1. Germany moves closer to rationing gas as Russia cuts supply

23 June 2022

Germany has moved closer to rationing gas as it raised the alert level under an emergency plan after Russia slashed supplies to the country. Triggering the second “alarm” level under its action plan brings Germany a step closer to the third and final stage that could see gas rationing in Europe’s top economy. Russian energy giant Gazprom last week reduced supplies to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline by 60 percent due to what the company said was a delayed repair. But Germany has brushed aside the technical justification for the move, instead calling it a “political decision”.

Source: Aljazeera

2. US Fed chair admits recession a 'possibility' after rate hikes

23 June 2022

Powell said the central bank would very likely need to raise rates by either 50 or 75 basis points at its next meeting in July. Since then, other Fed officials have echoed his stance on getting borrowing costs into slightly restrictive territory in short order. Powell said a recession is not inevitable, he expects U.S. economic growth to pick up in the second half of this year after a sluggish start to 2022.

Source: Reuters

3. Tight LME zinc inventories could be topped up from China

22 June 2022

Available zinc inventories in registered warehouses of the London Metal Exchange (LME) more than halved this week, but supplies could be replenished from China. The situation became serious this week after owners of 35,000 tonnes of zinc inventories in LME warehouses gave notice they want to withdraw the material, slashing available stocks by 56% to 26,325 tonnes. The shortages are partly due to zinc smelter cutbacks in Europe by producers Trafigura, Glencore and others in the face of power prices that hit three-month highs on Tuesday. Zinc inventories in Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses have more than doubled this year to 159,672 tonnes.

Source: Reuters

4. India's crude oil imports from Russia jumps 50 times; now accounts for 10% of all import

23 June 2022

Russia has now emerged among the top 10 suppliers of crude oil to India. From all the crude oil purchases from overseas, India's imports from Russia have climbed more than 50 times since April. With that, Russian oil imports now account for 10% of India's total crude imports basket. Prior to the Ukraine war, Russian imports were just 0.2% of all the oil imported by India. Notably, about 40% of Russian oil has been bought by private refiners namely Reliance Industries and Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy. In May, Indian refiners purchased approximately 25 million barrels of crude oil from Russia.

Source: Reuters

5. China May oil imports from Russia soar to a record, surpass top supplier Saudi

20 June 2022

China's crude oil imports from Russia soared 55% from a year earlier to a record level in May, displacing Saudi Arabia as the top supplier, as refiners cashed in on discounted supplies amid sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Imports of Russian oil, including supplies pumped via the East Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline and seaborne shipments from Russia's European and Far Eastern ports, totalled nearly 8.42 million tonnes, according to data from the Chinese General Administration of Customs. That's equivalent to roughly 1.98 million barrels per day (bpd) and up a quarter from 1.59 million bpd in April.

Source: Reuters

6. Iron ore price rebounds after Chinese President pledges to meet development targets

23 June 2022

The iron ore price rebounded on Thursday after Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to take more effective measures to achieve the country’s economic and social development goals. China would step up macro-policy adjustments and take more effective measures to achieve its annual economic and social development goals while minimizing the impact of the covid-19 epidemic as much as possible, Xi said, without giving details.

Source: Mining.com

7. Codelco reaches agreement with workers to end strike

23 June 2022

Chile’s state-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, reached an agreement with workers on Thursday to end a nationwide strike over the closure of a troubled smelter in a highly polluted region of central Chile. The Federation of Copper Workers (FTC) started the strike early Wednesday morning and claimed to have all divisions stopped, while the government maintained that impacts were minimal after preparing for the announced strike.

Source: Reuters