Tidbits
Saturday and Sunday cease fire talks between Hamas and Israel ended with Hamas demanding Israel end the war first and then Hamas will release hostages. Israel said that will never happen. Supposedly they will meet again on Tuesday. Â Â
Â
Rio Grande do Sul, the second largest soybean producing state in Brazil, with the weekend rains, is now experiencing its worst flooding since 1941. About half the soybeans are still in the field.
Â
Argentina is slashing import taxes on agricultural inputs to cut production costs for farmers.
Â
Orders for new ocean freight tankers are up 32% the first 4 months of 2024 with 104 tankers on the global order book, up from 79 the first 4 months a year ago. The medium sizes tankers (MR vessels) orders are up 37%, Ultra Large Crude Carrier (VLCC vessels) orders are up 31%, SuezMax orders are up 19%, and smaller tankers orders are up 1% to 12%. The cost of a new build VLCC vessel is $71.16 million, the highest cost since June 2008, when crude oil traded to $147 a barrel, its all-time high price. Â Â