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Data shows that India's finished steel imports from April to February were up by nearly 16% year-on-year.
According to preliminary government data analyzed by on Tuesday, India's finished imports of steel during the first eleven months of the fiscal year that began in April were 8.98 million tons. This represents a 15.8% increase year-on year. India, which is the second largest crude steel producer in the world, became a net buyer of steel in 2023/24. This trend has continued, with increasing shipments coming from China, South Korea, and Japan. In an effort to reduce imports, India proposed a temporary tax of 12% on certain steel products, also known as a "safeguard duty", for 200 days. The data revealed that South Korea exported the most alloy to India between April and February, with shipments totaling 2.6 million tons, an increase of 7.1% on a year-over-year. The data revealed that finished steel imports totaled 2.4 million tons from China, a 5.3% decrease year-on year, and imports of 1.9 million tons from Japan, a 70% increase year-on year. The government report stated that flat steel products made up 95% of the total finished steel imports. Hot-rolled coils and strips were also the most popular product. The data revealed that India's exports of finished steel during the period April-February were 4.4 million metric tonnes, down 33.7% on an annual basis. According to data, Italy was the top export destination, but exports fell 56.2%. Exports to Belgium, Spain and France also decreased. Last week, it was reported that the European Union tightened its import restrictions and this would likely affect the Indian government's ability to ship to Europe. However, the Indian government is confident that the strong domestic demand will offset any impact. The finished steel consumption of the country was 137.8 millions metric tons. This is an increase of 11.3% on a year-on-year basis. The data revealed that the crude steel production during this period was 138.2 millions metric tons, an increase of 5.2% on a year-on-year.
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Dalian iron ore nears a one-month peak on increasing China demand
The price of iron ore futures rebounded Tuesday as the growing demand in China, the world's largest steel-making consumer, outweighed concerns about trade wars and upcoming U.S. duties. The May contract for the most traded iron ore on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange closed up 1.86 percent at 792 Yuan ($108.98). In the early part of the session, the prices reached 797 yuan - their highest level since March 3. As of 0706 GMT, the benchmark May iron ore traded on the Singapore Exchange had risen by 1.64% to $102.65 per ton. Chinese consultancy Mysteel said that a further increase in hot metal production at Chinese steelmakers helped to support the price of iron ore imported last week. Everbright Futures, a broker, reported that hot metal production continued to rise in March by 10,200 tonnes to 2,3728 million tones month-on-month. The daily consumption of ore imported also increased by 13,200 tones. Iron ore demand is usually gauged by the hot metal production. Mysteel said that the recovery of downstream demand will determine whether ore prices can remain strong. A private sector survey revealed on Tuesday that China's factory output expanded at the fastest rate in four months during March. This was boosted by increased demand and solid export orders. A private survey revealed on Tuesday that despite this, the average resale prices in 100 Chinese cities dropped at a faster pace month-on-month in March. This indicates persistent challenges within the property market. The U.S. president Donald Trump will also announce a major new initiative. Tariff plan On Wednesday, the tariffs will be increased on all products from China. Coking coal and coke, which are both steelmaking ingredients, have gained 0.65% and 3.5% respectively. The Shanghai Futures Exchange saw a significant increase in the majority of steel benchmarks. The price of hot-rolled coil increased by 0.24%. Wire rod gained 0.12%. Stainless steel rose around 0.8%. Rebar fell nearly 0.1%. $1 = 7.2674 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Sherry Jab-Phillips, Eileen Soreng).
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Travis Perkins, UK's Travis Perkins, flags a challenging start to the year
Travis Perkins, the British building materials company, reported a difficult start to 2025 on Tuesday, blaming uncertainty about the construction market's recovery and high interest rates. It also posted a 25% decline in profit for 2024. The UK's home improvement and housebuilding sectors experienced a subdued level of demand throughout 2024, as a weakening economy and high borrowing rates drove away homebuyers and caused many property owners delay repairs. Travis Perkins' flagship merchanting business has seen a slight decline in volume due to the economic struggles this year and the slow rate of interest rate reduction. About 82% of the overall revenue was generated by the merchanting business last year. Last year, the company reported an adjusted operating profit of 196.3 million pounds (152 million pounds). LSEG data shows that the average analyst estimate was 134,5 million pounds. The company said that its adjusted operating profit for 2025, excluding the property profit, is expected to be roughly in line with the 141 million pound figure of last year. Travis Perkins announced that its CEO Pete Redfern was stepping down because of ill health in March, just five months after taking office. This news sent the company's shares to a new five-year low. Breedon Group, a peer in the industry, posted its annual results last month ahead of expectations. This was aided by the Irish and U.S. market, and SIG predicted a recovery for its UK, German, and French key markets in 2025.
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Tesla sales in France fall to the lowest level in four quarters
Elon Musk’s electric car brand's first quarter sales in France have been the lowest since 2021, according to data released on Tuesday. Tesla's sales have been in decline ahead of its much-anticipated Model Y midsize SUV launch. The billionaire CEO is a close ally to U.S. president Donald Trump and has courted far-right parties across Europe. Data from the French auto body PFA revealed that Tesla sold 3,157 cars in France in March, a drop of 36.83% from last year. This equates to 6,693 registrations for the first quarter. The PFA's share of the country's market dropped to 1.63% for the March quarter, as it lost ground to other brands, such as BYD, which has a 3.19% market share. The overall number of new cars registered in France decreased by 14.54% between March and the first quarter. Tesla will report its global production and delivery numbers for the first quarter on Wednesday. Analysts are expecting data from France and key European markets to be released on Tuesday, which will provide an indication of how the group performed in the third quarter and the consumer's perception towards the brand. Tesla cars are also targets of vandalism in several countries as a result of Musk's right-wing activism. Musk reiterated Donald Trump's earlier remarks on Monday that the overnight fire that destroyed 17 Tesla cars at a Tesla dealer in Rome was an act of terror.
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Wall Street Journal April 1, 2019
These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Chevron agreed to sell 70% of its East Texas Gas assets to TG Natural Resources for $525 Million as part its strategy to optimize the portfolio. Meta executives have asked U.S. officials in charge of trade to take action against a fine that is expected from the European Union and a cease-and-desist letter. SoftBank Group agreed to fund a for profit subsidiary of OpenAI with up to 40 billion dollars, which values the ChatGPT maker to $300 billion. Rocket Companies announced on Monday that it will buy Mr Cooper Group, which provides home loan services, for $9.4 Billion. This is the second major deal Rocket Companies has made this month in order to capitalize on a recovery in U.S. Housing Demand. As part of an investigation into antisemitism in schools, the Trump administration has turned its attention to Harvard University. It is reviewing nearly $9 billion worth of federal grants and contracts. Lip-Bu Tan, Intel's newly appointed CEO, outlined on Monday an emphased version of the American chipmaker where he would directly work with engineers to create new products based upon feedback from customers. (Compiled from Bengaluru Newsroom)
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Sources say that Motiva FCC shut down the refinery in Texas for two weeks.
Sources familiar with the plant's operations on Monday said that a fluidic catalytic cracked (FCC) in Motiva Enterprises refinery Port Arthur, Texas is expected to be closed for at least two weeks following a second failed restart attempt last weekend. On January 21, the unit called FCC3 and an alkylation was shut down for a planned two-month overhaul. FCCs transform gas oil into unfinished fuel, while alkylation systems convert refinery byproducts into components that are typically added to gasoline. Motiva didn't immediately respond to a comment request. Sources said that the second attempt to restart FCC3, which is capable of producing around 81,000 barrels a day, resulted in a compressor failure on the unit. This caused the delay of two weeks. On March 22, the refinery had tried to restart its sole cracker unit. The refinery has a capacity of converting 626,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to motor fuels and other petrochemicals. Sources added that the 18,000-bpd unit was partially restarted, but it will not be able to return to full production before FCC3 is restored. Daksh Grocer in Bengaluru, Leslie Adler, and Janane Vekatraman edited the article.
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South Korea's watchdog questions the purpose of Hanwha Aerospace $2.5 billion share sale
The South Korean financial market watchdog stated on Tuesday that Hanwha Aerospace must better explain how the proposed 3.6 trillion won (2.46 billion dollars) equity raise fits into a larger plan to restructure its company. Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), last week, blocked controversial capital raising plans of the defence company on grounds that its filing did not contain the information necessary for investors to make rational investments decisions. It ordered the company to submit a revised submission. Hahm Yong il, Senior Deputy Governor of FSS, said at a press briefing that "the ownership restructuring of affiliated companies and its relevance to share issue plan as well as the effect of the restructuring on firm should be noted." Analysts questioned the intention and necessity of raising capital. On March 21, the day after the plan announcement, Hanwha Aerospace shares posted their worst session in early November 2016. They fell 13%. Hanwha Group announced Monday that Kim Seung Youn, Chairman of South Korea's 7th largest conglomerate, was giving his sons an 11.32% share in Hanwha Aerospace, the parent company of Hanwha Corp, as part a succession plan. Hanwha Aeropsace announced on Tuesday that its executives, which included one of Kim’s sons, had purchased shares worth about 9 billion won to demonstrate their desire to increase shareholder value. Investors have been critical of a number of capital-raising plans in South Korea, including those by Samsung SDI, Korea Zinc, and battery maker Samsung SDI. Corporate Governance Reforms As of 0445 GMT, shares in Hanwha Aerospace rose 7.5% while the benchmark KOSPI index was up by 1.8%. Reporting by Jihoon Lee, Editing by Jamie Freed & Gerry Doyle
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The fire that destroyed the Petronas pipeline in Malaysia injured 33 people
Authorities reported that a fire on a gas pipe operated by the state-owned energy company Petronas in Malaysia injured 33 people Tuesday, just outside the capital Kuala Lumpur. Astro Awani reported that Selangor Fire Department Director Wan Md Razali Wan Ismail said six of the injured had been sent to hospital. The fire is still burning and efforts are being made to put it out. Selangor Disaster Management Committee Chairman Mohd. Najwanhalimi told the state news agency Bernama that there are still people trapped in homes in Kampung Sungai baru, and rescue efforts continue. In a press release, Petronas said that the pipeline was isolated. Selangor Fire Department said that the fire has damaged homes. Images and videos shared by social media and news outlets showed a huge fire with a large orange flame and smoke on the horizon. The department released a statement saying that a large flame rose in Puchong from a leak on a 500-metre (1,640-foot) pipeline. Petronas had closed the valve to the burning pipeline. The fire department stated that it was still examining the extent of fire in the residential district. Reporting by Danial and Ashley Tang from Kuala Lumpur, writing by Xinghui Kok and editing by Martin Petty and Stephen Coates
Trump met with Ecuadorean president Noboa on Saturday in Florida
On Saturday, U.S. president Donald Trump met with Ecuadorean president Daniel Noboa at a hotel in Florida. The meeting came ahead of the tight run-off vote on April 13, which will pit Noboa and leftist Luisa Gonzales against each other.
Noboa was elected to finish the remaining term of his predecessor in 2023 on the promise to fight drug gangs which have caused turmoil to the once tranquil South American nation.
Trump made combating the fentanyl that is responsible for 70,000 deaths per year in the United States a major pillar of his second tenure in office, by imposing tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China.
Noboa shared a photo of him and his wife with Trump on X late Saturday night, but did not add any commentary. White House officials confirmed that the meeting would be held on Friday but did not provide any details.
Trump met with the Finnish President Alexander Stubb earlier that day at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach in Florida. The two discussed their bilateral relationship and played a round golf.
Noboa, along with his wife, attended Trump's inaugural in Washington D.C. in January.
This month, it was reported that Ecuadorean officials told Trump's allies they were interested in hosting an American military base. They also expressed interest in a free-trade agreement with the United States similar to those in place in Colombia and Peru.
Noboa, the son of one Ecuador's wealthiest businessmen, has deployed the military in the streets and prisons using state-of-emergency declarations. He also implemented harsher sentences and cheered on the arrest of major gang leader.
Noboa said that Ecuador would not accept deported migrants from other countries, but it will always welcome its citizens. He also criticized Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for rejecting briefly flights of Venezuelan migrants who were deported by the United States.
Noboa announced an "alliance" with Erik Prince, a prominent Trump backer and founder and CEO of the private military company Blackwater. The alliance will be used to combat crime and narcoterrorism within this 17-million-strong country.
Mark Feierstein is a former senior official of the Biden and Obama Administrations. He said that the timing of Noboa's meeting with Trump, just before the elections, suggested both sides thought it would help Noboa.
"Trump's reputation is crashing in the U.S., and all over the globe." "Ecuador is a pro U.S. nation, but this type of intervention could give Gonzalez an extra boost," said he.
Noboa has made a public argument for the bringing of foreign military bases into Ecuador. The Ecuadorean parliament is at the beginning stages of a process that could remove a constitutional prohibition on such facilities, instituted in 2008 under the support of the former leftist president Rafael Correa.
After Noboa's election, the Biden administration expanded U.S.-Ecuador security cooperation. This included launching a bilateral defense group in 2023.
Noboa has ratified two agreements of military cooperation with the United States. These agreements establish a framework that allows U.S. personnel to operate in Ecuador, and allow for joint naval activities to combat illicit activities and drug trafficking.
The U.S. had a base in the Galapagos Islands, an environmentally sensitive area during World War Two. A separate base was used to fight narcotics on the mainland up until 2009. (Reporting from Andrea Shalal in Quito and Alexandra Valencia, Washington; additional reporting from Gram Slattery; editing by Diane Craft and Rod Nickel)
(source: Reuters)