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Buying appetite from China remains dull amid reports of bloated inventories and an increasing glut of Iranian crude.
Trade sources said May and June crude buying volumes may remain subdued, clouding the buying outlook even more at a time when a government investigation on the China s private refining sector has already rung alarm bells among global oil suppliers that independent refiners would be moving cautiously in sealing deals in the near future.
Despite the bleak outlook from a key market for ESPO blend crude, the strong spot differentials witnessed for early-month tender purchases has left market participants perplexed.
Renewable electrical power to replace reformer burners
Microwave energy is produced from electricity, it is used in our homes to heat food. Radio communications masts transmit information using microwave frequencies. Industrial microwaves are used for drying pharmaceutical powders, cereal grains, and timber. Microwaves are now also being used to provide the energy to drive steam methane reformers.
Jan Boshoff is the CEO of Nu:ionic Technologies. He says that “using microwaves from renewable power instead of burning natural gas or biomethane to create the energy required for the reforming reaction can reduce gas consumption by 25 to 30%. It also reduces the fossil fuel footprint by a similar amount. By eliminating the fired heater, which is the most polluting part of steam methane reforming, through electrification, we are reinventing gas conversion for a cleaner future.”
Demand for whole milk powder remained strong at the latest global dairy trade auction.
Demand for whole milk powder remained strong at the global dairy trade auction overnight, boding well for dairy farmers. The global dairy trade price index slipped 0.1 per cent from the previous auction a fortnight ago. Prices for whole milk powder, which has the most impact on what farmers are paid, gained 0.4 per cent to an average US$4097 (NZ$5713) a tonne. Whole milk powder prices are 51 per cent higher than at the same time last year, largely driven by China where a wealthier population and an increased focus on health and wellbeing after the Covid-19 pandemic is stoking demand for better nutrition.
Equity markets start on a mixed note
Posted 7 hours agoSharePrint
Wall Street higher but Asian markets mixed
Equity markets are off to a mixed start in Asia, after a robust Wall Street session overnight led by big tech. Overnight, the Wall Street session was notable for investors piling back into the 2020 darlings of the S&P and Nasdaq after ignoring the higher US CPI print. With the Dow Jones lagging, ASEAN’s cyclical markets are also underperforming today, while North Asian markets are mostly higher.
Overnight, the S&P 500 rose by 0.33%, with the Nasdaq leaping 1.05% higher, as the Dow Jones edged 0.20% lower. US index futures have all edged lower today in Asia, mollifying the bullish euphoria seen in other time zones.