Before the war in Ukraine, China was becoming more reliant on Russian energy, metal and crops
🇨🇳🤝🇷🇺

But relations have become more complicated in recent weeks, raising questions about future trade

Here’s how China’s trade with Russia may change 👇

bloombergquint.com/china/ukraine-…
Energy (1) ⚡️

Following the invasion, Chinese buyers, and the lenders that finance their purchases, have largely shunned Russian shipments of coal and LNG, as well as crude

While it likely temporary, it reflects companies’ deeper concerns about becoming ensnared in sanctions
Energy (2) ⚡️

China will likely expand imports of Russian LNG

But coal is different. Russian supply is a tiny fraction of what China consumes, and Beijing’s plan to raise the capacity of its coal industry suggests may be doing away with imports entirely

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Oil 🛢

For crude, the calculation also revolves around freight rates, and the high premiums attached to Russian shipments because of the war. There are a lot of nations supplying China with oil, and even when prices are high, buyers can be more picky
Grain 🌾

Russia sells wheat to more than 100 countries, but China has been one of the few big markets it’s struggled to crack

Rising transportation costs are also the likely impediment to Moscow expanding its grain sales, as China can procure cheaper supply elsewhere
Metals (1) 🪨

China is already buying a lot of Russia’s refined copper exports, according to a note from UBS AG this week, which suggests the upside is limited
Metals (2) 🪨

For palladium, which is used to cut car pollution, Russia’s exports to China have increased, and could rise further

A possible obstacle is that companies listed in Europe produce most of the catalytic converters sold in China, and they may not want Russian supply
Metals (3) 🪨

For some metals, China’s dependency on Russia has only weakened in recent years. Indonesia has emerged as its main supplier of nickel, replacing Russian imports
Natural gas (1) ⚡️
(Saving the best for last)

Moscow needs to find new customers as Europe shuns Russian gas, and China is best placed to fill that void

Russian pipeline exports to China began in 2019. And Gazprom wants to expand those sales by expanding the pipeline network
Natural gas (2) ⚡️

Gazprom signed a contract last month to design a pipeline across Mongolia toward China

A new supply deal with China would enable Gazprom to build an interconnect to redirect gas toward China from fields that now only feed Europe

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Natural gas (3) ⚡️

Russia forged new long-term natural gas supply deals with China at the Winter Olympics last month

Gazprom is currently in talks with China over supplies via a third route, Power of Siberia 2, which would significant boost capacity

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Natural gas (3) ⚡️

And what’s in it for China?

Well, potentially really cheap gas as Russia searches for a replacement to Europe — its top customer. Beijing has the upper hand in future negotiations
Natural gas (4) ⚡️

To be sure, it will take a long time for Russia to connect its western gas field to China

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More from @SStapczynski

Mar 21
India’s domestic coal prices are surging as buyers scramble to secure fuel 🇮🇳🪨

💴 Customers paid a premium of more than 340% above base prices this month via local auctions (Jan. was just a 100% premium)
📈 Global coal supply crunch sends prices higher

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
These domestic coal shipments are still way cheaper than the price of importing fuel from the overseas market 💰

Thermal coal loaded at Australia’s Newcastle port soared to a record earlier this month as buyers shun Russian shipments and seek alternatives to pricey natural gas
Coal India, the world’s top producer of the fuel, sells about 15%-20% of its output through an online auction system in which consumers make offers above a minimum set price

Rates paid are typically far higher than the long-term contracts that account for the majority of sales
Read 4 tweets
Mar 21
European natural gas prices fell to the lowest level in almost 3 weeks on steady shipments from Russia
📉📉📉

🇷🇺 Russian gas flows through pipelines crossing Ukraine remain stable
🇷🇺 Gazprom said transit is normal
🇷🇺 Orders via Nord Stream edged higher

bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Image
Above-normal temperatures are forecast across most of mainland Europe during the next two weeks, which is also adding downward pressure on spot prices
European gas stockpiles are currently about 25% full and at the lowest seasonal level since 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg

Inventories typically bottom out at the end of winter and rise in April with the onset of spring
Read 4 tweets
Mar 21
Cold, rainy weather forecast across Japan tomorrow 🇯🇵🥶

🌡️ It will be coldest in the Tokyo region. Areas in Kanto may even see snow
🚢 That will likely help drain Japan's LNG inventories and stretch the nation's power grid
The earthquake last week knocked several coal-fired power plants offline

That forced some of Japan's biggest utilities to boost output from gas-fired power plants and seek LNG supplies from the spot market

🚢🚢🚢

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Read 5 tweets
Mar 21
Qatar agreed to work on supplying Germany with LNG
🇶🇦🤝🇩🇪

🚢Details are thin, but both countries agreed they would "re-engage and progress discussions on long term LNG supplies from Qatar to Germany"
🇷🇺 Germany seeks alternative to Russian pipeline gas

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
“Now it’s up to companies to sign the contracts,” German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said

Germany’s challenge is finding short-term alternatives to Russian gas this year. The country doesn’t have any LNG import terminals

✈️ Germany's Habeck visited Doha on Sunday to talk LNG

“Qatar is in the process of increasing its gas extraction and we need more gas in the short term to replace Russian supplies,” Habeck said in his video. “That is what I discussed with the Emir and the energy minister"
Read 8 tweets
Mar 20
Japan’s foreign minister asked the United Arab Emirates to increase oil exports to help stabilise the market
🇯🇵 🙏 🇦🇪

🛢 Japan is the latest buyer to put pressure on OPEC+
📅 Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi spoke with Sultan al Jaber, head of Adnoc, on Sunday

#OOTT
🇦🇪 The UAE’s Jaber “expressed strong desire to support Japan including through the stabilization of the global crude oil market,” according to the statement from MOFA
Remember, another UAE official said this earlier in the month:

“We favor production increases and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher production levels,” Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to Washington, said in a statement

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Read 6 tweets
Mar 19
Nuclear energy gaining popularity on surging fossil fuel prices ☢️

All this in the last 2 weeks:

🇧🇪 Belgium delays nuclear exit by 10 years
🇰🇷 South Korea elects pro-nuclear president
🇯🇵 Japan policymakers call for faster reactor restarts
🇨🇿 Czech opens tender for atomic plant
Reaching net zero emissions by 2050 won’t be easy

BNEF developed a scenario where nuclear plays a bigger role in global decarbonisation. The forecast sees atomic energy increasing *17-fold* over the next three decades

about.bnef.com/blog/the-renai…
🇬🇧 U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to meet with the nuclear industry on Monday to discuss how quickly plans to build new capacity can be rolled out, as the nation seeks energy self-sufficiency in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Read 7 tweets

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