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Eastern China is sweltering under an early heatwave that threatens crops and industry
On Friday, sweltering heat engulfed China's east coast as a high pressure system settled over its most populous area, baking agricultural and manufacturing hubs on the Yangtze River, and raising fears of potential economic losses. Over the next week, large swathes in China's economic core are expected to reach temperatures between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius (99 and 102 Fahrenheit). Forecasters warn that temperatures in parts of Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Henan provinces could reach 40 C. This year, the subtropical heat wave has come early. The 'Sanfu Season,' an ancient agricultural mark in China that has been used for more than two millennia, usually begins mid-July. It lasts until late August. People seek shelter from the intense heat of summer. Meteorologists have linked extreme heat to climate change. This has become a major problem for Chinese policymakers. In addition to scorching crops and eroding incomes from farms, higher temperatures also impact manufacturing hubs, disrupt operations in important port cities and strain the already overburdened health care systems. Authorities in eastern and central China warned workers about the dangers and urged them to take precautions. Extreme heat and high humidity combined with commutes create a higher risk of heatstroke. China experienced its worst heatwaves in 2022. Many parts of the country were subjected to a 79 day hot spell between mid-June and late August. China doesn't keep a count of heat-related deaths and neither did the Chinese government. However, domestic media sometimes report on fatalities that are attributed to local authorities. A report in The Lancet from 2023 estimated that heat wave-related deaths in the second largest economy in the world would double to 50,900 in 2022. The national meteorological center forecasts more torrential rainfall in parts of north and south-west China this weekend. Videos on Chinese social media show residents canoeing their way through the flooded streets of Chengdu. (Reporting and editing by Lincoln Feast, Xiuhao Chan and Joe Cash.)
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Sources say that the hydrotreater at Marathon Galveston Bay Refinery will remain closed until September.
Sources familiar with the plant's operations on Thursday said that a fire-damaged hydrotreater will be closed at Marathon Petroleum Galveston Bay Refinery, Texas until September. All other units at the 631,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Texas City, Texas, are operating at or near full capacity following the June 14 fire at the 400 train hydrotreater, which is part of the 64,000-bpd Residual Hydrotreating Unit (RHU), the sources said. Sources who refused to identify themselves because the information was not publicly available did not quantify exactly the production impact. In an email sent Thursday night, Jamal Kheiry, the spokesperson for Marathon, declined to comment on operations at its refinery. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Galveston Bay Refinery has the second largest capacity in the United States. The 400 train is the third of three hydrotreaters that are part of the RHU. It uses hydrogen to remove sulfur in feedstocks, and products derived from them. This helps to meet U.S. Environmental Rules. The RHU has also a heavy oil unit which uses hydrogen as a boost to the motor fuels feedstocks, which can be squeezed from residual crude. This thick residue is most commonly used to make petroleum coke and asphalt. Sources said that following the fire, production of the 144,000 bpd gasoline producing fluid catalytic Cracker 3 (FCC-3), was reduced for several days. Reporting by Erwin Seba, Editing by Sandra Maler & Jamie Freed
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Oil prices stable on strong job market and tariff uncertainty
The oil prices were not much changed on Friday, as the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates at the same level due to a strong job market. Investors are also waiting for clarity regarding President Donald Trump's tariff plans against various countries. Brent crude futures rose by 1 cent or 0.01% to $68.81 per barrel at 0036 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 3 cents or 0.04% to $67.03. The U.S. Independence Day is a holiday. The U.S. Labour Market receded from the list of risks when data released on Thursday showed American firms had added more than 147,000 jobs, and that the unemployment rate dropped to 4,1%. This is a sign the economy has remained resilient in spite of the uncertainty and turbulence over the size and scope tariffs. The President said that Washington will begin sending letters to other countries on Friday, specifying the tariff rates they'll face on goods shipped to the United States. This is a significant shift from his earlier promises to reach scores of individual agreements. Trump said to reporters on Thursday, before leaving for Iowa, that he would send 10 letters at once to ten countries, each containing tariff rates ranging from 20% to 30%. Trump's 90 day pause in raising U.S. Tariffs ends on the 9th of July, and many large trading partners are yet to sign trade agreements. This includes the European Union and Japan. OPEC+ - the world's biggest group of oil producers - is expected to announce a production increase of 411,000 barrels a day for August in order to regain market shares, according to four delegates. Treasury Department: The U.S. imposed sanctions against Hezbollah controlled financial institutions and a network which smuggles Iranian crude oil under the guise of Iraqi oil. Barclays said on Thursday that it had raised its Brent Oil price forecast for 2025 by $6 per barrel to $72 and for 2026 by $10 to $70, citing an improved outlook on demand. (Reporting from Arathy S. Somasekhar, Houston; Editing and proofreading by Tom Hogue.)
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AGL Energy purchases South Australia's Virtual Power Plant (VPP) from Tesla
AGL Energy announced on Friday that it has acquired South Australia's Virtual Power Plant from Tesla. The Australian power retailer is looking to increase its battery storage to help drive the green energy transition. AGL is aiming to achieve zero net carbon emissions in 2035 by implementing grid-scale storage projects of 1.4 gigawatts. AGL will be able to access residential solar and battery system networks consisting of approximately 7,000 Powerwall batteries. More are expected to be installed in this year. SAVPP is an extensive network of Powerwall and solar home battery systems installed in South Australian community and social housing. AGL will now own the SAVPP. In a press release, the company said that customers would receive significant discounts on energy and it will explore ways to extend the program to other users. Jo Egan, AGL's Chief Customer Officer, said: "We understand that the upfront costs for installing solar panels and batteries are a barrier to many people. We are working on ways to make them more affordable." The company stated that the solar and battery assets will be coordinated so as to work together and used to stabilise electricity grids where necessary. The company has not disclosed the value of this deal. Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer, did not respond immediately to a question about the deal's value.
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Michael Madsen, actor of 'Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill', dies aged 67
Michael Madsen died on Thursday at the age of 67. He was an actor in many films, including "Reservoir Dogs", "Thelma and Louise" and others. Ron Smith, Madsen's manager, confirmed that Madsen died from a cardiac arrest in his Malibu home. Madsen, who was born in Chicago in 1960, began acting in early 1980s with projects such as the TV series "St. He has accumulated more than 300 credits on screen, including "St. He appeared in "The Hateful Eight", "Kill Bill" and "Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood" as well as in "Reservoir Dogs", a 1992 film directed by Quentin Tarantino. Smith, Susan Ferris, and Liz Rodriguez, along with their manager Susan Ferris said that Michael Madsen had done some amazing work in the independent film industry over the past two years. They said he was also preparing to publish a book entitled "Tears For My Father : Outlaw Thoughts And Poems", which is currently in the editing process.
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Stocks hit record, US dollar strengthens after jobs data
The dollar rose after the U.S. payrolls data was stronger than expected, which indicated that the labor market might not be degrading as rapidly. The Labor Department Nonfarm payrolls increased 147,000 jobs in June, after a 144,000 increase in May that was revised upwards. This is well above the 110,000 estimates of economists polled. Markets dialed Back expectations According to LSEG, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut rates this year in response to the new data. The nearly 25% chance of a rate cut has all but disappeared, and expectations for a reduction in September are now down to 75%, from nearly 98% just before the report was released. "July Cut is off the table." "I was as surprised as everyone else to receive such a high number," said Sandy Villere. I'm not going say Goldilocks but it is pretty amazing, given all the intercurrents from DOGE to tariffs. It's pretty amazing that you can cut when the labor market is this strong. Wall Street closed again at record highs, with the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite index both reaching new records. Technology shares Nvidia rose by 1.3%, as its market capitalization approached $4 trillion. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM), another economic institute, showed that the U.S. service sector was booming. Pick up the pace In June, employment decreased for the third consecutive month as orders recovered. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 344.11, or 0.7%, to 44.828.53, while the S&P 500 jumped 51.93, or 0.8%, to 6,279.35, and the Nasdaq Composite grew 207.97, or 1.02, points to 20,601.10. The S&P 500 rose by 1.72% for the week. The Nasdaq gained 1.62% and the Dow rose 2.3%. MSCI's global stock index rose by 5.99 points or 0.65% to 926.47, after reaching a record high of 926.79. It was also up 0.3% for the week. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed the week up 0.47% led by bank stocks. Dollars strengthened In the wake of payrolls, the dollar index, which measures greenbacks against a basket currencies, rose 0.38% to reach 97.12. The euro fell 0.37%, at $1.1754. The dollar is on course for its second consecutive gain, after nine sessions of declines. It was down by 0.1% this week. The dollar gained 0.95% against the Japanese yen to reach 145.03. Hajime Takata, a Bank of Japan board of member, said that the central banks should resume interest rates hikes after a temporary pause in order to evaluate the effect of U.S. Tariffs. He expressed optimism that the country is on track to achieve its central bank's goal of price stability. The sterling strengthened by 0.07%, to $1.3645. This follows a sharp drop in UK assets the previous session due to fiscal concerns and uncertainties about Rachel Reeves future as Britain's Finance Minister. U.S. Treasury yields jumped After the jobs report, we will ease a bit. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. notes increased 5.3 basis point to 4.346%, while the yield on the 2-year note, which moves typically in line with expectations of interest rates for the Federal Reserve rose 9.7 basis points, to 3.886%. The 10-year yield increased by 6.3 basis point while the 2-year rate rose nearly 14.6 basis points. U.S. crude dropped 0.65% to $67.01 per barrel. Brent was down to $68.79 a barrel, a drop of 0.46% for the day.
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Q&A: Is Venezuela on the verge of losing its prized foreign asset, Citgo?
Gold Reserve's $7.38bn bid was selected by a U.S. court as the winning bid. Preliminary winner After intense competition, Citgo Petroleum (owned by Venezuela) held an auction for its parent company. Robert Pincus is the court officer who oversees this auction. He made his recommendation Wednesday, after evaluating five bids submitted during the "topping period" of the bidding rounds, which was completed at the end of June. The auction is a result of a case Crystallex, a Canadian miner, filed in Delaware eight years ago against Venezuela. Citgo Holding's parent company, PDV Holding was found liable by the federal court for Venezuela's past debts and expropriations. This allowed over a dozen creditors to seek compensation for nearly $19 billion. If Judge Leonard Stark, after a series of delays, approves the bid in the next month's court hearing, it is likely that this year's bidding round will be concluded soon. The final results hearing is scheduled for August 18. In March, a $3.7 billion bid from Red Tree Investments of Contrarian Funds kicked off the round. This included a $2 billion agreement for payment to holders of defaulted Venezuela bonds. In April, rival bidders began to make their offers. According to court documents and sources, rival bidders include the group led Gold Reserve's Dalinar Energy Corporation, a consortium led Black Lion Capital Advisors and a group headed by commodities house Vitol. The court did not reveal the names of some bidders, and certain offers that were received did not meet eligibility requirements. Pincus said that the recent resolutions of parallel legal actions in pursuit of the exact same assets encouraged new bids. Gold Reserve, despite its winning bid being lower than other offers, covered 11 of 15 creditors at the auction and included its own claim of $1.18 billion for expropriation assets in Venezuela. Compensation would be provided for pending claims from oil company ConocoPhillips and miners Rusoro, Crystallex, and conglomerates Koch OI Glass, Siemens Energy, and Siemens Energy. Gold Reserve's offer didn't include an agreement to compensate holders of Venezuelan defaulted bonds, which, according to analysts and bidders, could delay or interfere in the distribution of auction profits. What could be the possible loss for Venezuela? Venezuela would lose its largest overseas asset if it fails to retain equity in the refinery and its U.S. parent companies. With a foreign debt of $150 billion, the country has already lost assets in Europe, Asia, and South America to creditors. Judge Stark left the door open for Venezuelan parties to make an offer. Boards supervising refiners would have to get the backing of politicians from both Caracas as well as Washington. This is a difficult task given the U.S. sanctions against the OPEC nation, and the strained relationship between the two countries. Prior to the sanctions, Citgo's 807,000-barrel-per-day refining network was a primary processor of Venezuela's heavy sour crudes. Citgo, the Houston-based refiner, has been relying on other crude suppliers since it severed ties with PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela's state-run oil firm, which is Citgo's ultimate parent. Venezuela's opposition has been working for years to keep Citgo. They have funded legal defenses, and lobbied in Washington. Treasury Department must approve the winner of the auction. Treasury Department has protected Citgo in recent years from creditors. Citgo, according to opponents of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, could help the nation's economy recover if democracy was restored. Maduro officials rejected U.S. sanction and called the auction a robbery. Can creditors claim post-auction compensation? Yes. ConocoPhillips and Gold Reserve have taken legal action to seize Venezuelan assets such as tankers, bank accounts and PDVSA controlled storage facilities. If they are not satisfied with the results of the bidding round, which was won by Elliott Investment Management affiliate Amber Energy last year, the creditors can file objections. Other creditors can continue their parallel cases outside of the Delaware case, where they haven't made much progress in proving bond-related claims, or that PDVSA U.S. subsidiaries are liable for Venezuela's obligations, an essential step to pursue Citgo assets. Three of the original 18 creditors cleared by the court have withdrawn due to mounting legal fees and uncertain prospects for recovery. Other participants, such as the owner of artifacts belonging to Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar and a collector of Bolivar-related items, failed to meet all requirements set by the court. All creditors will be compensated? Unlikely. Citgo's value was up to $13 Billion in the Delaware case. However, all bids have been below $11 Billion. Profits for the refiner dropped to $305 millions last year, down from $2 billion in 2020. This suggests that some of the registered creditors who collectively claim $18,9 billion may not be eligible to receive any distributions.
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China's Foreign Minister dismisses European concerns over rare Earths
China's Foreign Minister downplayed European concerns over rare earth exports on Thursday. He said it was standard practice to control dual use goods exports, but that Europe could meet its needs if they submitted applications. Wang Yi spoke in Berlin at a joint press conference with his German counterpart. He was on the second leg a European tour to prepare for the summit between EU leaders and Chinese leaders that will take place later this month. Wang stated that "rare earths are not a problem, have never been a problem, and will never be a issue between China, Europe, or Germany." If legal applications are filed, Europe and Germany can meet their normal needs. China, which controls 90% of the global processing capacity for rare Earths, used in everything from cars to home appliances and other products, imposed early April restrictions requiring exporters obtain licenses from Beijing. The German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated that the restrictions caused "great concern" in Germany and damaged China's reputation as a reliable trading partner. He said: "We're on our way to finding joint sustainable solutions that will bring about the detente necessary," When Wang was asked whether an agreement on restrictions could be reached ahead of the EU and China summit, he replied: "This issue is not between China or Europe... Controlling dual-use products is standard practice." China and Germany have both the right to do this." He added that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has already implemented a fast track procedure to ensure that all normal approvals can be processed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Wang arrived in Berlin after a visit to Brussels where he had a meeting with EU officials, including Kaja Kallas the EU's High Representative for Foreign Policy, who also encouraged Wang to lift export restrictions on rare earths. Wadephul stated that the two ministers discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Taiwan, and the Middle East crisis. He said, "We think China can play an important role in the relationship with Iran." (Reporting and editing by Bill Berkrot; Sarah Marsh, Andreas Rinke)
The prize is worth billions of dollars, but winning it is the key: Russell
Decarbonising steel is one of the biggest challenges to meeting climate goals. However, it could be extremely profitable for those companies and governments willing to take on the risk.
Steel value chain is responsible for 7 to 9% global carbon emissions. It is the biggest industrial contributor, and therefore a primary target for many countries' and companies' goals for net-zero in 2050.
About 80% of the steel emissions are caused by one single process. This is the removal of oxygen and other impurities from iron ore to produce pig iron, or crude iron. The process now requires vast amounts of coal.
While the final steel product will not be emission-free, the carbon intensity can be reduced to about 300 kg (661 pounds) per ton, which is one-seventh the current 2.2 tonnes of emissions.
The bad news is, it will take massive amounts of green energy, coordinated government regulations, and incentives from all countries - from resource producers such as Australia, to steelmakers like China and Japan - in order to adopt these technologies on a large scale.
Australia is the largest iron ore producer in the world, exporting nearly 1 billion metric tonnes a year. Of this, more than 80% go to China, which is the biggest steel maker and importer of the world.
Australia is the world's largest exporter of iron ore and the metallurgical coal that is used to produce steel is also in the top five. This means the country is highly exposed to any shift in global steel production in order to reduce emissions.
The Green Iron and Steel Forum, held in Perth this week, put the importance of a shift to low-emissions steel and the size of the challenge at the forefront.
Australia's exports of iron ore and metallurgical coke are valued at $85 billion each year, while metallurgical coke is worth another $34 billion. However, the value increase that could be achieved by producing green iron to export has been estimated as high as $252 billion per year.
This assumes that most of the iron ore volume is converted to green iron by using hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
The value of green iron, which is 40% of the iron ore production by 2050, would still be around $110 billion annually. To this value you could add the 60% of iron that's still being shipped.
The capital required to build the infrastructure for energy production and processing will be huge, reaching hundreds of billions.
Costs of solar panels and wind turbines will likely continue to fall, particularly if massive quantities are demanded in China, resulting in increased economies of scale.
Investors will still need some degree of certainty before they deploy such large amounts of capital.
COMMITMENTS ARE NEEDED
Steel mills from existing heavyweights such as China, Japan and South Korea must commit to buying green iron.
The steel industry will need to invest in electric arc smelters, which are capable of converting green iron to steel without the use of coal.
Steelmakers will also be required to invest in Australian green-iron plants and share upfront capital costs.
The mining industry is good at shipping and digging iron ore. However, they need to find partners who have expertise in the construction of renewable power plants, hydrogen production plants, and other green technologies to transform this raw ore.
The challenge is to bring all parties together and kick-start a brand new industry using a raw material that is already available.
The governments of Australia and Asia also have a significant role to play.
The production of low-emissions products will be more costly than the high-emissions version.
The experience suggests that consumers will not pay more for low-emissions products. Therefore, the steel industry must either be penalized by carbon taxes or encouraged by subsidies to make the switch.
There are carbon taxes in some Asian countries and incentives for green projects. However, there is still no coordinated regional framework to provide investors with certainty and encourage investment.
The Perth conference revealed that Australia has the technology to go green and is willing to do so.
The switch from the dig-and ship model to beneficiating green iron in Australia will likely be as big a snowball.
The green iron dream looks like a snowball on top of a hill. It needs to gain some initial momentum before it can start rolling downhill.
It will take time for the avalanche to gain speed and size. However, if you can avoid hitting obstacles on the way down the mountain it could turn into an actual avalanche.
These are the views of the columnist, who is also an author. Clarence Fernandez edited this article
(source: Reuters)