Commodities

By Leith van Onselen Queensland Resources Council (QRC) – the peak industry association representing the commercial developers of Queensland’s minerals and energy resources – has released a new report that has found that the coal sector is in dire straits, and has called upon the government for assistance.

After one day off it’s baaaack.

Nothing gets the bears roaring like a crash in the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) and right now it is trading at record lows: Bears like to point to falls in the BDI as an indicator of imminent doom.

From the AFR: Tim Schroeders, fund manager at Rio investor Pengana Capital, said while keeping the policy could provide Rio with a “point of differentiation” among the major miners, “in 12 months or sooner it could change.

Brent oil eased again Friday night to $34.13 and Henry Hub firmed a little: The action was despite a renewed plunge in the US rig count down down -31 to 467.

Here are the iron ore charts for February 5, 2015: Spot firm with Tianjin benchmark unchanged.

The big iron dead cat bounce continues today with BHP up another 3.3%, RIO 1.8% and FMG is flat: Dalian is falling today down two points.

From Macquarie: As if the global steel industry didn’t have enough problems, Chinese steel exports hitting almost 125mt on a crude steel equivalent basis over 2015 was a distinct surprise on the upside.

From our old friend Clifford Bennett: One could be forgiven for thinking thus.

From S&P: Glencore PLC Ratings Lowered To ‘BBB-/A-3’ On Price And Sector Review; Outlook Stable Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has recently lowered its price  assumptions for copper and other metals, reflecting the very challenging  market outlook and the increased uncertainty about demand.

From Domainfax: Indian mining and energy company Adani insists it may resume work on its massive Carmichael coal project in Queensland, despite reports suggesting indicating no further capital would be spent on the controversial mine this financial year.

Brent oil refused to join the commodities party last night, falling -2% to $34.28 as I write.

Here are the iron ore price charts for February 4, 2016: Tianjin benchmark jumped again 1.6% to $44.70.

Big and gas are off to the races as the Fed has indicated it will take the recent tightening in financial conditions into account at its next meeting.

Here are the iron ore charts for February 3, 2015: Spot up further with Tianjin benchmark rising 2.1$ to $44.

Brent oil went berserk last night up 7.4% on a central banker short squeeze as the US dollar tanked.

Big iron and gas are again being ripped apart by the Sykesnado which is only intensifying.

Better late than never: STO and ORG are still impacted by balance sheet stress We believe Santos (STO) and Origin Energy (ORG) currently experience the greatest balance sheet stress among our LNG coverage (primarily from low oil prices).

This post comes via Zero Hedge and is, for me, the key question for just how bad the Mining GFC is going to get.

From the AFR: The Queensland government has issued a final environmental authority for Adani’s controversial $16.5 billion Carmichael mine.

Yesterday RIO broke in the Australian market, falling to a new intraday and closing post-GFC low: Overnight it was hammered as well, down -4.7% in London and -5.2% in New York.

Here are the iron ore charts for February 2, 2016: Tianjin benchmark was up 1.4% to $43.10.

The Brent oil price was hammered again last night, roughly -4% as I write and back to $33.