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Iron ore hits 5-/12 yr low as China mills cut output

Iron ore prices hit their lowest in 5-1/2 years on Monday as some loss-making Chinese steel mills curbed output, ore supplies remained abundant and concerns persisted about the outlook for economic growth in China this year. Cooling Chinese steel demand forced some steel mills to bring forward p ...

China’s coal industry freezes over

Coal provides nearly two thirds of China’s energy, but for mining companies, this winter could not be more chilly. The government has done its best to save the day, but it is not enough to force up the price of coal, even in the short term and the outlook for the coming year is no better. An alr ...

Will Chinese steel exports disrupt Korean and Japanese alliances?

In the theatre of global steel in 2015, we already know the stars – China, Japan and South Korea. Since 2008, these three north Asian steel giants have accounted for over half of global steel consumption and supplied over half the world’s steel. Indeed, according to WorldSteel in 2013, these thr ...

Why commodity exporters may get a tailwind

Conventional wisdom suggests commodity exporters will take price declines on the chin, but Morgan Stanley expects they’ll benefit most. It’s all about curing the Dutch Disease, Morgan Stanley said in a note last week, referring to the negative economic impact of increasing natural resources inve ...

After harsh commodity fund shakeout, even the winners see tough times ahead

After one of the worst years in memory for commodity funds, even the few managers who found a way to make money last year say they expect a difficult start to 2015. Collapsing oil and grain prices caused havoc for commodity funds in 2014, with the average actively managed fund in the Lipper Glob ...

Cargill profit surges as lower grain prices spur demand

Replenished grain supplies following a bumper North American harvest bolstered global commodities trader Cargill Inc’s bottom line in its latest quarter as lower prices lifted demand for crops and padded margins on meat sales. Privately-held Cargill, based in Minnesota, reported net earnings of ...

Chinese coal demand fell in 2014

Coal demand in China dropped by around 2.3% in the first eleven months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013, government figures show. Production of coal in China declined by 2.1% and imports fell 9.0%. Meanwhile, China’s economy and production of electricity continued to grow. The latest ...

India’s coal imports jump 19 pct in 2014 -mjunction

Coal shipments to India, the world’s third-largest importer, rose 19 percent to 210.6 million tonnes last year driven by an even bigger jump in purchases of the variety used in power generation, online trader mjunction said. Imports have risen over the past four years as India adds capacity to s ...

Is coal’s decline permanent?

Oil wasn’t the only natural resource that ended 2014 with falling prices, but the question for coal is whether its problems are cyclical, or if it has become an unwanted commodity, leaving long-term prices in a slow spiral towards a bituminous bottom. As this Reuters graphic shows, coal hit a hi ...

India Wheat output may touch record levels: Agri Expert

India’s wheat production may touch record levels this year, according to an expert. The sowing area is low but if the weather is favourable the output could spike to 100million tonnes this year, Indu Sharma, head of the Directorate of Wheat Research, told The Economic Times. “If there is no bad ...