Via Metal Miner The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) moved sideways, with a modest 1.86% decline from April to May. U.S. flat-rolled steel prices found a bottom at the close of March and proceeded to move sideways. HRC prices saw a modest increase but ultimately closed the month at $838 per short ton. Meanwhile, HRC Midwest Futures saw a strong decline throughout April, which saw the delta between MetalMiner HRC prices and futures narrow to a mere $1 per short ton as of May 1. This signals that markets expect the sideways steel price trend…

Shell is preparing to divest from downstream operations in South Africa as a result of an internal portfolio review, Shell said in a statement on Monday reported by Reuters and confirmed in an interview with the Daily Maverick just hours later.  Shell holds a majority share in Shell Downstream SA (SDSA), which was formed by the merger agreement between Shell South Africa and Thebe Investment Corporation a decade ago. The partnership was intended to merge Shell’s marketing and refining business, with Thebe, a black empowerment group,…

The U.S. Treasury Department on May 1 imposed new sanctions on hundreds of companies and people tied to Russia's weapons development program as part of its continuing effort to limit Russia’s ability to access the materials it needs to “prosecute its illegal war against Ukraine." The department said in a news release that the goal of the sanctions was to "further degrade Russia’s ability to sustain its war machine." The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on nearly 200 targets, while the State Department designated more than…

One of the recent positives for bonds and non-energy stocks could have run its course after Saudi Arabia raised the price of its flagship crude to Asia for a third consecutive month, according to Bloomberg markets live reporter Garfield Reynolds Over the weekend, state-owned Saudi Aramco raised the June official selling price of Arab Light crude for customers in Asia by 90 cents to $2.90 a barrel above the regional Oman-Dubai benchmark, Bloomberg reported. It compares with an increase of 60 cents forecast in a Bloomberg…

One of the recent positives for bonds and non-energy stocks could have run its course after Saudi Arabia raised the price of its flagship crude to Asia for a third consecutive month, according to Bloomberg markets live reporter Garfield Reynolds Over the weekend, state-owned Saudi Aramco raised the June official selling price of Arab Light crude for customers in Asia by 90 cents to $2.90 a barrel above the regional Oman-Dubai benchmark, Bloomberg reported. It compares with an increase of 60 cents forecast in a Bloomberg…

One of the recent positives for bonds and non-energy stocks could have run its course after Saudi Arabia raised the price of its flagship crude to Asia for a third consecutive month, according to Bloomberg markets live reporter Garfield Reynolds Over the weekend, state-owned Saudi Aramco raised the June official selling price of Arab Light crude for customers in Asia by 90 cents to $2.90 a barrel above the regional Oman-Dubai benchmark, Bloomberg reported. It compares with an increase of 60 cents forecast in a Bloomberg…

Ten years ago this week, we posted one of out most viral stories, highlighting the over-capacity in the auto industry:  "Where the World's Unsold Cars Go To Die," which highlighted the 'endgame' of automakers' 'channel stuffing' efforts to disguise the sudden lack of demand for all the exciting new models that they had forecast would boom to the moon... And now, as MishTalk's Mike Shedlock reports,  we are seeing similar pictures across Europe... "Some are parked here for a year, sometimes more." Le…

Four unnamed sources have told Reuters that Saudi state-run oil giant Aramco is in talks to potentially acquire Shell’s billion-dollar gas station business in Malaysia, where the Dutch supergiant owns a network of nearly 1,000 fuel stations.  Neither Shell nor Aramco would comment on the rumor of the talks for Reuters; however, one source told the news agency that talks began late last year and could be finalized in a matter of months.  A second source told Reuters that the deal could be worth over $1 billion.  While Shell…

Four unnamed sources have told Reuters that Saudi state-run oil giant Aramco is in talks to potentially acquire Shell’s billion-dollar gas station business in Malaysia, where the Dutch supergiant owns a network of nearly 1,000 fuel stations.  Neither Shell nor Aramco would comment on the rumor of the talks for Reuters; however, one source told the news agency that talks began late last year and could be finalized in a matter of months.  A second source told Reuters that the deal could be worth over $1 billion.  While Shell…

The U.S. Department of Energy has finalized a rule banning fossil fuels from new and renovated federal buildings. The Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings Rule, mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, mandates a phased reduction in fossil fuel usage in these buildings. The law requires federal buildings and major renovations to phase out fossil fuel-generated energy consumption by 2030. This provision had been pending due to regulatory delays until now. Energy Secretary Jennifer…

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has terminated talks to buy a stake in Brazil’s petrochemicals company Braskem from its controlling company Novonor, Braskem said on Monday. At the end of last year, the state oil giant of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) proposed a non-binding offer to buy a stake in Braskem, in an offer implying an equity value of $2.14 billion (10.5 billion Brazilian reals) for Novonor’s 38.3% stake in the Brazilian company. The non-binding offer from November was conditional on a satisfactory…

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has terminated talks to buy a stake in Brazil’s petrochemicals company Braskem from its controlling company Novonor, Braskem said on Monday. At the end of last year, the state oil giant of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) proposed a non-binding offer to buy a stake in Braskem, in an offer implying an equity value of $2.14 billion (10.5 billion Brazilian reals) for Novonor’s 38.3% stake in the Brazilian company. The non-binding offer from November was conditional on a satisfactory…

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has terminated talks to buy a stake in Brazil’s petrochemicals company Braskem from its controlling company Novonor, Braskem said on Monday. At the end of last year, the state oil giant of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) proposed a non-binding offer to buy a stake in Braskem, in an offer implying an equity value of $2.14 billion (10.5 billion Brazilian reals) for Novonor’s 38.3% stake in the Brazilian company. The non-binding offer from November was conditional on a satisfactory…

Russia’s oil and gas revenues hit $13.5 billion (1.23 trillion Russian rubles) in April, Russian finance ministry data showed on Monday. The Kremlin received nearly double the oil income for the Russian budget that it did in the same month of 2023, per Bloomberg’s estimates. The weaker Russian ruble and the higher price of Russia’s flagship Urals crude amid higher international oil prices contributed to higher revenues from oil-related taxes and from all total oil and gas sales, per Bloomberg’s calculations.   The Russian…

The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund’s investment arm, Mubadala Capital, plans to make a substantial investment in biofuels in Brazil, the Financial Times has reported, quoting the head of Mubadala’s Brazilian operations. The $13.5-billion investment in biofuels is part of a broader investment plan for Brazil that may also include setting up a new stock exchange in the country, Oscar Fahlgren told the FT. “It’s all about feedstock [which] in reality is agriculture. And Brazil is probably the best-placed country on the…

The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund’s investment arm, Mubadala Capital, plans to make a substantial investment in biofuels in Brazil, the Financial Times has reported, quoting the head of Mubadala’s Brazilian operations. The $13.5-billion investment in biofuels is part of a broader investment plan for Brazil that may also include setting up a new stock exchange in the country, Oscar Fahlgren told the FT. “It’s all about feedstock [which] in reality is agriculture. And Brazil is probably the best-placed country on the…

Global gasoline demand is set to decline sizeable this year, according to Wood Mackenzie, driven by greater adoption of electric vehicles, the consultancy said, as quoted by Reuters. "Penetration of electric vehicles has been increasing in the U.S. and China," Wood Mac analyst Sushant Gupta said. "For this year Chinese demand will grow by only 10,000 bpd, due to higher EV uptake." EV sales in China are seen by some local analysts rising by 24% this year to a total of 11 million vehicles. This would be a slowdown from last year’s 36%…

Oil prices have recorded the biggest weekly decline in three months thanks in large part to challenging economic indicators and growing demand concerns. Last week, U.S. crude inventories posted an unexpected rise, with the American Petroleum Institute (API) reporting a build of 4.91 million barrels, a sharp contrast from the anticipated decrease of 1.1 million barrels. This build has come after reports that U.S. crude production surged to 13.15 million barrels per day in February, up from 12.58 million barrels in January, suggesting supply…

The United States says Russia is violating UN-imposed limits on total shipments of fuels to North Korea, signaling it is preparing more sanctions against entities involved in facilitating Pyongyang's access to petroleum products above the UN-mandated levels.    The UN Security Council has imposed a limit of 500,000 barrels of annual supply of all refined petroleum products to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as North Korea is officially known, in an effort to curb its nuclear weapons program.    Russia,…

Some materials are transparent to light of a certain frequency. When such light is shone on them, electrical currents can still be generated, contrary to previous assumptions. Scientists from Leipzig University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have managed to prove this. The scientists have published their findings in the journal Physical Review Letters. Inti Sodemann Villadiego, Professor at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Leipzig University commented, “This opens new paradigms for constructing opto-electronic and…