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14 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016 DT Business IEA: Growth in global coal demand to slow over next 5 yrs • Reuters Growth in global coal demand will slow over the next five years due to lower consumption in China and the United States and as renewable energy sources gain ground, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said yesterday. The IEA said last year that the world’s top coal consumer, China, could be facing peak coal demand for the first time due to measures to cap coal use to tackle air pollution and curb excess supply. “In China, coal demand is in structural and slow decline driven by a new economic growth model and diversification of coal,” the Paris-based IEA said in its medium-term coal market report. Even though China’s consumption is likely to have peaked, the country will still be the largest coal user over the next five years. Its coal demand should decrease slightly to 2.816 billion tonnes of coal equivalent by 2021, compared to 2.896 billion tonnes of coal equivalent in 2014. Globally, the IEA expects coal demand to total 5.636 billion tonnes by 2021, compared to 5.400 billion tonnes last year, when coal demand dropped for the first time this century. This equates to 0.6% average annual growth from 2015 to 2021, below the 2.5% average yearly growth over the past decade. “Because of the implications for air quality and carbon emissions, coal has come under fire in recent years, but it is too early to say that this is the end for coal,” said Keisuke Sadamori, director of the IEA’s energy markets and security directorate. “Coal demand is moving to Asia, where emerging economies with growing populations are seeking affordable and secure energy sources to power their economies.” The biggest growth in coal demand will occur in India, which will have an annual average growth rate of 5% by 2021. After years of decline, coal prices have rebounded sharply in 2016, driven by a sharp cut in Chinese coal output coupled with strong demand across the Asia-Pacific region and in Europe. Benchmark API2 2017 coal futures rose by 4 percent to $65.75 a tonne yesterday morning, the highest level since Dec 2. In its report, the IEA forecasts thermal coal prices to decline next year and then remain relatively flat to 2021. “Reasonable doubts persist on the sustainability of current prices, given that climate pressure continues and air pollution is a serious issue which will shape policies in China, India and other emerging countries,” it said. Coal demand in the United States and Europe will continue to decline, falling to 475 million tonnes and 337 million tonnes respectively in 2021. • A general view of a crude oil importing port in Qingdao Goldman: Non-Opec output cut deal aimed at inventory glut • Reuters Goldman Sachs said the formal agreement by non-OPEC oil producers this weekend in Vienna to help curb output was reached with a goal of “normalization” of inventories and not necessarily just at raising oil prices. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had previously agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), and on Saturday, 11 non-OPEC producers agreed to join the effort and reduce output by 558,000 bpd. The cut was short of an initial target of 600,000 bpd but still the first OPEC/non-OPEC output deal since 2001 and the largest contribution by non- OPEC producers ever. “Despite the smaller-than-preannounced cut, the agreement is nonetheless noteworthy as it lifts the uncertainty on the potential participation of non-OPEC producers to the OPEC cut,” the bank said in a note on Sunday. The agreement was followed by comments from top exporter Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid Al-Falih saying that the kingdom may be REUTERS willing to cut output to below 10 million bpd. The world’s top oil exporter told OPEC it pumped a record 10.72 million bpd last month, an OPEC source said, up from 10.625 million bpd in October. Goldman said an announced production cut from Russia was likely to remain short of the 300,000 bpd promised, noting that Russia’s participation was important. Goldman said implementation of the co-ordinated OPEC and non-OPEC production cuts was required to sustainably support spot oil prices at its H1 2017 price forecast of $55/ bbl for West Texas Intermediate crude. A better-than-expected compliance would initially lead to higher prices, “with full compliance worth an additional $6/bbl to our price forecast,” it said. The bank warned, however, that as WTI prices neared $55 a barrel, that producers, especially in the United States, might begin to raise their output. “Ultimately, this remains a short duration cut in our view, targeting excess inventories and not high oil prices,” Goldman said. •
CORPORATE NEWS Business 15 DT TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016 China launches WTO dispute resolution case against US, EU • Reuters China said yesterday it had launched a dispute resolution case at the World Trade Organization over the surrogate country approach used by the United States and European Union to calculate anti-dumping measures against Chinese exports. When China joined the WTO in 2001, it agreed to let WTO members treat it as a non-market economy when assessing dumping duties for 15 years. That gave trade partners the advantage of using a third country’s prices to gauge whether China was selling its goods below market value. But that clause expired on Dec 11, and China has demanded that countries abide by the agreement. US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said in November the time was “not ripe” for the United States to change the way it evaluates whether China has achieved market economy status, and there was no international trade rules requiring changes in the way US anti-dumping duties are calculated. China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement on its website that 15 years on, all WTO members had an obligation to stop using the surrogate country approach. “Regretfully, the United States and European Union have yet to fulfil this obligation,” the ministry said. • Dutch-Bangla Bank has recently opened its 162nd branch at Kurigram, said a press release. The bank’s DMD, Md Sayedul Hasan inaugurated the branch GSP Finance has recently elected its directors Moin U Haider as chairperson of the company’s executive committee while Saber Hossain Chowdhury and Dr ATM Shamsul Huda were elected as the company’s vice chairpersons, said a press release Faculty of Shipping Administration of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University organised a seminar on Role of Inland Waterway Transportation Systems in the Economic Development: Bangladesh Perspective on its temporary campus yesterday Apex Footwear Limited has recently opened three new outlets in Paltan, Farmgate and Pallabi, said a press release. The company’s AMD, Syed Gias Hussain and its COO, Rajan Pillai were present on the occasions
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