“Fertilizer Price Surges 43% to Fresh Record as Supplies Tighten.
“Fertilizer prices continue to spike to records as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine puts a massive portion of the world’s fertilizer supply at risk, adding to concerns over soaring global food inflation.”
“Soaring Prices Are Changing the Way People Eat.
“With the world economy already shackled by Covid-related shortages and now reeling from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prices of such basics as bread, meat and cooking oils have jumped across the world, sending shock waves through the commodity markets and damaging the global food system.”
“As Ukraine sowing season starts, fuel shortages threaten food supply.
“The Ukrainian government has suggested exporting agricultural products via the Romanian port of Constanta, but there has been no progress in the plan, Petkov said. “We’re currently using the remaining fuel we had before the war, but there is no new supply,” he said, adding that he could run out within five days.”
“Global supply lines brace for ‘menacing’ economic storm to widen…
“”We thought Russia was just a resources story that was going to push energy prices up — that it would make supply chains more expensive but it wouldn’t disrupt them,” said Vincent Stamer, a trade economist with Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy. “It appears a little more threatening than we initially anticipated.””
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/03/29/business/global-supply-lines-strained/
“Sand pirates are driving global shortages in this vital construction material.
“Much of the world’s sand cannot be used in construction. Desert sand is too smooth to be used as a binding agent for concrete and sea sand is too high in chloride levels for most construction purposes. So most of the sand used for building is extracted from rivers, lakes and shorelines – regions with high environmental and human impacts.”
“Shale Growth Constrained By Supply Chain Bottlenecks.
“All those who have hoped that the U.S. shale patch could ramp up oil production quickly to fill the gap that Russian supply is leaving in the Western oil market are in for a disappointment—at least this year. Supply chain bottlenecks from workforce to frac sand and equipment are holding back a surge in America’s oil production…”
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Shale-Growth-Constrained-By-Supply-Chain-Bottlenecks.html
“Biden’s Trillion-Dollar Deficit Reduction Barely Dents U.S. Debt.
“President Joe Biden’s budget request highlights shrinking cumulative deficits by more than $1 trillion over the next decade, but that barely makes a dent in the government’s ballooning debt.”
“U.S. Households Face $5,200 Inflation Tax This Year.
“Inflation will mean the average U.S. household has to spend an extra $5,200 this year ($433 per month) compared to last year for the same consumption basket, according estimates by Bloomberg Economics.”
“U.S. auto sales slump as less affluent buyers walk away.
“U.S. new vehicle sales could fall to the lowest first-quarter volume in the past decade as chip shortages and the Ukraine crisis squeeze inventories and rising prices push less affluent buyers out of the market, research firm Cox Automotive said Monday.”
“U.K. Would Be in Recession Were It Not for Post-Covid Bounce.
“Britain would be in recession this year due to the global inflation shock were it not for the rebound in growth from the pandemic, according to the government’s official independent forecaster.”
“UK credit card debt hits record high as inflation and cost of living bite. UK consumers borrowed a record amount in February, with some economists saying it was a sign of the cost of living crisis hitting wallets even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed energy prices higher.”
https://www.ft.com/content/929a4297-7517-432c-85a3-6616b45e8fe1
“A disabled university graduate [Hamilton, Scotland] is choosing between eating or heating as she expects her bills to soar.
“Kyra Edwards, who suffers from severe OCD, anxiety, and depression, said ‘there is nothing left to cut back on’ as she faces one of the worst economic crisis since the 1970s.”
“War, inflation hit euro zone recovery hopes.
“France and Germany saw bigger than expected drops in consumer confidence this month as rising inflation and concern about the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took their toll, surveys showed on Tuesday.”
“Germany triggers gas warning amid Russian ruble demand.
“Germany triggered an early warning level for natural gas supplies and called on consumers to save energy amid concerns that Russia could cut off deliveries unless it is paid in rubles, the government said Wednesday.”
“U.S. To Discuss LNG And Hydrogen Supplies With German Authorities.
“U.S. and German government officials are meeting this week to discuss the supply of liquefied natural gas and hydrogen to Europe’s largest economy, which is the most dependent on Russian oil and gas imports.”
“Japan Power Retailers Exiting Business as Energy Crunch Worsens.
“The war in Ukraine is making a bad situation worse for Japanese power providers struggling with the energy crisis, forcing more companies to quit the business. In the last month, at least four companies halted power retail operations…”
“No Relief for China’s Debt-Ridden Developers as Housing Sales Stay Weak…
“Housing sales by floor space fell 49.1% year-on-year in March in 17 Chinese cities, a deeper contraction than a 23.4% drop the previous month, according to Monday data from property think tank China Index Academy. The cities tracked include larger, more developed first-tier cities as well as second- and third-tier cities.”
“Big Four under growing pressure as Chinese developers delay audits.
“International auditors are resigning from China’s heavily indebted property developers as a wave of delayed financial results has increased uncertainty over the full scale of the sector’s worst-ever crisis and raised the threat of hidden debts.”
https://www.ft.com/content/1114aeee-4a8a-479a-815f-1828aa6b12e6
“China Company Borrowing Slumps, Rates Spike, Beige Book Says.
“Borrowing by Chinese businesses plunged in the first quarter and interest rates on loans surged to a record despite the central bank’s efforts to encourage more lending, according to China Beige Book International.”
“Indonesians Urged Against Fried Food as Cooking Oil Prices Rise.
“The party backing President Joko Widodo is urging Indonesians to start boiling, steaming and roasting food instead of frying them as the price of edible oil surges. “The food today must showcase the cook’s creativity, use local ingredients and can’t use any cooking oil,” said Wiryanti Sukamdani.”
“Russia’s Ukraine invasion, which has already exacerbated food woes in parts of Africa and the Middle East, is marring preparations for the holy month of Ramadan and forcing a turn to frugal iftar sunset meals.
“From Lebanon to Tunisia and Somalia, Muslims who traditionally break a dawn-to-dusk fast with lavish family meals, are now struggling to secure even the most basic staples…”
“Egypt counts on France to secure wheat supplies amid Ukrainian crisis.
“Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Monday that Egypt counts on “its strategic relations with France” to secure some supplies of basic commodities like wheat, in case the Ukrainian crisis continues for a long time.”
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/africa/20220329/aec2c41b7f204fc181660afa7c819ed7/c.html
“Turkey could be in danger of falling into a deeper economic crisis than the infamous 2001 catastrophe that required a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
“That’s the opinion of Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard University economics professor who served as the IMF’s chief economist between August 2001 and September 2003. In an interview with Turkish business daily Dunya…”
“The Pakistani rupee on Monday plunged to yet another record low of Rs182.19 against the US dollar in the interbank market.
“Speculative trading due to political unrest, mounting demand for the dollar, rising commodity prices in the international market and other weak economic/political indicators all exerted downward pressure on the rupee.”
https://www.geo.tv/latest/407866-rupee-hits-historic-low-of-rs182-continues-to-struggle
“Pakistan’s Energy Crunch Spurs ‘Barter’ Trade for Afghani Coal.
“Cash-strapped Pakistan can’t afford to buy fuel on the spot market and is either skipping purchases or turning to alternatives such as Afghani coal as it grapples with a worsening energy crisis.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pakistan-energy-crunch-spurs-barter-044200661.html
“Arrests in Tbilisi [Georgia] as fuel price protests block central interchange…
“On Sunday, demonstrators rallied on foot around Tbilisi’s busiest roundabout — Heroes Square, refusing to unblock it until the authorities provided them with guarantees to curb the skyrocketing fuel prices in the country.”
https://oc-media.org/arrests-in-tbilisi-as-fuel-price-protests-block-central-interchange/
“Indian Youth Congress (IYC) activists staged a protest outside the Union Petroleum Ministry here on Tuesday against the rising prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas.
“In the video, the protesters are seen performing a mock funeral as they carry an LPG cylinder. The protesters also raised slogans against the central government.”
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/youth-congress-protests-outside-petroleum-ministry-381810
“Thai Economy Goes Into Stagflation – Bangkok Post. Thailand’s economy has gone into stagflation because of a fragile recovery and surging price hikes, says an economist at the Economic Intelligence Center (EIC), a research unit under Siam Commercial Bank, the Bangkok Post reported.”
https://www.asiafinancial.com/thai-economy-goes-into-stagflation-bangkok-post
“Brazilian fuel retailers report diesel shortages…
“Importation of diesel is in a “very serious situation,” the national federation of the fuel and lubricant trade, Fecombustíveis, said in a letter recently sent to sector regulator ANP. According to Fecombustíveis, the lack of import parity price (PPI) updates, has left regional distributors in a critical situation.”
https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/brazilian-fuel-retailers-report-diesel-shortages
“Argentina’s retail stations begin rationing diesel amid price controls.
“Argentina’s service stations have started rationing diesel, as price controls and import restrictions are discouraging refiners from bringing in enough supplies even as demand rises for the crop harvest, a trade group said March 29.”
“Kenyan firms hoard petrol, diesel to protest late payments.
“Motorists in some parts of the country are grappling a major fuel shortage as oil marketing firms reportedly hoard petroleum products to protest at the government’s failure to pay them outstanding subsidies running into billions of shillings.”
“Oil Hedging’s Growing Costs Are Imperiling Real-World Deliveries.
“It’s getting both costlier and more time consuming to hedge oil as liquidity shrinks in the futures market, slowing transactions and threatening to ultimately disrupt real-world deliveries if the situation doesn’t improve.”
You can read the previous ‘Economic’ thread here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a ‘Climate’ thread.
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