Cement News tagged under: gas

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

25 November 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 fal...

Energy complex falls on slower economies and EU stock refill

11 November 2022, Published under Cement News

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Since ICR’s most recent energy report, the energy complex is falling as higher yields slow economies and EU purchases have slowed following full stocks. Russia’s continued discounts on coal see prices slip with API4 coal now trading at US$238. Oil is stabilising above US$90 after OPEC+ cut supply by 2mbpd. In Europe gas prices have been slipping as reservoirs are being filled and the weather stays warm. Steam coal and petcoke prices FOB...

Czech market expands 5% in 2021

08 September 2022, Published under Cement News

Cement consumption in the Czech Republic saw a 5.2 per cent advance to 4.68Mt in 2021 when compared with the previous year, according to the Czech Cement Association. Domestic cement production advanced by 4.6 per cent YoY to 4.72Mt in 2021 from 4.513Mt in 2020. Of this total, 0.615Mt was exported, representing a 9.2 per cent increase on export volumes in 2020. Supply in the Czech market in 2021 was boosted by 0.579Mt of imports, which saw a 14.9 per cent YoY rise. Nearly half of the amo...

Oil down but coal rising again as gas prices advance

02 September 2022, Published under Cement News

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Since ICR’s most recent energy report , the energy complex is falling, led by oil, more interest hikes and the fear of recession. Oil prices are down due to lower demand expectations and a small increase in output by OPEC+. Meanwhile, the price of coal is rising again, driven by higher gas prices. API 4 coal costs now US$340. Russia continues to offer large discounts to non-sanction countries. High-quality coal is in demand in Europe, Colom...

Energy markets react to higher interest rates – coal demand surges to all-time high, petcoke now buyers’ market

18 August 2022, Published under Cement News

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Inflation keeps rising and while central banks have started aggressive interest rate hikes to curb it, these may be too late. The IMF has revised global economic growth down, and fear of demand destruction is lowering energy prices. The US Federal Reserve increased its interest rates by 0.75 per cent and the European Central Bank followed through. Further hikes are forecast as inflation moves above nine per cent.   The US dollar strengthen...

Higher inflation and fear of recession impact energy complex

04 August 2022, Published under Cement News

Since ICR’s most recent energy report , the energy complex is trending lower due to higher inflation and the fear of recession. Higher interest rates are fuelling demand destruction. Russia is offering discounts to non-sanction countries, affecting the price of oil and coal. The price of oil was down sharply following the IEA report on falling demand, combined with the OPEC+ plan to increase production in August. Increased demand for coal in the EU is supporting the price of coal with highe...

Energy complex moves in range with petcoke discounts increasing

08 July 2022, Published under Cement News

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Since ICR’s most recent energy report , the energy complex has moved in range, awaiting the impact of sanctions on Russia and the risk of an economic slowdown. However, the threat of EU sanctions on Russian oil pushed up oil prices in the range of US$105-120, but prices have since fallen back as high inflation and interest rate increases have sown considerable doubts on growth going forward. Coal has been stabilising after rising demand w...

New sanctions push the energy complex higher while Russia offers huge discounts to non-sanction markets, keeping petcoke rise in check

21 June 2022, Published under Cement News

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark New EU oil sanctions against Russia have again moved the energy complex higher, particularly oil and coal, as the EU now has to find new suppliers, leading to increased costs for end users. Moreover, the inflationary fall-out from the Ukraine-Russia war is now seen in all economies. The US Federal Reserve has turned to sharp rate increases and the European Central Bank (ECB) is now expected to start raising rates up to 125bp for the end ...

Potential new EU sanctions lift oil and coal but China lockdowns dampen demand – sharp drop in petcoke prices

30 May 2022, Published under Cement News

By Frank O. Brannvoll, Brannvoll ApS, Denmark Another month driven by war in Ukraine, imminent EU sanctions pushing energy prices upwards, and central banks raising interest rates on the back of increased inflation pressures. As a result, analysts are fearing a recession with a potential fall in energy demand. However, the EU sanctions against Russia are starting to hurt European countries. In addition, strict COVID-19 lockdowns in China are also dampening domestic demand. As a result, p...

Holcim Argentina warns of gas shortage stopping kilns over winter

06 April 2022, Published under Cement News

Holcim Argentina’s CEO, Christian Dedeu, has warned that clinker production at its plants could come to a halt as he has no guarantee that there will be gas to fire the kilns this coming winter (June-August 2022). “We do not have guaranteed gas for the winter, which puts cement production at risk. The impact can be very strong for the construction activity,” said Mr Dedeu. Moreover, gas prices remain sky-high and the rise in production costs is difficult to offset. However, the company is ...