As electric vehicle production surges around the world, manufacturers are dealing with the reality that many of the vital materials necessary to build EV components aren't available anywhere but China. The most recent realization of the Chinese supply-chain bottleneck is the supply of graphite. Mark Thompson, a founder of Talga Group, said, "Automakers are in a real bind because there's been no investment in Western graphite." Reuters reports: Automakers, including Tesla and Mercedes, are rushing to lock in graphite supply from outside dominant producer China, as demand for electric vehicle … [Read more...]
China Makes High Stakes Bet on Expensive Domestic Lithium Production
China is making a high-stakes bet on its expensive domestic lithium production. Siyi Liu and Dominique Patton report for Reuters: Down a steep dirt road from the Baishi Huashan lithium mine in southern China, trucks laden with silvery grey ore rumble towards a cluster of smelters in the valley below that have sprung up to cash in on the electric vehicle battery boom. The city of Yichun, China's most prospective region for lithium, is ground zero in the country's push to cut its reliance on imports of the metal for its battery industry, which makes three-quarters of the world's lithium-ion … [Read more...]
China Factory Slowdown Depresses Energy Demand
Not even a heatwave in China can make up for the slowing industrial economy cooling demand for energy in the country. Coal prices are falling and LNG imports are slowing as manufacturers slow output. Reuters's Muyu Xu, Emily Chow, and Chen Aizhu report: An ongoing heatwave in China is boosting power demand for cooling, but tepid industrial demand and record high coal inventories are keeping prices at two-year lows and limiting spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. Analysts do not see coal prices rising or spot LNG imports picking up anytime soon as a sluggish domestic recovery from … [Read more...]
Will OPEC+ Cuts and New Technology Revive U.S. Shale?
Saudi Arabia has chosen to cut one million barrels of oil production a day in an attempt to maintain higher prices. Could this be an opening for a resurgence in U.S. shale oil production? Dmitry Zhdannikov reports for Reuters: The U.S. has more than doubled its oil and gas production over the past 15 years, mostly as a result of the development of shale fields. Shale production plunged during the pandemic and lenders restricted funding, but it has since recovered and US crude exports and output have hit record highs. OPEC+'s decision to extend existing cuts by another year will likely … [Read more...]
OPEC+: Saudi Arabia To Cut 1M Barrels of Oil Production
Saudi Arabia is prepared to cut 1 million barrels of oil production to force prices per barrel higher, report Benoit Faucon and Summer Said in The Wall Street Journal. They write: Saudi Arabia said Sunday it would cut 1 million barrels of oil a day as part of a deal between OPEC and its allies after one of the most contentious production meetings in recent years amid concerns over slowing global energy demand. Saudi Arabia said the output cut was for July and on top of previously announced curbs, which would be extended until the end of 2024. The United Arab Emirates and some other large … [Read more...]
What’s Hiding In the London Metals Exchange Warehouses?
Does anyone know what's hiding in the London Metal Exchange warehouses? Is what's been reported the truth? The LME is attempting to make its reporting more transparent. Reuters's Andy Home reports: The London Metal Exchange (LME) is once again looking to shine more light on what lies in the shadows of its warehousing system. The exchange's daily stocks reports offer a rare hard data point in a murky statistical landscape for metal traders. But their usefulness as a market signal has been steadily undermined by the emergence of a shadow LME storage function, which can mean large amounts of … [Read more...]
FOOD CRISIS? Ukraine Says Russia Is Blocking Grain Exports
Is a food crisis coming for countries reliant on Ukrainian grain exports? The country's government says that despite a grain export deal, Russia is blocking shipments of grain from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea. Pavel Polityuk reports for Reuters: Ukraine’s ministry of renovation and infrastructure said on Thursday the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain export deal had been halted again because Russia had blocked registration of ships to all Ukrainian ports. A U.N. spokesman said Russia had informed officials overseeing the initiative that Moscow would limit registrations to the port of … [Read more...]
Western Sanctions on Russia Have Strengthened Its Ties to India, China
Exports of Russian crude oil that had traditionally been bound for European or American shores are now finding destinations in India and China as the Asian mega-countries eagerly lap up the energy necessary to feed their growing economies. Muyu Xu reports in Reuters: Russian crude oil imports by China and India in May hit an all-time high as buyers gorged on discounted supplies, reducing demand for oil from the Middle East and Africa, according to preliminary assessments from ship trackers. The jump in Russian supplies comes ahead of a meeting between the Organization of the Petroleum … [Read more...]
Chinese Steel Market “Collapses”
After experiencing a strong rebound upon reopening after its harsh COVID lockdowns, China's steel market has "collapsed," according to Leslie Hook, Hudson Lockett, and Cheng Leng in the Financial Times. They write: Chinese iron ore prices dropped to their lowest levels in five months, as weak demand adds to evidence that the country’s economic rebound from tough coronavirus lockdowns may be faltering. After strong steel production during the first quarter, the optimism and activity that followed the end of lockdown have waned, leading to a “collapse” in the steel market and raising … [Read more...]
High Costs of Inputs Driving Sand Shortage
Sand production has become uneconomical as the costs of its inputs have risen faster than its saleable value. Kenza Bryan reports in Financial Times: The rising cost of a grain of sand is inflating the price of materials such as glass and cement even as energy bills flatten out, highlighting its importance for everything from jam jars to global infrastructure projects. Sand is the world’s most used natural material, mainly in construction and in fracking for oil and gas, as well as some industrial processes such as memory chips owing to its high quartz content. Sand is the primary raw … [Read more...]
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