The biggest oil importers in Asia collectively bought 1.57 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran in March, a 36 per cent surge over February, as buyers rushed to use up the U.S. sanction waivers for Iranian oil purchases before they expire this week, Reuters reported citing government data and trade sources. Asia’s top oil […]
Agriculture prices are projected to fall 2.6 per cent this year but are estimated to rebound in 2020 due to lower crop production and higher costs for energy and fertilisers, the World Bank said in its April Commodity Markets Outlook. Agricultural and food prices are expected to remain stable over the medium term. However, sharp […]
Mining production globally registered its fourth consecutive contraction, falling 7.5 per cent year-on-year in February compared to a 3.3 per cent fall the previous month, Statistics South Africa said in a report. This registers as the largest fall in production since March 2016 when output fell 17.4 per cent year-on-year. Diamonds, iron ore and gold […]
The International Coffee Organization (ICO) has raised its forecast for global coffee production in 2018/19 to 168.05 million 60-kg bags from its earlier estimate of 167.47 million. World consumption in coffee year 2018/19 is estimated at 164.99 million bags compared to 161.38 million bags in 2017/18. The inter-governmental body now sees a global surplus of […]
Global coal demand totaled 3.778 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (Btoe) in 2018, up 0.7 per cent on the year, bolstered largely by increased use in India and Southeast Asia, according to data released by the International Energy Agency. Coal rode the wave of increased demand from several Asian countries, as global energy demand grew […]
India’s oil imports rose 4.6 per cent in February 2019 from a year earlier to about 5 million barrels per day (bpd), according to tanker arrival data from shipping and industry sources. India’s February 2019 imports on the basis of tanker arrivals were at a record high although some cargoes were discharged in March, tanker […]
Aramco will ship the full volumes of crude contracted by Asian refiners in a bid to protect its market share in the biggest consuming region in the world ahead of production cuts that come into effect next month. S&P Global Platts quotes sources from the refining and oil trading sectors in Asia as confirming refiners […]
Growth remains stable across most of developing Asia due to robust domestic demand, buoyant oil and gas prices, and a consolidation of India’s growth rebound, but escalating trade tensions will test the region’s resilience, a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said. In an update of its flagship annual economic publication, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018, ADB maintained […]
Megatrends such as urbanisation, burden of obesity and undernutrition and politics are driving the divides in Asian food systems and managing them is increasingly proving to be a challenge for policymakers and the private sector, a report on Asian food systems pointed out. According to the report “Separate Tables: Bringing together Asia’s food systems,” urbanisation […]
Growing gas demand from Asia, particularly from China, could swing the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market into a deficit by 2022-2025, Fitch Ratings said in a note. Market expectations of oversupply and weak gas prices have curtailed new investment activity in the sector in the past two years, it said, adding that limited capacity additions […]
