Cement News tagged under: Energy
Coal price find supports while petcoke sees sharp fall01 May 2023, Published under Cement NewsBy Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Oil prices support the full energy complex and OPEC+ announced new production cuts totalling 1.6mb/d. Oil prices have risen from US$72/bbl to a high US$88/bbl but are now in their former range of US$80-90/bbl at US$81/bbl. Coal prices are finding support among strong supply and are stabilising at US$132 for the API4 contract. As expected, petcoke prices have fallen sharply below US$100, the first time since 2021, with discounts compared to... |
OPEC + surprise cut sends oil sharply higher, coal stable petcoke sliding sending discount back to neutral zone26 April 2023, Published under Cement NewsBy Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark The story of inflation and central bank rate hikes continues. Inflation figures from the US were at five per cent in March, awaiting another 0.25 per cent hike from the Federal Reserve. The European Central Bank is also expected to raise rates as inflation remains high due to EU sanctions keeping energy prices relatively high to 2021 before sanctions. While banking problems have increased the fear of recession, China’s post-COVID opening up... |
Very low petcoke discounts may lead to switch to coal08 March 2023, Published under Cement NewsThe price of a barrel of oil has returned to the lower end of the US$80-88 range. Gas prices were also down on the back of warm weather forecasts and the Turkey-Syria earthquakes, which are cooling demand. Coal prices continue to slip lower, along with other sources in the energy complex, as the fear of recession persists. The stable price of petcoke and very low discounts are expected to lead to fuel switches towards coal. The 6.5 per cent S petcoke FOB contract sold at US$137 while t... |
Oil in narrow range while coal continues lower – petcoke pressured lower as discounts fall sharply28 February 2023, Published under Cement NewsBy Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark The markets are still dominated by hawkish statements from central banks due to the stubbornly high inflation both in the USA and Europe. Expectations see rates climb still higher and for a longer period. However, the good news is that a recession may be avoided. In the energy markets, the G7 round of new sanctions on Russian refined products do not seem to have had any major impact. The markets are locked between the China reopening and th... |
Oil and coal are falling, petcoke climbs higher23 February 2023, Published under Cement NewsBy Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Another month with the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve in focus: in the US the interest rate has been increased by 0.25 per cent while the ECB notched up the rate by 0.5 per cent. However, inflation seems stubbornly high. Therefore, it is expected that rates will increase further and remain high for some time with fears of a recession continuing albeit to a lesser degree. The IMF has adjusted global growth up by 0.2 per... |
Petcoke prices rising on growing demand while coal is falling as supply increases01 February 2023, Published under Cement NewsBy Frank O. Brannvol, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark lAs China reopens, oil is finding support, seeing a recovery in oil prices to surpass the US$85 mark. The warm winter in Europe and lower gas prices are taking off the pressure for demand in the region. However, Russia’s discount is still in place for countries that do not sanction Russian gas supplies (China, India and Turkey). Meanwhile, coal prices are falling as supply increases and demand is dropping as the fear of recession impacts mark... |
Energy demand drops, lowering oil, gas and coal prices with petcoke discounts back in neutral26 January 2023, Published under Cement NewsBy Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark The central banks continued interest rate hikes with 0.50 per cent in December, promising more to come. This has led to greater expectations of recession and falling demand, and in combination with thin trading in December, the overall energy index has fallen. The EU has introduced windfall profits on power producers and maximum gas prices. In Europe the winter has also been unusually warm for December and January, lowering heating demand. ... |
Winter and sanctions lifts coal and gas in Europe – petcoke discounts attractive again as petcoke drops slightly18 January 2023, Published under Cement NewsBy Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Inflation remains high and central banks continue to increase interest rates albeit at a slower pace. This has now led to widespread expectations of recession not only in the EU, which is hurt by energy sanctions, but also in the US as its Federal Reserve maintains a very aggressive stance. The oil market has fallen below US$80, but is decoupled from the gas and coal markets, which are disrupted by the energy sanctions on Russia. The inc... |
MPA calls for electrification push by UK government12 January 2023, Published under Cement NewsThe Mineral Products Association (MPA) has welcomed the UK government’s announcement of the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS), extending the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. The broad support available through the EBDS encompasses most of the products manufactured by MPA members, including aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete and industrial minerals. However, the MPA says the proposed support may not be sufficient to maintain the competitiveness of UK manufacturing should prices return to th... |
Votorantim to invest in energy efficiency at Toral de los Vados plant11 January 2023, Published under Cement NewsIn line with Votorantim ’s Sustainability 2030 commitments, the company is investing EUR15m to improve the energy efficiency of the Toral de los Vados factory in Spain. With this investment Votorantim expect to reduce the plant's electricity consumption by seven per cent, equivalent to the average annual consumption of 1600 homes, in addition to reducing the use of fossil fuels, mainly petcoke. |