However, the key driver would be the price competitiveness of Mongolian coals, relative to domestic Chinese and seaborne coking coal prices. The latter has succumbed to multi-year lows amid global demand destruction due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Market sources said the massive decline in Mongolia’s year-to-date coal exports to China boils down to two reasons. Firstly, the brief closure of Mongolia-China borders from February-March due to the Mongolian government’s efforts to contain the spread of the virus, and secondly, uncompetitiveness of Mongolian coal prices.

Just this week, between 1,000-2,000 trucks carrying unwashed Mongolia coals has been transported through Ganshuunsukhait/Ganqimaodu and Ceke, the gateway for Mongolia coking coal to China, industry sources said. This compares with 300-400 trucks in the second quarter of this year.

“I think we could expect the import volume of Mongolian coals to remain rangebound around 1 million mt per month. All imported coals are subjected to greater scrutiny as the Chinese authorities seek to control import volumes,” a Chinese trader said.

Market sources said that Mongolia’s coals are not explicitly subjected to import quotas, but there are other means to control the inflow of Mongolia coals, for example the slowdown at the borders for customs declaration and any slight change in the relationship between the governments of Mongolia and China may impact trade flows.

For Chinese end-users, however, price has always been a key determinant when purchasing coals.

“Currently, Mongolian coals have no price advantage compared with seaborne coking coals, which have fallen to multi-year lows. However, as the import quota wears thin and given the government’s effort at clamping imports, I think some demand may return to Mongolia coals,” a Northern China coke producer, who had increased his seaborne coking coal usage by 10% compared with 2019, said.

In response, Mongolian ex-mine coal prices have started to retreat by $5-$7/mt this week to around $54/mt, market sources said. Currently, unwashed Mongolia #5 coal is trading between Yuan 800-850/mt ($115-$122/mt) ex-washplant at Inner Mongolia.

Washed Mongolia #5 coals at Jingtang port are offered at around Yuan 1,250/mt DDP Tangshan, while Australian grade Premium Mid Vols are offered around the same price. Platts assessed PLV ex-stock Jingtang at Yuan 1,370/mt on July 17, equivalent to $168.67/mt CFR Jingtang.

A typical Mongolian #5 coal specification include 55% CSR, 27%VM, 9.5% TM and 8-10% Ash, while the specification of an Australian Premium Mid Vol like a Peak Downs North include 68% CSR, 22.4%VM, 9.7% TM and 10% Ash.

The rebound followed a 6.0% gain in May, which marked the sector’s first monthly profit growth since November before the onset of the coronavirus crisis.

For January-June, industrial firms’ profits fell 12.8% from the same period a year earlier to 2.51 trillion yuan, better than a 19.3% slump in the first five months.

Liabilities at industrial firms rose 6.4% on an annual basis at end-June, versus 6.6% growth as of end-May.

After a record slump early in the year, China’s economy rebounded more than expected in the second quarter as virus lockdown measures ended and policymakers ramped up stimulus. But analysts warn the rebound is heavily reliant on state-led investment, while domestic and global demand remain weak.[ECILT/CN]

Reporting by Gabriel Crossley and Roxanne Liu; Editnig by Kim Coghill

The precautionary measure comes on the heels of the FAA’s Emergency Airworthiness Directive that instructed air companies to inspect some stored Boeing 737 aircraft as the air check valves on the planes could become corroded. This may cause a complete loss of power in both engines without the ability to restart and may force pilots to land before reaching an airport.

Most of the planes affected by the FAA directive are in the US, where around 2,000 older Boeing single-aisle jets have remained grounded as the coronavirus pandemic all but erased travel demand. Meanwhile, India has also ordered three domestic operators which have Boeing 737s in their fleet – SpiceJet, Vistara, and Air India Express – to conduct inspections.

The patient in question is a 39-year-old resident of Uliastai district. He experienced high fever, headache, and muscle pain after eating marmot meat with his family a week ago. He has been isolated at a local hospital.

At least nine people who've come into contact with him have been isolated at homes.

Earlier, several herds were diagnosed with bubonic plague in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Two cases of the disease were confirmed in Western Mongolia. In addition, a 15-year-old boy died of bubonic plague in the western Mongolian province of Govi-Altai.
Medics found out that three days before his death, the teenager ate marmot meat with friends.

Plague is most often transmitted by fleas living on wild rodents.

The Primary Criminal Court of the Bayanzurkh, Chingeltei and Sukhbaatar Districts of Ulaanbaatar found the politician guilty of abusing power in his capacity as prime minister by helping his friend’s company secure a contract for supplying fuel and lubricants to a big copper-gold mine.

The court also ordered the confiscation of S.Bayar’s illegal properties worth MNT 5.5 billion (USD 1.9 million).

S.Bayar, 64, was the prime minister of Mongolia from 2007 to 2009.

The ex-spy-chief has been accused of breaching the laws on intelligence procedures by using torture to obtain confessions from defendants of the much-publicised murder case of the politician S.Zorig.

Following an investigation lasting two decades – in which there have been accusations of cover-ups and during which numerous people, including the victim’s wife, have been detained – Ts.Amgalanbaatar and two others were sentenced to 24-25 years in prison for the murder of S.Zorig, who was one of the heroes of Mongolia’s peaceful transition to democracy and a likely future prime-minister.

In 2003 B.Khurts organized a covert operation to kidnap Enkhbat Damiran from a restaurant in the French city of Le Havre, from where he was taken via Belgium to the Mongolian Embassy in Berlin, where he was drugged and returned to Mongolia. Here E.Damiran was subject to torture including being beaten in the liver with a pistol and an alleged mock execution in order to confess to the murder of S.Zorig; he died in custody. In September 2010 B.Khurts was arrested in London and put in Wandsworth Prison under a European Arrest Warrant issued by the German Government. Subsequently, German Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed him to return to Mongolia. Although, Ulaanbaatar issued an official apology for the E,Damiran abduction, B.Khurts continued to play an active public role and was considered for a diplomatic appointment.

The WB Task Team Leader in Mongolia expressed his hope that the bilateral energy cooperation will smoothly continue between the country’s new government recently formed after the general election and WB.

Showing his appreciation with the Bank’s investments and cooperation in the energy sector, Minister N.Tavinbekh expressed his views on the projects and programs the two sides will be working together on in the future.

The sides talked about speeding up the Second Energy Sector Project and the construction of 10 MWt solar power plant in Khovd aimag. Under the Second Energy Sector Project, a total of USD 54.4 million will be provided for Erdenet-Bulgan Energy Distribution Network SOE (USD 16.1 million), Baganuur Southeastern Region Electricity Distribution Network SOE (USD 25 million), and the National Electricity Transmission Network (USD 630 thousand) and some improvements will be made to reduce the losses of the distribution networks.

At the energy ministry's request, WB is carrying out a feasibility study into building hydro power plants and a completed study on a spot along the Kherlen River on which a hydro power plant could be built has been submitted. The WB side has also been informed of another spot found around the Baidrag River in Bayankhongor aimag that could be suitable for the project.

During today’s press briefing of the Operative Staff, Director General of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs L.Munkhtushig also noted that although the SEC had previously arranged to operate 11 charter flights in July to bring its citizens home, three more charter flights will be conducted thanks to the increase of the capacity of isolation facilities and other favorable conditions. As a result, repatriation activities are underway this month, with 14 charter flights to Mongolia on the plan to bring 2,445 citizens home. A total of 11,951 citizens have submitted their requests to return home immediately as of now.

The Mongolian Embassies started receiving requests of the citizens, who have wishes to return home, in March 2020. The number of requested citizens was over 3000 at that time, whereas the number has reached 11.951 by today. While the number of repatriated citizens on charter flights by air has exceeded over 14 thousand. Most of the citizens, who expressed their requests to arrive home, are in the Republic of Korea.

Furthermore, according to a directive given by Minister of Foreign Affairs N.Enkhtaivan on making information related to repatriation activities transparent, it has begun disclosing the names of citizens, who requested to return to their home country, to the public by an order of the date when their requests were submitted.

“Schedules on flights to be conducted in August 2020 are being developed based on the citizens’ requests. Final decision will be made at the SEC’s meeting, which will convene soon,” he added.

Musk noted on a second-quarter earnings call that the high price of electric car batteries continues to be one of the main hurdles for Tesla.

“The real limitation on Tesla growth is cell production at an affordable price. That’s the real limit,” he said, adding the company would expand its business with battery-partners Japan’s Panasonic Corp., China’s CATL and “possibly with others.”

The electric vehicles (EVs) maker’s primary battery technology is based on a blend of nickel, cobalt and aluminum (NCA). However, as it shifts away from using cobalt over ethical mining and cost concerns, Tesla is placing a greater emphasis on the need for a steady supply of nickel.

A reportedly signed deal between the Tesla and Glencore (LON: GLEN) in June has cast doubts on the company’s statement that it’s close to eliminating cobalt from its batteries altogether.

The contract would involve supplies of 6,000 tonnes of cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo for Tesla’s new Shanghai factory.

Nickel advantage
Using nickel in battery cells helps to make them energy-dense. This means that those batteries can be smaller, lighter and can make cars run further on a single charge.

Musk’s call for greater nickel mining comes as prices for battery materials, particularly the silvery-white metal, have hit historic lows in recent months.

Nickel dropped to a 14-month low of $10,865 a tonne CMNI3 in March, recovering since to $13,180. That’s still around 30% less than the prices reached in September, when nickel traded at five-year peaks.

“[Musk] needs nickel, so he hopes nickel prices will go lower and lower,” a Chinese nickel trader told Reuters. “Prices will not be impacted in the short-term because the market is in surplus.”

Supplies of battery-grade nickel, however, could run short as early as 2023, according to Bloomberg’s market research division. BNEF expects a tight balance in the next two to three years as lithium-ion battery demand picks up.

Tesla is expected to make announcements on its battery tech developments in September at its “Battery Day” event.