Key Currency Exchange Rates for Friday, 6/15/18

Strong buying emerged in oil markets Tuesday as focus shifted to an expected decline in Iranian crude exports after a senior U.S. State Department official said countries must stop purchasing crude by the start of November or face sanctions. Companies that buy Iranian crude oil must completely halt those exports by Nov. 4 or else they will face powerful U.S. sanctions, a senior State Department official told reporters on Tuesday. Oil prices moved sharply higher as investor focus shifted to the prospect of a void in global supplies as Iran – OPEC's third largest producer – exports more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd). Click Read More below for additional information.

UPM Plywood, Arctic Astronautics and Huld announce today a joint mission to launch the first ever wooden satellite, WISA WOODSATTM, into Earth’s orbit by the end of 2021. WISA Woodsat will go where no wood has gone before. With a mission to gather data on the behavior and durability of plywood over an extended period in the harsh temperatures, vacuum and radiation of space in order to assess the use of wood materials in space structures. WISA Woodsat is a nanosatellite designed and built by Arctic Astronautics, and it is based on the Kitsat educational satellite. The satellite measures roughly 10 x 10 x 10 cm and weighs one kilogram. A suite of on-board sensors, including two cameras will be used to monitor the specially coated WISA®-Birch plywood.

SCA's electric timber truck continues to transport timber between Gimonäs timber terminal and Obbola paper mill outside Umeå. It has now been in operation for over 1.5 years. – Everything is working as intended, and we receive inquiries from haulage companies and others who want to learn more about heavy electric vehicle transport, says Mikael Sundelin, Head of Business Development at Industrial Supply. Since SCA's unique electric timber truck was put into operation in June 2022, it has covered a distance of 4,600 kilometers, equivalent to more than one lap around the globe. Over a year of operation, the electric timber truck contributes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 55,000 kg per year. With a capacity to carry 80 tons, the electric timber truck's daily task is to transport timber between Gimonäs timber terminal and Obbola paper mill outside Umeå. The round trip covers a distance of 30 km, and it completes approximately six rounds per day. The truck needs to be charged about two times during a working day.