Cement News tagged under: coal

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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...

Shree Cement wins coal mine auction

01 March 2023, Published under Cement News

India’s Shree Cement Ltd has been named as the highest bidder for the Datima Coal Mine Block, located in Surajpur Tehsil, Surguja District, Chattisgarh. The block was auctioned by the Ministry of Coal, Government of India, on 27 February 2023. The mine has geological reserves of 13.3Mt. According to the company, it has participated in the coal block auction with the intent of creating fuel security through long-term fuel supply sourcing options for its operations while having flexibilit...

Oil in narrow range while coal continues lower – petcoke pressured lower as discounts fall sharply

28 February 2023, Published under Cement News

By 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 higher

23 February 2023, Published under Cement News

By 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 increases

01 February 2023, Published under Cement News

By 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...

Power Cement to use local Thar coal

26 January 2023, Published under Cement News

Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co(SECMC) and Power Cement have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a trial run of Thar coal for cement production in Power Cement's plant at Nooriabad Industrial Area, Kalo Kohar District, Jamshoroo, Sindh, Pakistan. The MoU was signed by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co CEO, Amir Iqbal, and Power Cement CEO, Kashif Habib. Power Cement's Chief Operating Officer, Ahsan Anis, Director Export Marketing, Saifuddin Khan, and DGM International Trade, Badar Bin An...

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...

India's NCR cement plants to desist from using unapproved fuels

02 January 2023, Published under Cement News

The Indian National Capital Region’s (NCR) Commission for Air Quality Management has reminded all industrial and other sectors not to use unapproved fuels, including coal, from 1 January 2023 or face immediate closure with heavy fines. The legislation aims to completely eliminate the use of coal and other unapproved fuels in the entire NCR. In terms of cement plants, Direction No. 65 of the commission enables NCR-based production facilities to use biomass, agricultural refuse and pellets an...

Energy complex under interest rate pressure – coal falls sharply on lower demand while petcoke stable and discount neutral

20 December 2022, Published under Cement News

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Leading central banks raised rates again by 0.75 per cent, with promises of more to come as inflation is persistent as sanctions are still keeping energy prices artificially high in Europe. The EU has not agreed on any common measures as these are very hard to introduce in a free market. However, the threat of demand destruction combined with a warm start to the winter has put pressure on the overall energy complex. Gas prices have been ...