in Cape Town that Europe wants to grow the South African economy. She said this while sitting next to the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa. She mentioned clean hydrogen as an example of how South Africa can make use its abundant raw materials and vast renewable energies potential. Ramaphosa stated that South Africa valued European support of multilateralism in a time when nationalism is on the rise. He said that African relations with the European Union must be built upon a partnership of mutual benefit. $1 = 0.9223 Euros (Additional reporting and writing by Alexander Winning, Tim Cocks, and Sfundo parakozov. Editing and proofreading by Tim Cocks, Alison Williams and Tim Cocks)
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US sanctions Iranian oil minister and shadow fleet
Treasury Department: The United States sanctioned Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Pakhnejad on Thursday, as well as some Hong Kong flagged vessels that form part of an "shadow fleet" that is used to disguise Iranian oil shipments. Treasury released a statement saying that Paknejad oversees the export of Iranian oil worth tens and tens billions dollars, and has given billions worth of oil to Iran’s armed forces. Treasury said it also identified owners or operators for vessels that delivered Iranian oil into China or removed it from its storage. It said that these vessels were located in multiple jurisdictions including India and China. Iran's military uses a large fleet of shadow ships to conceal shipments worth billions of dollars to China. Thursday's designated vessels include the Hong Kong-flagged Peace Hill and its owner Hong Kong Heshun Transportation Trading Limited, the Iran-flagged Polaris 1, the Seychelles-registered Fallon Shipping Company Ltd, and the Liberia-registered Itaugua Services Inc, Treasury said. It said that the U.S. Department of State has designated three entities and three ships as blocked property. Reporting by Doina chiacu, Editing by Brendan O'Brien & Toina Chopra
Sources: Syria cancels port contract with Russian firm
According to media reports and three Syrian businessmen, the new government in Syria has cancelled a contract signed with a Russian company to manage and run the Tartous port under former president Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian government spokespersons either refused to comment or said that they couldn't confirm the reports.
The semi-official Syrian newspaper Al-Watan quoted Riad Jourdy as saying, on Thursday, that the investment contract was annulled because the Russian company, STG Stroytransgaz failed to meet the terms of 2019 deal which included infrastructure investments.
Three Syrian businessmen confirmed the report, including one who works at Tartous Port.
STG Stroytransgaz, a major construction firm with a mandate to develop and invest in the second largest commercial port of Syria after Latakia, is STG Stroytransgaz.
The agreement is not related to the Russian Naval Base in Tartous built by the Soviet Union during the 1970s. It also does not relate to the military agreement that Moscow and Damascus have had for decades on the use the Mediterranean port.
After Islamist rebels overthrew Russia's ally Assad in 2023, the new ruling government in Syria and Russia have been in talks about the future of Russia’s military presence. (Reporting from Timour Azhari, in Damascus; Suleiman al Khalidi, in Amman; and Maya Gebeily, in Beirut. Editing by Alex Richardson.)
(source: Reuters)