Commodities

From Clyde Russell: When the going gets tough, the tough ask for tax relief.

The Mining GFC smouldered overnight as the our Janet barely moved the needle.

No stick save for oil from Janet Yellen but it is up on the day to $31.08 as I write.

Tianjin benchmark trade resumed after CNY and fell 0.4% to $US44.50.

The Mining GFC raged higher last night as the tension between falling commodities and the end of Fed tightening gave way to simple worries about global growth and commodity demand.

Not much fun on the bourse today with houses and holes both shredded by the raging Sykesnado.

From Michael West, the last journo standing: The Gas Cartel has managed to convince the Australian public that when global gas prices are high we should pay global prices and when global prices are low we should pay 60 per cent more than the global price.

From UBS: Australian gold equities are divided, premium for some, discount for others We see Australian gold equities factoring in a gold price of US$1,147/oz, in line with spot.

The Mining GFC crisis deepened last night as rumoured US shale bankruptcies swept the market and stocks were pummeled -2.5% then rebounded some: Those low 1800s support levels on the S&P500 do not look strong.

The only credible institution in world banking, and the only one that warned of the GFC,  today warned on the Mining GFC: The growth of debt in the emerging economies has been dramatic, as shown in Graph 1.

Brent oil took a sizable shellacking overnight down nearly -4% to $32.75 as I write.

From Domainfax comes a new chapter in the history economic stupidity: Large industrial customers in north-west Queensland paid on average $11.97 a gigajoule for gas in 2015, compared to $5.68 in Victoria, a new report for the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science has found.

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.