In January-September of this year, Ukrainian enterprises increased exports of ferrous scrap by 3.7 times compared to the same period last year, up to 131.131 thousand tons.
According to the statistics released by the State Customs Service (SCS), in monetary terms, exports of scrap metal amounted to $37.749 million in the period under review (a threefold increase).
At the same time, the export of scrap metal has been growing since March: in January, about 8.28 thousand tons of scrap were exported, in February – 16.5 thousand tons, in March – 15.45 thousand tons, in April – about 16.19 thousand tons, in May – 21.003 thousand tons, in June – 14.6 thousand tons, in July – 9.567 thousand tons, in August – 15.849 thousand tons, and in September – 13.7 thousand tons.
Scrap metal was exported to Poland (86.62%), Greece (7.16%) and Bulgaria (2.88%).
In the first two months of the year, the country did not import scrap metal; in March-September, it imported 793 tons of scrap worth $301 thousand (52.16% from Slovakia, 22.26% from Poland, 9.3% from Estonia).
Earlier, Ukrmetallurgprom President Oleksandr Kalenkov stated in an article on the Interfax-Ukraine website that scrap metal is exported through the European Union, which has a preferential export duty of EUR3 per ton, and from there the raw materials are redirected to real customers. Exporting raw materials directly to customers would cost EUR180 in export duty, and the Ukrainian budget has already lost UAH 350 million.
According to him, the State Bureau of Investigation has already taken an interest in such export schemes.
The head of Ukrmetallurgprom called for a temporary ban on the export of ferrous scrap to provide steelmakers with strategically important raw materials in the ongoing war.
“If the scrap metal remains in the country, more than 500,000 people will be employed and the country will receive millions in foreign exchange earnings from steel exports. At the same time, the military will also benefit, as steelmakers do a lot to help the military by purchasing equipment and vehicles for them and even producing bulletproof vests. No one benefits from scrap exports. That is why the government should be proactive and temporarily ban exports until the situation stabilizes and ceases to threaten national economic security,” Kalenkov said.
He clarified that a ton of scrap metal processed into steel brings in 10 times more to the budget than the EU export duty, which is about $300 per ton.
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of ferrous scrap by 11.5 times compared to the previous year to 53,557 thousand tons, while in monetary terms it decreased by 12.4 times to $19.271 million. At the same time, last year the country reduced imports of scrap metal in physical terms by 12.6 times to 1,824 thousand tons. tons, compared to the previous year – to $19.271 million tons, in monetary terms by 12.9 times – to $3.488 million. Imports of scrap metal in 2022 were mainly from Turkey (78.92% of supplies in monetary terms), the Russian Federation (13.25%) and Cyprus (5.08%); exports – to Turkey (38.97%), Poland (34.25%) and Greece (10.12%).
Oil prices are falling on Monday, despite Israel’s expansion of ground operations in the Gaza Strip, to which Iran has already responded with threats.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced over the weekend that the country’s authorities had decided to move to the second phase of the operation, which will involve more troops directly in the Gaza Strip. Earlier, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a series of raids in the Gaza Strip.
Oil prices are falling as Israel “seems to be taking a cautious approach to the situation, which gives hope that the worst-case scenario of the conflict will not materialize,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management. Investors, however, should remember “that this is likely to be a long and protracted conflict,” the expert said, as quoted by Market Watch.
The cost of December futures for Brent crude oil on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 7:15 a.m. on Monday is $89.27 per barrel, which is $1.21 (1.34%) lower than at the close of the previous session. On Friday, the price of these contracts increased by $2.55 (2.9%) to $90.48 per barrel.
December futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell by $1.3 (1.52%) to $84.24 per barrel by this time. As a result of the previous trading, the value of these contracts increased by $2.33 (2.8%) to $85.54 per barrel.
Over the past week, Brent fell by 1.8% and WTI by 2.9%.
Investors are most concerned about the possibility of Iran’s direct involvement in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Tougher sanctions on Iranian oil could lead to a reduction in the supply of raw materials on the market by 1 million barrels per day. If the conflict escalates, the country could threaten transportation hubs and oil infrastructure in the region, Market Watch notes.
In January-September this year, Ukraine reduced exports of titanium ores and concentrate in physical terms by 96.3% compared to the same period last year, to 9,033 thousand tons.
According to statistics released by the State Customs Service, exports of titanium ores and concentrate decreased by 84.7% to $15.104 million in monetary terms.
The main exports were to Turkey (36.06% of supplies in monetary terms), Japan (21.25%) and India (6.75%).
During the period, Ukraine imported 1 ton of such ore from the Netherlands for $2 thousand.
As reported, in 2022, Ukraine reduced exports of titanium ore and concentrate in physical terms by 41.8% compared to the previous year to 322.143 thousand tons, and in monetary terms by 19.6% to $130.144 million. At the same time, the main exports were made to the Czech Republic (47.91% of supplies in monetary terms), the United States (11.94%) and Romania (9.75%).
In 2022, Ukraine imported 196 tons of similar products from Senegal (70.41%) and Turkey (29.59%) for $115 thousand.
In Ukraine, titanium ores are currently mined mainly by the United Mining and Chemical Company (UMCC), which manages Vilnohirsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (VGMK, Dnipro region) and Irshansk Mining and Metallurgical Plant (Irshansk, Dnipro region). ) and Irshansk Mining and Processing Plant (IGOK, Zhytomyr region), as well as Mezhirichinsky GOK and Valky Ilmenite (both based in Irshansk, Zhytomyr region).
In addition, Velta (Dnipro) has built a mining and processing plant at Birzulivske deposit with a capacity of 240 thousand tons of ilmenite concentrate per year.
The second summit of the Grain from Ukraine program will be held in Kyiv on November 25, according to a press release from the Presidential Office.
As noted, on the sidelines of the third meeting of national security and foreign policy advisers in Malta, on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak held a series of bilateral meetings with advisers to the leaders of Ukraine’s partner countries.
In particular, during a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister’s Advisor Emma Aparisi, Yermak “thanked the Spanish side for the significant financial support of the humanitarian initiative Grain from Ukraine and invited them to take part in the second summit of the program to be held in Kyiv on November 25 this year.”
No precipitation in Ukraine on Monday, October 30. In the eastern regions, there will be fog in some places at night and in the morning, the Ukrainian Weather Center reported.
The wind is mostly southerly, 7-12 m/s, with gusts of 19-24 m/s in the Carpathians.
Temperature at night 4-9° C, in the southern and western regions 8-13°, during the day 16-21°, in the Crimea and Odesa region up to 24°; in the east and northeast at night 1-6° C, during the day 13-18°.
No precipitation in Kyiv on Monday. South wind, 7-12 m/s. The temperature will be 7-9° at night, 17-19° during the day.
According to the Borys Sreznevsky Central Geophysical Observatory. On October 30, the highest daytime temperature in Kyiv was 18.3 in 2013, and the lowest nighttime temperature was -16.7 in 1920.
On Tuesday, October 31, there will be no precipitation in Ukraine, only in the far west there will be light rain during the day. South wind with a transition to northwest, 7-12 m / s, gusts of 15-20 m / s in the Carpathians. Temperature at night 8-13°, during the day 15-20°, in the southern part up to 24°.
No precipitation in Kyiv on Tuesday. South wind with a shift to northwest, 7-12 m / s. Temperature at night 11-13°, during the day 17-19°.
Ukraine switched to winter time on October 29 at 4:00 a.m. Clocks were set back one hour.
The switch to winter time is carried out in accordance with Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 509 “On the Procedure for Calculating Time in Ukraine” of 1996, but has been historically practiced in the country since 1981.
The prerequisites for this transition are considered to be the lengthening of daylight hours and certain energy savings. Recently, however, there have been discussions about the feasibility of such a transition, as it can lead to a disruption of circadian rhythms.
Daylight saving time (DST) is practiced twice a year in about 70 countries, including the European Union.
