Indian steel-makers chasing coal assets: March 1st 2011. STUNG by a near trebling of the price of coking coal in a year, Indian steel-makers are seeking relief by buying mines in Australia. Steel groups across the subcontinent are eying Australian coal mining operations, and the head of India’s biggest steel firm has warned they will be ”very aggressive” in buying overseas assets.
Commodity exports to jump in FY12: March/1/2011. Commodity prices are expected to ease as miners and farmers boost output, but demand is still booming and likely to reap a staggering $251 billion in national annual export income, the federal government’s commodity researcher says.
Steel mills face record prices for iron ore: Published: February 27 2011. Steel mills are set to pay record prices for iron ore next quarter, as resurgent global demand butts up against limited supply.
BHP CEO sees high iron ore price for up to two years (Reuters) – Top global miner BHP Billiton’s (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) chief executive sees iron ore prices staying strong for as long as two years, and is confident the company’s profit margins will remain robust, even as costs escalate.
Vale Sees 4-Year ‘Tightness’ in Iron Ore After Profit Quadruples: Feb 25, 2011 Vale SA, the world’s largest iron- ore producer, said it expects “tightness” for the steelmaking raw material to persist for as many as four years because of rising demand and a limited number of new projects.
Record iron ore prices loom: 2/25/2011. Steel mills are set to pay record prices for iron ore next quarter, as resurgent global demand butts up against limited supply.
Coking coal contract prices to go above USD 300 per tn: February 25th 2011 - “Quarterly (coking coal) contract price which was set at USD 225 (per tonne) for this quarter could go above USD 300(per tonne) from April 2011,”
Japan rejects BHP bid for monthly coal pricing: February 24th 2011. Japan’s JFE Steel has rejected BHP Billiton’s proposal for monthly pricing for coking coal, rather than the quarterly pricing arrangement that was introduced last year
U.S. export of coking coal increases nearly 50 percent in 2010: February 17th 2011. U.S. exports of steelmaking coking coal rose to 55 million tons in 2010, the highest level since 1991, according to statistics released Wednesday by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
Coking Coal Supplies Tighten Further: February 15th 2011.
Australian Coking Coal Drops a Second Week; European Prices Fall: Feb 14th 2011. Hard prime coking coal from Australia sold for $318.25 a metric ton on average in the week to Feb. 11, down 2.1 percent from $325 the week before
Demand for coal fuels U.S. exports: February 13th 2011. Asia’s appetite for coal to generate electricity and bake into coke for steelmaking could make 2011 a banner year for U.S. exports. It could boost business for railroads and shipping ports that transport coal, industry observers say.
Continued demand and supply limitations that caused surging U.S. coal exports to China and India last year are expected to increase exports to 86.5 million tons, up from 79.5 million tons in 2010
Australia floods may hit Indian steelmakers profit: February 1st 2011. The disruptions in supply due to floods have driven coking coal spot prices up by $40-50 per tonne to $280-290 per tonne
Showcasing Australian resource companies to Chinese investors and improving understanding between the two countries
China’s incredible expansion and the steady urbanization of many of its 1.3 billion inhabitants contribute to an enormous demand for raw materials from overseas. With its close proximity and abundance of natural resources, Australia has formed a strong business relationship with China – a relationship that continues to strengthen today.
The China-Australia Resources Summit will enable Australia and China to further understand each others’ cultures and business methods and thus achieve positive and successful business outcomes. The summit will increase understanding about resource projects, investment opportunities and investor needs in both countries, and it will provide valuable insight into historic and future elements of the resources and investment industries.
http://www.symposium.net.au/china-australian-resources-summit
April 10th 2010:
Vietnam’s export turnover to Indonesia goes up 248 pct in 1st 2 months: Vietnam raked in 174.8 million U.S. dollars from exporting goods to Indonesia in the first two months of this year, up 248.3 percent year-on-year, said the information center of Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade on Friday.
China reports rare trade deficit: Officials blame the $7.2bn (£4.7bn) deficit on rising volumes and prices of the raw materials the country needs to import to power its economy.
April 10th 2010:
Vietnam’s export turnover to Indonesia goes up 248 pct in 1st 2 months: Vietnam raked in 174.8 million U.S. dollars from exporting goods to Indonesia in the first two months of this year, up 248.3 percent year-on-year, said the information center of Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade on Friday.
China reports rare trade deficit: Officials blame the $7.2bn (£4.7bn) deficit on rising volumes and prices of the raw materials the country needs to import to power its economy.
April 9th 2010:
Four Infrastructure Projects Offered US$5.3 Billion – INDONESIA: VIVAnews - Four new projects under the public private partnership will be offered by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) and are worth US$5.32 billion. Director of public private partnership from Bappenas, Bastary Pandji Indra said one of the said projects has already been put to tender, Power Plant Central Java that is, worth US$3 billion. Three other projects are still under pre-qualifying phase.
April 8th 2010:
Steel Recovery Drives Coal Price Rise, Battle for Macarthur: April 9 (Bloomberg) — Coking coal prices are rising as the global steel industry recovers from the worst recession since World War II, fueling takeover bids for Australian producer Macarthur Coal Ltd.
Rio negotiating with iron ore customers: Miner Rio Tinto Ltd says it is negotiating with its customers to supply iron ore priced on quarterly contracts.
Steelmakers Troubled Over Iron Ore Pricing: Recent changes to iron-ore pricing contracts have led to rising raw materials costs. Many steelmakers are protesting the changes, citing unfair market manipulation by the largest ore companies. What will the latest round of pricing disputes mean for manufacturers here and abroad?
Indonesia Bumi’s to sell coal at $104/T to Japanese buyer: JAKARTA, April 5 – PT Bumi Resources Tbk, Indonesia’s largest coal producer, confirmed on Monday its coal unit has concluded a supply agreement to sell coal of 6,700 kcal/kg gross air-dried at $104 a tonne, FOB to a large Japanese customer. The coal will be delivered for the Japanese fiscal year of between April 2010/March 2011, the firm said in a statement.
Indonesia, China Sign Seven Agreements: VIVAnews - The Indonesian and Chinese governments are ready to establish a collaboration on the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement. There will be five agreements that include China permitting the opening of Bank Mandiri’s branches and loans to the LPEI as well as providing export credit facility for infrastructure development in Indonesia.
Iron ore boycott threat given little credence: A call by China’s top steel industry body for a two-month boycott of iron ore produced by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Brazil’s Vale is grandstanding and doomed to fail, analysts say.
Reports from China yesterday said China Iron and Steel Association had asked domestic steelmakers and metals traders with import licences to stop buying iron ore from the world’s top three producers for the next two months.
Iron ore prices set to rise 50%: Iron ore prices seem to be going the coking coal way.
Thanks to a surge in Chinese demand, rates are likely to remain buoyant. Some analysts expect long-term global benchmark prices in 2010 to be higher by up to 50% from last year.
25 dead in W.Va. mine blast, worst since 1984: April 6th 2010.
MONTCOAL, W.Va. – A huge underground explosion blamed on methane gas killed 25 miners in the worst U.S. coal mining disaster since 1984, and rescuers on Tuesday began a dangerous and possibly futile attempt to rescue four others still missing.
World Bank Invests $400 Million in Indonesian Geothermal Energy:The World Bank has announced $400 million in funding to help double Indonesia’s geothermal energy capacity. It says the investment is an effort to assist developing countries produce clean energy and reduce carbon emissions.