China’s silver imports set to jump as solar demand lifts prices

(In addition to the Chinese demand for Phyzz you have also seen the tug of war between the Shanghai Exchange and the COMEX/LBMA and that is where WW spot prices is derived. There has been a steady and slow drain of metal available for delivery from registered inventory and that is why you’ve seen COMEX contracts sent over to the LBMA-and the Chinese banks all left the LBMA last year-but the LBMA is not an exchange. So the Shanghai price and COMEX price allows an arbitrage trade that has closed quite a bit with Ag’s rise from $22.50/23 where it was stuck to where it is now at just under $32/oz. This only exacerbates price movements as the big US banks are still short and JP Moran still has the overall legacy ‘Hot Potato’ short positions it got when it “bought” Bear Stearns in 2007)

Chinese silver imports could surge in coming weeks, as traders take advantage of a jump in demand that’s taken prices well above the international market.

Silver’s in a sweet spot because of its dual uses as an industrial metal and a financial asset. It’s an important material in solar panels, which China continues to build in vast quantities, and it’s also a cheaper alternative to gold, which is setting its own records on price led by Chinese demand. Although silver prices rose to an 11-year high last week, the arbitrage window — or the spread between Chinese and world prices — has widened even further. That creates the incentive to send more metal to China, potentially squeezing supply for other countries.

“A wave of imports into China is going to drain the free float away from the West even further,” said Daniel Ghali, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities. That hasn’t been captured by market pricing, he said. Chinese imports have already been strong in recent months. They hit a three-year high in December of about 390 t before falling back. They jumped again in April to over 340 t. The monthly five-year average is around 310 t.The premium on Shanghai spot prices climbed above 15% last week, more than compensating for the 13% tax that China imposes on imports. At the same time, Chinese stockpiles of the metal have dwindled due to persistently strong demand from the solar industry in recent years. “People are taking a look at the drawdown in local silver inventories,” Ghali said. “Silver is probably seen as cheaper relative to gold. And so that’s an attractive proposition for people who want to participate in the precious metals rally.”

https://m.miningweekly.com/article/chinas-silver-imports-set-to-jump-as-solar-demand-lifts-prices-2024-05-29

>>20931294

That would be one of these and seen these for last few weeks

They start off over China cap 2 then end up in SCS

This example right up on PI territory

Algeria AF 7T-VPS G4 departed Beijing at about 2:20 pm local after arriving yesterday

Algeria largest exporter of LNG in Africa so likely about that

>>20931294, >>20931802

Chinese AF 00CA6181 Wing Loong 2H Drone up in its semi-regular spot just E of Hong Kong

This appears and drops quite often and although a different model it’s made by same AC Mfg Chengdu Aircraft Industries

>>20931754

Well she IS a NEOCON cunt bag and why she would even be seen doing that is quite perplexing but first statement ought to cover it.

Ashamed that anyone would support this from our country.

China’s Oil Demand Outlook Darkens as OPEC+ Prepares to Meet

(The continuing demand destruction will likely force OPEC+ to start new production cuts and not just extend the current ones and it will push up the price for a while but ultimately oil at least WTI gave a head and shoulders top on the 6 month chart-cap 4 so from a trading perspective it’s been ded and shorted but that will easily clear at the next round of additional cuts with those shirts forced to cover)

As OPEC+ prepares to review global oil markets, trouble is brewing in the group’s biggest customer.

Chinese oil refiners are cutting processing rates as flagging factory strength and a housing crash crimp demand for plastics and fuels used in construction.The Asian giant is reining in crude purchases from Saudi Arabia and a key grade from Russia.The duo lead the OPEC+ producer coalition, which meets this weekend.

The group has curbed oil supplies to stave off a surplus and shore up prices, and is expected to continue the measures into the second half of the year. But a downturn in Asia’s biggest importer could derail its efforts.  Crude prices have retreated almost $10 a barrel in the past six weeks, as China’s darkening outlook adds downward pressure to a global market awash with plentiful supplies from the US and elsewhere. While the pullback offers relief for consumers and central banks grappling with persistent inflation, it threatens revenues for the Saudis and their OPEC+ partners. Riyadh needs prices close to $100 a barrel to fund the ambitious plans of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the International Monetary Fund estimates. “At the heart of weakening demand is China,” said Henning Gloystein, head of climate and resources at consultants Eurasia Group. “If these early indicators of an emerging imbalance in China last,” then “OPEC+ would feel pressured to roll over its supply cuts.” 

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies will convene an online meeting on June 2, where officials expect they will agree to prolong about 2 million barrels a day of output cutbacks. A Chinese slowdown gives the producers all the more incentive to persevere.

After faster-than expected economic growth in the first quarter, China’s strong start to 2024 soon began to fade, illustrating the challenges that confront President Xi Jinping as Beijing’s decades-long boom comes to an end.  The producer price index — one gauge of factory strength — has remained negative for 19 months. An 11-month consecutive plunge in home sales has crimped consumption of plastics and weakened petrochemical product margins.  It’s also limited demand for diesel used in outdoor construction, and as a transport fuel to ship industrial materials. According to one metric, Chinese apparent consumption of oil products fell year-on-year in April for the first time since December 2022.

Consequently, refiners are dialing back operations. 

Refining rates fell to 14.36 million barrels a day in April, the slowest pace since December and 4% lower than same time last year, according to Bloomberg calculations based on government data.

Smaller Chinese refiners concentrated in Shandong province — known as teapots — have reduced operating rates to around 55% of capacity, compared with 62% a year ago, according to Mysteel OilChem. Their purchases of a key Russian grade —— ESPO —— have fallen to the lowest in three years, data analytics firm Kpler estimates.

Meanwhile, major state-run plants are reluctant to revive operations after returning from seasonal maintenance, according to consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. Throughput at Chinese refineries will rise by less than 100,000 barrels a day this year, the weakest increase in at least two decades, the company estimates.

https://www.energyconnects.com/news/oil/2024/may/china-s-oil-demand-outlook-darkens-as-opec-prepares-to-meet/

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/brent-crude-oil

FORTE13 RQ4 Global Hawk E over Black Sea from Sigonella AB, Sicily

>>20931033 lb

SAM676 C32ABlinkenheading to Prague after a fuel stop at Shannon,Ireland

This AC more than capable of doing this non-stop so must be heavy.

Zelensky in UNKN1120 A319 ended up at a different airport for his egress as it landed at Deblin AB in Lublin, Poland and not it’s departure point of Rzeszow Airport-cap 2

This is one of four places OF has speculated that Zelensky hides: the aforementioned Rzeszow Airport, Krakow and Warsaw along with todays arrival at Deblin AB

>>20929169, >>20929281 pb

He got $2B in commitments from Spain and Belgium and an additional meeting in Prague-where Blinken is going now-netted him another $1.74b for a total of $3.74b

I guess the price of delivered coke has gone up a bit