Cement News tagged under: gas

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Petcoke continues rally with discounts into neutral zone

03 August 2023, Published under Cement News

by Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Coal rallied from US$100, driven by the energy complex as oil broke through the US$80 barrier following new cuts by OPEC+ in July 2023. Meanwhile, petcoke continues its rally after hitting the major support of US$65, and reached its target of US$85. At US$88, is now close to resistance at US$90 with discounts to coal falling sharply into the neutral zone. Further points of resistance are US$95, US$105, US$115 and US$135. Support is at US$85,...

Petcoke seen as cheapest fuel as up first time in 17 weeks

07 July 2023, Published under Cement News

by Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Oil is stabilising following an intervention from Saudi Arabia with cuts as negative sentiment persists. Coal has settled above US$100, but plenty of supply to the market. Nevertheless, a higher price is expected. Petcoke dropped to US$65, but after 17 weeks, it is now seen as the cheapest fuel and price is moving up. While the discount remains in neutral, its position at the high end points to a move to the cheap zone. Steam coal an...

OPEC+ actions lift oil and the energy complex – coal and petcoke fall to 2020 levels on lower demand

30 June 2023, Published under Cement News

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark The markets are still caught in the fear that higher interest rates to fight inflation could start a recession and see demand fall. The market expects both the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank to increase rates but at a slower rate to enable current levels to take effect. The US debt ceiling agreement reduced market fears and saw equities rise. Geopolitical tensions are looking towards Taiwan where US and Chinese navies are conduct...

Gas supply for Ecebol Potosí plant ready for transport to site

14 June 2023, Published under Cement News

The Phase II expansion of the Sucre-Potosí Gas Pipeline in Bolivia has been completed and will result in an increase of gas transportation capacity by up to 13.6mft 3 /d, which represents an increase of 32 per cent. This will enable a sufficient supply of gas to the new 1.36Mta cement plant of Empresa Pública Productiva Cementos de Bolivia (Ecebol) in Chiutara, Potosí. “This project has an investment of US$5.8m and will contribute to the national cement production, in this way it will supp...

Coal price find supports while petcoke sees sharp fall

01 May 2023, Published under Cement News

By 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 zone

26 April 2023, Published under Cement News

By 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 coal

08 March 2023, Published under Cement News

The 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...

Energy demand drops, lowering oil, gas and coal prices with petcoke discounts back in neutral

26 January 2023, Published under Cement News

By 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 slightly

18 January 2023, Published under Cement News

By 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...

Petcoke prices stable with lower discounts

02 December 2022, Published under Cement News

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Since ICR’s most recent energy report, coal prices are rising due to supply disruptions and a colder winter in Europe. Russian discounts are still in place but reflect the rising costs of Russian producers. Oil is falling on fears of a new Chinese lockdown and demand destruction in the EU leading to lower growth. Steam coal and petcoke prices FOB Petcoke prices are stable as buyers from China and India are on hold, and discounts ...