Commodities Focus

Flows of naphtha from the US Gulf Coast to Asia have reached record highs in May and June, drawn by fresh demand from Asia's steam crackers returning from seasonal maintenance and new units coming online over the second half of June. Though higher refining rates and dampened demand for gasoline in the US have opened wide this normally delicate naphtha arbitrage, tanker owners operating in the Amer...

The US Supreme Court's June 25 decision opens the door for further small refinery exemptions. With bearish-for-RIN prices, Janet McGurty and Josh Pedrick of S&P Global Platts talk about what could be on the horizon as the Environmental Protection Agency digests the ruling.

It's already become clear which areas of the US power market are likely to face challenges this summer, with alerts and price spikes in Texas and California in recent weeks, where drought, wildfires and other factors have become recurring threats. The S&P Global Platts power news team gives its summer power market outlook, looking at trends around the country with additional insights from Platts A...

Tanker and dry bulk shipping freight market for inbound and outbound trade from India has become come expensive due to the lingering  COVID-19  pandemic. India is one of the world's largest importers of coal, vegetable oils and crude. It exports substantial volumes of refined products and dry bulk commodities such as iron ore, pellets, steel and salt. Many countries are insisting that ships will b...

New York has one of the most aggressive decarbonization plans in the country through its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which sets goals for building several gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, including offshore wind, battery storage and the transmission lines to connect those resources with urban demand centers. In this edition of the Platts Commodities Focus podcast, Jared...

As piracy attacks grow in the Gulf of Guinea, the industry has banded together to make a statement – enough is enough, and the attack on merchant ships must come to an end. S&P Global Platts speaks to the Head of Maritime Security at BIMCO Jakob Larsen on what has pushed the industry to band together and what the Declaration means for the future of security in the basin.

The upcoming federal elections in Mexico, the largest in recent history, are expected to have broad implications across many energy sectors. We spoke with Adrian Duhalt, post-doctorate fellow in energy studies at Rice University in Houston, about the implications for the energy industry.

China on May 14 announced that it will implement a consumption tax on mixed aromatics, light cycle oil and bitumen blend from June 12 in an effort to close a loophole in its tax system. This tax is expected to have repercussions not only in the domestic market, but also in the regional refined products market and crude markets.   Mixed aromatics and light cycle oil or LCO are used as blend stocks...

Prices have been soaring in most of the major steel markets, driven by high demand and insufficient supply. S&P Global Platts Lead Steel Analyst Paul Bartholomew , Associate Pricing Director for Metals Keith Tan , and Managing Editor Laura Varriale examine the factors in play.

US gasoline demand has been picking up as the country opens up from the coronavirus lockdowns. Gasoline inventories are tight, especially on the US Atlantic Coast following the recent Colonial Pipeline outage, but refiners are ramping up runs, lured by strong margins. S&P Global Platts Director of Americas Oil News Jeff Mower, Senior Editor Janet McGurty and Futures Editor Chris van Moessner discu...

Operators of pipelines and liquefaction terminals that were able to deliver supplies during the February freeze in Texas were rewarded with strong first-quarter profits, while those that had difficulty were saddled with higher costs and lower revenue. S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and S&P Global Market Intelligence senior midstream finance reporter Allison Good analyze th...

The US has the world's largest nuclear generation footprint and has witnessed early retirement of nuclear plants, due in part to low natural gas prices as well as declining costs of wind and solar technologies, as well as policy factors. Today's podcast looks at the major cost concerns of nuclear generation today, how some US states are utilizing Zero Emission Credits, and how these issues are imp...

Petcoke prices out of the US Gulf have doubled since this time last year. Prices continue to rise amid tight supply, and volatile freight markets within the region add fuel to the flames. S&P Global Platts coal and shipping editors discuss the impetus behind this price rally, in what has been one of the most notable commodity bull-runs of 2020/2021.

Are recent shifts in Atlantic Basin products arbitrages an unusual pandemic feature or the new normal for clean tanker trade? And are the 38kt US Gulf Coast-to-Brazil and 37,000 mt UK Continent-West Africa freight runs the new pacesetters of the Americas and European freight markets? S&P Global Platts Americas managing editor Barbara Troner examines the southward shift in Atlantic Basin clean tank...

Is the recent six-day Suez Canal blockage causing a spike in container box freight? And are the canal's misfortunes the only culprit for impending port delays, or the tip of the iceberg? It may be all too easy to blame the Ever Given incident for the latest logistical issues, rate hikes and arbitrage impacts on agricultural, metals and petrochemical commodity markets. S&P Global Platts Americas sh...

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and S&P Global Market Intelligence midstream finance reporter Allison Good preview with senior digital editor Jason Lindquist the upcoming release of first-quarter earnings results by companies in the North American midstream sector. While weather negatively affected operations in the most recent quarter and seasonal maintenance is expected t...

The Mexican government has recently issued a spate of regulations in the midstream and power sectors that have had broad implications. We spoke with Diego Campa of Campa and Mendoza Associates, a law firm in Mexico City, about the most relevant moves, how companies are able to use the courts to halt regulations, and how the recent regulations might fare in the legal system.

Container shortages and high freight rates have proven to be a major hurdle for international trade in the last six months. Nowhere has this been more so than for various agricultural products. S&P Global Platts shipping and agricultural editors come together to discuss the fallout from global container freight shortages and how they have affected the rice, sugar and used cooking oil markets.

The oil market is starting to face a new set of questions as it emerges from the pandemic and as energy transition momentum builds. S&P Global Platts Associate Director Paul Hickin spoke with the International Energy Agency 's Head of Oil Markets Division Toril Bosoni about the outlook for oil demand, the role of OPEC+ , US shale and China in the new reality and the challenges for energy security.

Canada enters the natural gas injection season with below-average storage levels as demand from resurging activity in the oil sands as well as coal-to-gas switching and higher exports look to boost AECO prices in relation to major market centers in the US Upper Midwest. The NGTL pipeline and storage system also looks to play a role in the market this year. S&P Global Platts natural gas editor Bran...

A long-standing regional supply shortage, aggravated by COVID-19 impacts, has prompted steel prices in Mexico to jump to 13-year highs, while local demand is yet to recover. Higher raw materials prices, coupled with a strong US dollar, were also drivers of a trend that is not expected to end in the short term. Adriana Carvalho, S&P Global Platts managing editor for Latin American metals, and Claud...

Mexico's Pemex, the state oil company, is facing challenges to increase production, as the government desires, and also internationally to meet its environmental commitments. We spoke with Andrew Rudman, director of the Wilson Center's Mexico Institute, about these challenges and the relationship between Pemex and the United States under the Biden administration. Related coverage PODCAST: Mexico's...

The oil futures market has been volatile on news that a large container ship was blocking the Suez Canal, a key artery for petroleum shipments, but do spot markets give a better indication of the impacts on global trade flows? Why are producers remaining so focused on growth in Guyana, considering softer demand growth expectations? Jeff Mower, head of Americas oil news for S&P Global Platts, discu...

Recent dynamics driving unseasonably high JKM and TTF pricing, ranging from elevated carbon pricing and LNG outages creating supply disturbance in Asia, have further illustrated the emerging global links driving natural gas pricing. Beyond these current dynamics, European and US storage exit winter at lower levels than recent years, but what does robust US production, low pricing, record US feedga...

The International Maritime Organization has approved amendments to its MARPOL Annex VI regulations, introducing an Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) that is expected to come into force in 2023. S&P Global Platts container editor George Griffiths and tankers editor Charlotte Bucchioni look at what these new amendments entail, and how they might impact the world of shipping at a time when freigh...