Riffrag Business & Finance Report

Exports of Indonesian coal would have jumped 13.71% to 199 million tons in 2014 from an estimated 175 million tons this year, adjusting to the increasing demand for energy resources in the global marketplace.

So said Director General of Mineral, Coal, and Geothermal (Minerbapabum) Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bambang Setiawan today as quoted by Bloomberg.

In addition to the export market demand is soaring, he also predicted coal demand in the domestic market will rise from 75 million tons this year to 110 million tons in 2014, up 46.67%.

In addition to volume increases, coal prices also continued to rise, especially in the last month. Indonesia as one of the country’s largest coal exporter national potential of this benefit.

Based on data GlobalCoal, coal prices for the January 1, 2010 in Newcastle, Australia, located at the level of U.S. $ 84.75 per ton. This price is lower than the previous week on December 25, 2009 at the level of U.S. $ 86.00, but still higher than the selling price average in December which amounted to U.S. $ 81.85 per ton.

Prospects for coal prices pushed energy shares are booked based on profits. Shares of PT Bumi Resources Tbk rose 1.87% or Rp50 to the level at Rp2.725 this afternoon, with transaction value of Rp1, 4 trillion.

Shares of PT Adaro Energy Tbk suffered the same fate, rose 1.12% or Rp20 be Rp1.810, followed by shares of PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk which rose 0.30%, or Rp100 a Rp33.400. Then, the shares of PT Tambang Coal Bukit Asam Tbk surged 2.25%, or Rp400 a Rp18.200.

Increase in number of coal-based shares are held joint-stock price index (JCI) from falling further. At 15:07 o’clock time JATS closed down 0.12% or 3.05 points to 2602.23 level than the opening position at the level of 2605.48.

The price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on the second day following the cold weather prediction in the eastern U.S. will subside this week, so potentially cut demand for heating oil.

EarthSat Energy Weather of MDA Federal Inc., institution forecaster, predicts above-normal temperatures will begin to move to the cities in the eastern United States such as New York and Boston this week.

National Weather Service said temperatures average in New York in the first 10 days of this year reached 27 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 3 degrees Celsius. The temperature was 6 degrees below normal.

Northeastern United States is heating oil consuming region at most, four-fifths of the country’s consumption level. ASS itself is the largest oil consumer in the world.

Weather forecast raises speculation declining level of demand, thus pushing the oil prices fell on the second day of trading. “According to weather forecasters, the cold temperatures in the U.S. seems to have subsided. For heating oil and distillate oil demand could be reduced in the weeks and months ahead,” said Ben Westmore, energy and minerals economist at National Australia Bank Ltd., based in Melbourne , Australia.

The price of crude oil contracts for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 53 U.S. cents, or 0.6% to U.S. $ 81.99 per barrel. This contract is traded on the level of U.S. $ 82.13 at 8:33 AM Singapore time yesterday. The price of this futures contract fell 23 cents, or 0.3% to as low as U.S. $ 82.52 per barrel yesterday.

Previously, this oil futures touched $ 83.95 U.S. level, which is the highest level since October 14, 2008. Terdongkrak oil price data of a report mentioning China, as the second largest oil consumer world, to boost the purchase of oil to penetrate the record last year. In addition, oil prices also rose because the dollar weakened against the euro. U.S. dollar always move opposite oil prices.

UK retail sales grew 6% in December last year driven by a rise in the number of products, such as food.

Data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed sales increases for food products in the October to December 2009 reached 4.4%. Sales in December is the highest figure since June last year.

Sales spike also occurred in the product category nonmakanan. Winter trigger the growth of purchases of clothing and footwear products.

The increase also occurred in other household products that consumers hunted for Christmas.

Sales outside of retail store network, such as ordering via the Internet and telephone is also seen increases for products other than food, jumped to 26.5%. Snow stopped herself buyers to visit the store.

As a result many consumers who choose to order the desired products without ever leaving home. In the last month, sales outside of retail stores for nonmakanan products grew by 16.9%.

Sharon Hardiman, Head of Non-Store Retailing British Retail Consortium, said that the current sales outside the store contributed only 4% of total retail sales.

Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil supplier in the world, will continue to invest in oil industry to help efforts to maintain price stability at acceptable levels of producers and consumers.

“Saudi Arabia to continue efforts to achieve stability in the international oil market. Increased investment to boost production and refining capacity,” said Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf in a speech today in front of a business delegation that includes Minister of China.

Saudis began to increase oil production and refining business which cost U.S. $ 100 billion to meet rising demand in Asia. The kingdom is pushing crude oil production capacity to 12.5 million barrels per day in June last year.

China Minister Chen Deming and Al-Assaf said in a news conference in Riyadh yesterday that the two countries plan to increase trade and investment.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the largest chemical producers in the world, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. will start production at a chemical plant in Tianjin in the first quarter I to meet demand in China.

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, also held talks with China Petroleum for a stake in the company’s Qingdao refinery with a capacity of 200,000 barrels per day in Shandong province, said CEO Khalid Al-Falih in November.

The government insists that the rice and sugar are not included in the commodities included in the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) or the Free Trade Agreement of China-ASEAN.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Krisnamurthi in Jakarta on Monday said, rice and sugar is a strategic food commodities for a country that entered the category Special Product (SP) which is allowed by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“Therefore, the government will make policies that protect these commodities,” he said.

Alluding to other agricultural commodities, Bayu said, for plantation products do not need to worry because Indonesia is still far superior to China.

Plantation products of Indonesia, he added, even made it into the country such as crude palm oil (CPO), coffee, tea, rubber, and even processed products such as rubber tires and cramps.

In fact, he continued, the balance of Indonesia-China trade in the plantation sector during the last four years shows positive growth which is up from 800 million U.S. dollars to 2.4 billion U.S. dollars.

“Therefore do not really worry about CAFTA could even be a chance of our products into China,” he said.

However, he admitted, for the national horticultural products still need to be improved its competitiveness.

Meanwhile, to make protection against the entry of similar products from other countries, the government will implement a policy of non-tariff barriers with the instrument Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS), food security, and biodiversity Kehalalan.

According to the Minister of Agriculture Suswono the CAFTA deal could increase exports specialized in exotic products or that exist only in Indonesia and not in another country.

“Including the plantation product exports such as palm oil seed, cocoa, rubber, is encouraged so that they could buy the optimum,” he said. He suggests, for fruit products like orange have a competitiveness improvement in the country.

“The challenge of this type of goods that must be evaluated whether or not we may increase or dnilai added competitiveness,” he said.

If it is not possible increased competitiveness, he added, it’s better not jump it but sejanis product better diverted to other commodities.