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☆ U.S. solar panel imports from China grow, alleviating gridlock, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] John Podesta, the White House senior advisor for clean energy, delivers a speech during the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 6, 2023. REUTERS/Callaghan O'HareMarch 6 (Reuters) - U.S. imports of solar panels from Chinese suppliers are increasing as customs officials have clarified rules around complying with a new law banning goods made with forced labor, a White House official said on Monday. Trina Solar Co Ltd (688599.SS), a major Chinese solar manufacturer, told Reuters that more than 900 megawatts of solar panels has cleared U.S. customs in the last four months, with less than 1% of those products being detained for examination. Trina rival Jinko Solar Holding Co Ltd (JKS.N) has also had shipments released from detention, a source close to the company said. Reporting by Richard Valdmanis in Houston Editing by Chris Reese and David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Aluminium will be hardest hit with penal tariffs of 200% on imports of Russian metal, effective March 10, and imports of any third-country product containing Russian metal, effective April 10. This sort of "super contango" is the market's cry for financiers to pick up spare metal, particularly Russian metal. The Gwangyang deliveries are reported to be Russian aluminium being delivered by Glencore (GLEN.L), which has a long-term off-take deal with Rusal. The cash-to-threes time-spread will be a litmus test of financing appetite for Russian aluminium over the coming period. The only get-out for supplier nations is if they too impose minimum 200% tariffs on their own Russian aluminium imports.

"America will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes," Yellen, flanked by sandbags at the cabinet ministers' office, told Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Yellen also announced the transfer of the first $1.25 billion from the latest, $9.9 billion tranche of economic and budget assistance from Washington. The latest funds are part of $45 billion in new military, economic and humanitarian approved by Congress in December as part of broad U.S. budget legislation. Yellen said such economic support is keeping Ukraine's government and critical public services running, schools open and pensions paid, providing a "bedrock of stability" that fuels Ukrainian resistance. 168, where the salaries of teachers, administrators and support staff are reimbursed from U.S. budget support funds.

☆ More than 2 million Cosori air fryers recalled after reports of the kitchen appliances 'catching fire, burning, melting'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A California company is recalling 2 million Cosori air fryers, US product safety officials announced Thursday. The recalled air fryers were reported as "catching fire, burning, melting." "Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled air fryers and contact Cosori to receive their choice of a free replacement air fryer or another Cosori product," the commission said. The agency said a "wire connection in the air fryers can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards." About 2 million of the air fryers have been sold in the US, while about 250,000 were sold in Canada and 21,000 in Mexico.

☆ Japan logs record merchandise trade deficit in Jan as export growth slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Jan merchandise exports +3.5% yr/yr vs forecast +0.8%Imports +17.8% yr/yr vs forecast +18.4%Trade deficit at record Y3.49 trln vs forecast Y3.87 trillionCommodity inflation peaking but trade deficit to linger -analystTOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Growth in Japan's merchandise exports slowed sharply in January amid weakening Chinese demand for cars and chipmaking machinery, stoking concern about a global slowdown and creating the country's largest trade deficit on record. Trade figures issued on Thursday followed weaker-than-expected gross domestic product data, underscoring the challenge for the Bank of Japan in achieving growth led by private demand while stably sustaining inflation above 2%. The result was a 3.49 trillion yen ($26.07 billion) deficit in merchandise trade in January, the biggest in records going back to 1979, the data showed. Data issued on Monday showed Japan's economy, the world's third largest, had grown at an annualised rate of only 0.6 in the fourth quarter as business investment slumped. Japan reports trade in services separately, in its current account data.

☆ Japan logs record merchandise trade deficit in January as export growth slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A flag of Japan flies near cargo containers at Tokyo's Odaiba Waterfront on August 6, 2020. Growth in Japan's merchandise exports slowed sharply in January amid weakening Chinese demand for cars and chipmaking machinery, stoking concern about a global slowdown and creating the country's largest trade deficit on record. Trade figures issued on Thursday followed weaker-than-expected gross domestic product data, underscoring the challenge for the Bank of Japan in achieving growth led by private demand while stably sustaining inflation above 2%. "In a nutshell, exports are weakening," said Taro Saito, chief economist at NLI Research Institute. The result was a 3.49 trillion yen ($26.07 billion) deficit in merchandise trade in January, the biggest in records going back to 1979, the data showed.

☆ U.S.-China Tensions Are High. So Is Commerce Between the Nations.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Yuka Hayashi | Anthony Debarros | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—U.S. commerce with China is on the rise, despite escalating national-security tensions over matters such as last week’s downing of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon. U.S. imports of goods from China totaled $536.8 billion in 2022, a 6.3% increase from the prior year and close to the record $538.5 billion reached in 2018, the Commerce Department said earlier this week. U.S. exports to China grew 1.6% to $153.8 billion last year, pushing the total commerce between the two countries to a record $690.6 billion. The figures aren’t adjusted for inflation.

☆ U.S. Imports Rose in December, Partially Offsetting Weakening Global Trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Harriet Torry | Jason Douglas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The trade deficit in goods and services was a seasonally adjusted $67.4 billion in December. U.S. imports rose in December as demand for consumer goods and autos picked up, partially offsetting a weakening in global trade late last year and widening the U.S. trade deficit by 10.5%. The trade deficit in goods and services was a seasonally adjusted $67.4 billion in December, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, up from a revised $61 billion November.

☆ U.S. trade deficit widens; goods exports at 10-month low
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The trade deficit increased 10.5% to $67.4 billion, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. The trade deficit widened to a record $948.1 billion in 2022 from $845.0 billion in 2021. Consumer goods exports fell $1.0 billion, but food exports rose $0.7 billion. A smaller trade deficit was one of the contributors to the economy's 2.9% annualized growth pace in the fourth quarter. "The economy isn't floundering, but it is unlikely to pick up much speed looking at today's trade deficit data."

☆ U.S.-China rewarming trade is half-full of hot air
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Enter a literal ball of hot air in the form of a Chinese spy balloon that the United States military is tracking in its home skies. The balloon’s brazen appearance augurs ill for Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s expected visit to Beijing next week. However, it is important to put the balloon in the context of Beijing’s habitual good cop, bad cop negotiating routine. In financial terms, Beijing still largely has its good-cop hat on. U.S. investors may fret about Chinese eyes in the sky, but in financial terms they have more to fear from the flaming gas jets in their own legislature.

LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - China was a net exporter of refined zinc last year for the first time since 2007, while exports of refined lead remained super strong for the second year running. China's net trade in refined leadTRADE SWITCHChina exported 116,500 tonnes of refined lead last year, the highest-volume outflow since 2007. The Flin Flon zinc smelter in Canada produced its last zinc in 2022 after more than 25 years of activity. That of the Florence secondary lead plant in South Carolina in 2021, by contrast, was an unexpected hit to the U.S. supply chain. If China gets there first, last year's east-west imbalances in both zinc and lead markets may last longer than expected.

☆ Truckers Expect an Inventory-Driven Rebound Later This Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Liz Young | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Trucking companies are pinning hopes for a rebound in freight demand on the second half of this year, saying their retailer customers expect to resume restocking after winding down inventories over recent months. Carrier executives say they are hearing from their shipping customers that they expect to return to a more normal ordering cycle this year and start moving bigger volumes closer to the fall shopping season following volatile retail spending and distribution in 2022 that left them overstocked. Inbound volumes at U.S. ports are also down, suggesting fewer goods from overseas are flowing into domestic freight networks. “Trucking is definitely down right now,” said Tom Nightingale, CEO of AFS Logistics, a Shreveport, La.-based logistics operator. She said on a Jan. 18 earnings conference call that the company “has good signals” from shipping customers that they plan to pick up their ordering in the second quarter.

☆ South Korea posts the worst trade deficit in its history
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

05 November 2022, South Korea, Pusan: Containers are loaded from the container freighter "Alula Express" at Busan Newport International Terminal, one of the largest container ports in the world. Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa (Photo by Bernd von Jutrczenka/picture alliance via Getty Images)It marked the worst trade deficit since the agency started compiling data in 1956 and far more than the $20.6 billion trade deficit in 1996. South Korea recorded a trade deficit of $47.5 billion for 2022, official data from the customs agency showed. January exports fell $46.3 billion, or 16.6% – declining more than expectations for a drop of 11.3%. That resulted in a deficit of $12.7 billion for January, more than the $9.27 billion expected by economists polled by Reuters.

As of Jan. 19, U.S. soybean sales for 2022-23 totaled 46.5 million tonnes, up 5% from a year earlier. Robust sales are not necessarily needed from here as only 7.6 million tonnes stand between Jan. 19 sales and USDA’s full-year forecast. Net U.S. soybean sales to unknown destinations in 2022-23 are record-large for the date at 4.6 million tonnes. Sales to China of 28.2 million tonnes as of Jan. 19 are up 11% from last year. Some 129,000 tonnes had been sold to China in the week ended Jan. 19, revealed in Thursday’s weekly export sales.

☆ India's Russian oil binge drags down OPEC's share to lowest in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Nidhi Verma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A model of oil barrels is seen in front of Russian and Indian flags in this illustration taken, December 9, 2022. Refiners in India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer and importer, have been gorging on Russian oil sold at a discount after some Western companies shunned buying from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine last February. Russia remained the top oil supplier to India in December followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Higher intake of Russian oil reduced India's appetite for African grades, whose share in 2022 imports declined to a 17-year low while that of Latin America plunged to the lowest in 15 years, the data show. Imports from Russia, about a fifth of India's oil imports in April-December, led to OPEC's share falling to about 61.5%, according to Reuters calculations.

☆ Europe’s ban on Russian diesel could send pump prices even higher
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

That has included a ban on all Russian seaborne crude oil imports, which came into force in December. Russia is the bloc’s biggest supplier, making up 29% of its total diesel imports last year, data from Rystad Energy shows. “On diesel we see the opposite, where imports have picked up — almost a final dash before the finish line,” he added. But importing diesel from suppliers further afield, including the United States and Saudi Arabia, will push up freight costs, feeding into higher consumer prices, he said. But León said that the impact of the ban won’t be felt immediately in Europe because of the large amount of diesel in its stocks.

☆ China 2022 crude oil imports fall for second year despite Q4 pickup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Chen Aizhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With the government focused on reviving economic growth this year after dropping its tough COVID control measures, some analysts are expecting China's crude oil imports to rebound strongly in 2023. Friday's data also showed fuel exports - including gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel and marine fuel oil - reached 7.7 million tonnes in December, the highest since April 2020 and up from 6.14 million tonnes in November. Annual fuel exports, however, remained 11% below 2021 at 53.69 million tonnes, due to steep reductions in overseas shipments earlier in 2022 as the government sought then to curb excessive domestic processing. Natural gas imports last month via pipelines and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached 10.28 million tonnes, down 12% on the year. Annual imports fell 9.9% at 109.25 million tonnes, data showed.

☆ U.S. Container Imports Tumbled Close to Prepandemic Levels in December
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Paul Page | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. ocean imports closed 2022 extending a monthslong slide closer to prepandemic levels, according to a new report, leaving the shipping sector bracing for deeper declines in container volumes this year. U.S. container imports overall fell 2.8% last year from 2021, according to Descartes Datamyne figures, but the 28,276,129 containers were still 18.5% ahead of 2019 volumes. Bottlenecks at U.S. gateways have eased since last year, but new projections suggest shipping volumes will fall at an even steeper pace in the first half of this year. That would put trade behind the prepandemic levels and roughly equivalent to imports in early 2020, when Covid lockdowns crashed global shipping volume. “After nearly three years of Covid-19’s impact on global trade and consumer demand, import patterns appear to be returning to what was normal prior to 2020,” said Hackett Associates founder Ben Hackett.

☆ U.S. imports of containerized goods retreat to pre-pandemic level
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. imports of goods in ocean shipping containers in December fell to levels approaching those last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report said on Tuesday. December 2022 U.S. container import volume topped 1.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), according to Descartes Systems Group. Then, the pandemic spawned an unexpected container cargo surge that overwhelmed seaports and upended global supply chains. Despite the sharp volume downturn in December, 2022 is shaping to be the second-busiest year after 2021 for U.S. container imports. Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brazil posts record trade surplus of $62.3 bln in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Brazil posted a $62.3 billion trade surplus in 2022, official data showed on Monday, a record in the series started in 1989. In December, the trade surplus was $4.8 billion, said the Development, Industry, Trade and Services ministry. That exceeded the $3 billion surplus forecast in a Reuters poll with economists. The 2022 result were above the most recent expectations of the Jair Bolsonaro government, which in October had projected a trade surplus of $55.4 billion. Imports reached $21.9 billion, or 12% above the last month of 2021.

☆ U.S. current account deficit shrinks in third quarter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. current account deficit narrowed sharply in the third quarter as exports jumped to a record high, data showed on Wednesday. The Commerce Department said that the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country, contracted 9.1% to $217.1 billion last quarter. The current account gap represented 3.4% of gross domestic product, down from 3.8% in the second quarter. Primary income receipts increased $15.2 billion to $314.0 billion, while primary income payments rose $26.8 billion to $268.4 billion. Secondary income payments increased $9.0 billion to $94.9 billion, reflecting a rise in general government transfers, mostly international cooperation.

London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouse stocks of the galvanising metal total 36,525 tonnes, the lowest amount this century. LME zinc price, spread and stocks; Shanghai Futures Exchange stocksSMELTER DISRUPTIONGlobal refined zinc output fell by 3.2% in January-October, according to the ILZSG, matching the drop-off in usage. Shanghai Metal Market (SMM) estimates total "social" inventories of zinc ingot across seven domestic markets at a low 56,000 tonnes. The longer-term question-mark over Europe's power-hungry smelters hasn't gone away, injecting a whole new twist in the zinc market narrative. In the short term the zinc market is going to remain beholden to the European power market.

☆ U.S. Container Imports Are Plummeting to Close the Year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Paul Berger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Big U.S. ports are reporting steep declines in inbound container volumes for November, signaling a downturn in goods imports is accelerating and adding to concerns over a deeper slowdown in 2023. The ports also handled about 98,000 fewer inbound boxes last month than in November 2019 and imports have been below prepandemic levels since September. Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said the U.S. is seeing a slowing of imports. They also diverted goods to Gulf Coast and East Coast ports due to fears of a work slowdown as West Coast dockworkers negotiate a new multiyear labor agreement. The downturn is reaching East Coast ports, which have seen relatively strong trade as companies shipped around California’s congested gateways.

☆ East Coast ports including New York are winning a domestic trade war at the expense of California
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

According to ITS Logistics which monitors rail cargo trends, the volume of freight moving out of the East Coast doubles that of the West Coast. East Coast ports making major investments East Coast ports like Georgia, Virginia and Maryland have been increasing their investment to accommodate the increase in rail capacity. "CSX continues to see the East Coast ports as a growth opportunity as volumes shift from congested West coast gateways," said Cindy Schild, CSX spokesperson. West Coast port declinewatch nowCargo volumes on the West Coast remained soft at the Port of Los Angeles in November, which saw a 21% decrease year over year in volumes. While the East Coast gains are significant, there was a "leveling" off of imports detected on the East Coast in November, according to port TEU data from the CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map.

☆ China expands hospitals and ICUs as it faces Covid surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Medical workers wear PPE as they stand next to people waiting in line outside a fever clinic on Dec. 9, 2022 in Beijing, China. A Cabinet meeting called Thursday for "full mobilization" of hospitals including adding staff to ensure their "combat effectiveness" and increasing drug supplies, according to state media. Officials were told to keep track of the health of everyone in their area aged 65 and older. It isn't clear how much infection numbers have increased since Beijing last week ended mandatory testing as often as once a day in many areas. But interviews and social media accounts say there are outbreaks in businesses and schools across the country.

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