Latest News
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South Korea's NOFI purchases about 65,000 tonnes of feed wheat from traders
European traders reported that the leading South Korean animal feed manufacturer Nonghyup Feed Inc. (NOFI) bought about 65,000 metric tonnes of animal feed wheat at an international auction on Tuesday. The total cost of the consignment was estimated at $263.49 per ton, including freight. In addition, a surcharge of $1.50 per ton for port unloading was added. Cargill is believed to have been the seller. The wheat arrived in South Korea five days after the original date of arrival. The reports reflect the opinions of traders, and it is possible to estimate prices and volume later. Wheat can be purchased from all over the world, except for Russia, Argentina and Pakistan. Wheat sourced from Russia or Ukraine cannot be loaded at ports on the Black Sea, but wheat from ports on the Russian Far East can. Shipment is required between July 8 and 27 if the source of the product is the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast, Australia, or the Canadian West coast. If you are sourcing from the U.S. Gulf Coast, Europe, or the Canadian East coast, the shipment period is between June 18 to July 7. Only 55,000 tonnes are required if the origin is Australia. Between June 3 and 22 should be the shipping date for European wheat that is routed through the Cape of Good Hope. This is increasingly done to avoid attacks against ships in the Red Sea. Shipments of wheat from South America are to be made between June 13th and July 2nd. When shipping wheat from South Africa it is best to ship between June 23 and July 12 Reporting by Michael Hogan, Editing by David Goodman
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Sources say that India will formalise incentives to recycle critical minerals this year.
Two sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that India will launch incentives to encourage the recycling of 24 minerals, including lithium and cobalt this year, in order to secure the minerals required for the green energy transition. India has identified 24 minerals that are strategic and crucial to its efforts in meeting clean energy goals, and moving towards net zero greenhouse gases emissions by 2070. The government has set aside 15 billion rupies for recycling these minerals as part of a 163 billion rupies investment to develop the vital minerals sector. Sources declined to identify themselves as details were not available. According to one source, the money will be spent over a period of four to five years. This should be enough to jumpstart the industry. One source said that the scheme would help expand India's recycling capacity of lithium-ion battery from its current 75,000 metric tonnes a year. In order to increase availability, the government abolished in February the customs duties on waste and scrap relating to a dozen essential substances, including lead, cobalt, zinc, and cobalt-powder, as well as batteries made of lithium-ion. India wants to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels by encouraging the production of electric vehicles. In 2024, EV sales in India accounted for only 2.5% of 4.3 million vehicles sold. However, they were up by 20% compared to just 5% in the total car market. Analysts predict that sales will double in 2025 to around 200,000, mostly due to new launches.
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South Korea's NOFI offers up to 60,000 T of feed wheat
European traders reported on Tuesday that the leading South Korean feedmaker Nonghyup Feed Inc. has launched an international tender for up to 60,000 tons of animal feed grain. The deadline to submit price offers for the tender is also Tuesday April 8. Around August 10, South Korea is expecting the wheat to arrive. The wheat can come from anywhere in the world, except for Russia, Argentina and Pakistan. Wheat originating from other sources cannot be loaded at the Black Sea ports of Russia and Ukraine, but can be loaded from Russian Far Eastern ports. Shipment is required between July 8 and 27 if the source of the product is the U.S. Pacific Northwest Coast, Australia, or the Canadian West coast. If you are sourcing from the U.S. Gulf Coast, Europe, or the Canadian East coast, the shipment period is between June 18 and July 7. The shipping of European wheat via the Cape of Good Hope is increasingly being done to avoid attacks against ships in the Red Sea. This should take place between June 3 and June 22. Shipping of wheat from South America or South Africa should take place between June 13 and July 2, respectively. The offers are being sought as outright costs per ton and freight included, or as a premium over Chicago September wheat contracts. (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens, Michael Hogan)
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Europe has just experienced the warmest March ever recorded
Scientists from the European Union said that temperatures in Europe reached unprecedented heights as a result of climate change, and Europe had its warmest march since records began. The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service C3S said that last month, globally, was the second warmest March ever recorded. Only March 2024 will surpass it, according to a monthly bulletin. March was the latest in a series of extreme heat. In 20 of the 21 months prior to this, temperatures were higher than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The planet experienced its hottest year ever in 2018. The average global temperature in March was about 1.6 degrees Celsius warmer than it was in pre-industrial time. According to climate scientists, the main cause of climate change is greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion. Samantha Burgess is the strategic lead for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (C3S), which operates the C3S Service. She noted that Europe experienced extremes of both heavy rainfall and drought. Burgess, a Burgess spokesperson, said that Europe experienced "many areas experiencing the driest march on record" and other areas their wettest mars on record in at least 47 years. Climate change makes some areas drier and can exacerbate droughts by increasing evaporation and drying out the soil and vegetation. The warming of our planet can also lead to heavy rains that cause flooding. This is because the warmer air contains more moisture. Storm clouds will therefore be "heavier", before they finally break. C3S reported that the Arctic sea ice reached its lowest extent for a March ever in 47 years of satellite data. C3S said that the previous three months also had a record-low for their respective month. C3S temperature records date back to 1940 and are cross-checked against global temperature records dating back to 1850.
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Panama's comptroller will sue over the renewal of CK Hutchison's contract
The Panama Comptroller's General Office will sue officials who approved the renewal of a port concession for 25 years to a company headed by CK Hutchison. This is because a major audit of the contract should be finished soon. Panama Ports Company, a company owned by Hong Kong's CK Hutchison, has renewed its contract with the Balboa & Cristobal Ports near the Panama Canal until 2021. Panamanian officials began the audit process in January. In March, a group led U.S. investment company BlackRock announced a deal worth $22.8 billion to purchase the majority of CK Hutchison’s global ports business, including the two Panama ports. Anel Flores, Comptroller-General of Panama's Office of the Comptroller, told reporters at a press briefing that the audit had so far revealed that Panama "left $1.33 billion on the table" in terms tax incentives and government benefits. Panama's Attorney-General released an opinion in February that found the port contract unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has the final say on this. Flores stated that the results of the audit will be sent to the Panama Maritime Authority which supervises the ports once they are completed. China has criticized BlackRock's bid for CK Hutchison port business. The audit could be a roadblock. Lawyers and experts say that if Panama's Comptroller general confirms irregularities with the renewal of the concession or if the Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional the concession may be revoked. BlackRock, which announced a deal to buy CK Hutchison ports, was praised by Donald Trump, the U.S. president, who had threatened to seize control of the Panama Canal because of the presence of Chinese firms and Hong Kong firms within the maritime sector of Central American countries. The deal has not yet been finalized. The transaction has not been completed.
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Source: Russian court lifts suspension of Transneft Black Sea oil berth
An industry source said that a Russian court reversed on Monday the decision of a regulator to stop the operation of a Transneft-controlled oil berth in the Black Sea port Novorossiisk. Transneft announced last week that it had suspended the mooring no. 8 at Novorossiisk, for 90 days following a quick inspection by a transportation watchdog. The Novorossiisk Commercial Sea Port is one of Russia’s biggest export outlets. Closing one mooring will not have a significant impact on its operations. Sources claim that the port was fined $2,322 for non-specific irregularities. Transneft didn't respond to a comment request. Last week, a source in the industry said that this berth was used for small vessels up to 10,000 tonnes of oil products. A Russian court last week ruled against the suspension of two berths in Novorossiisk, which are part of the Black Sea export terminals for Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). The Caspian Pipeline Consortium uses these berths, supported by Western stakeholders, to export oil from Kazakhstan. $1 = 86.1455 Roubles (Reporting and writing by Olesya Astakhova; editing by Alexandra Hudson).
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Brent prices collapsed, causing Russian Urals to fall to their lowest level since 2023
Calculations based on trader's data show that the Russian Urals oil price fell to its lowest level since 2023, as Brent international benchmark prices plummeted amid the escalating tensions in the U.S.-China following the tariff policy announced last weekend. Weaker Urals will have a negative impact on Russia's oil revenue - the mainstay of Moscow's budget. Oil and gas revenue is down at a time when Russia and the United States are negotiating a ceasefire in Ukraine. Brent futures fell $2.43 or 3.7% to $63.15 per barrel at 1009 GMT. They continue to drop from last week, and are now at their lowest level since 2021. According to data, the price of Russian Urals oil for cargoes loaded from Primorsk and Novorossiisk port dropped to $53 per barrel on Friday. If Brent prices continue to fall until the close of the markets, the Russian grade could drop as low as $50 on Monday. According to data and calculations, if this is the case, it would be the lowest price for Russian Urals since March 2023. Two traders say that lower prices of Russian oil will also help the oil sellers fix their tankers, as more western shipowners are able to enter the market because the prices are below western price caps. Calculations showed that the price of uranium is likely to drop $10 per barrel below western prices on Monday. The Group of Seven countries, including the United States of America, Canada, Britain and Italy, France and Germany, imposed a $60 cap per barrel in late 2022 on the sale of Russian crude oil free-onboard. This was done to limit the revenue that Russia receives from oil exports by sea. After reaching a high in early March, the cost of shipping Urals crude oil from the Baltic port of Primorsk to India averaged $7 million for a one-way shipment. Reporting by ChizuNomiyama; Editing by ChizuNomiyama
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US utilities struggle with the massive power demand for data centers by Big Tech
U.S. Electric utilities are receiving massive requests for additional power capacity, as Big Tech searches the country to find viable locations for data centers that can keep up with AI's compute demands. In a survey of 13 U.S. major electric utility earnings transcripts, nearly half of the utilities received inquiries from data centers for power volumes that would exceed peak demand or their existing generation capacity. That's all they supply to businesses and homes. This metric reflects the sheer magnitude of oncoming needs for data centers. The power industry now faces a challenge that will affect billions in investment. How to meet demand? Utilities announced additional capital expenditures in the billions this year. Some utilities have even doubled their investment plans for five years. Underestimating the demand can lead to an unstable grid and a greater chance of blackouts. Ratepayers may be on the hook if utilities overbuild. Investors and other experts in power said that tech companies approach multiple power utilities within the same state or across multiple states to seek multiple bids for a single project. This complicates matters by causing power demand forecasts to be inflated. Jon Gordon, director of the Advanced Energy United trade group for clean energy, which includes clean power users and large energy consumers like data centers, said: "What we are seeing is this enormous proposed influx" It is very difficult to predict the future demand for utilities because of their size and secrecy. James Richmond, CEO at e2Companies (a provider of energy management systems), said that the data center process will be a competitive bidding from three companies on many markets. "That one third, automatically, will win and the two-thirds will drop out." Big Demands Sempra, for example, said that Oncor Electric in Texas, which services the Dallas area, had received requests for an additional 119 Gigawatts. This is almost four times the peak power usage on their system. PPL, based in Allentown, Pa., said that it received more than 50 GW data center requests. This includes at least 9GW which are already advanced stages of development. Oncor stated that it will only include data centers in its budget plan after it has signed contracts with the developer or the operator, and secured collateral such as a letter or credit guarantee, cash or an affiliate guarantee. Kerri Dunn, spokesperson for the company, said: "We think these agreements encourage accurate information sharing and project planning certainty." PPL's spokesperson stated that the company will only spend money on a project if there is an agreement. The pipeline of data center-driven demand in Evergy territory in Kansas and Missouri has almost doubled, reaching more than 11 GW by the end of 2024. This is slightly higher than the total demand expected for the entire utility system in 2025. States are starting to notice. Pennsylvania may create a clearinghouse for data center requests to get a better understanding of the soaring demand forecasts. This was revealed by a representative of the Pennsylvania Governor's Office during a recent panel discussion. Jacob Finkel is the deputy secretary of state for Josh Shapiro. "RISK OF UNDERBUILD" Big Tech could also abandon projects that take years to complete due to inflation, increasing interest rates and limited land. According to several industry sources, in 2024 the cost of building a megawatt would be around $12 million. Richmond noted that the cost of building data centers has risen dramatically since then. The rising capital costs may limit utilities' ability to meet the demand for new facilities, according to Barclays analyst Nick Campanella. He said that there was a risk of building too much. There are signs that the requirements for next-generation AI may change, in addition to cost increases. DeepSeek, a new AI model, promises to use less computing power, and potentially less electricity. It only requires a fraction of the current data center chips. Data centers consume a lot of energy because they have so many chips. Fewer chips means less infrastructure and power to support them. This includes the energy-guzzling systems for cooling. TD Cowen analysts have reported that Microsoft, one of the top investors in AI data centers with plans to spend $80 billion in this year, has pulled back on projects in the United States and Europe that would require 2 GW in electricity.
Red Crescent reports that less than half its emergency vehicles are operational in Gaza
Fuel shortages have left the Palestinian Red Crescent with fewer than half its emergency vehicles in Gaza, according to the IFRC humanitarian organization.
Tommaso Della Longa, IFRC's spokesperson in Geneva, told journalists that 23 of 53 total vehicles are still operational. This is after the aid supply into Gaza was halted, including fuel supplies, in early March.
It is having a disastrous impact. "If an ambulance does not have gasoline, then entire communities are calling emergency services without getting a response," he said.
The IFRC stated that the decrease in vehicles is affecting Palestinians who have daily health needs, as well as those injured during a new wave of Israeli airstrikes against the enclave.
After two months relative calm in Israel, the situation has changed.
Effectively abandoned
A ceasefire was declared, and a full-scale air and ground offensive against the dominant militant Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza was launched.
Gaza's Health Authorities report that the first day of airstrikes resumed on Tuesday killed over 400 Palestinians. This was one of the deadliest of the 17-month conflict. Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Editing by Ludwig Burger, Rachel More and Rachel More
(source: Reuters)