Commodities Focus

Why would a refiner keep making gasoline at a loss? That's the situation facing US companies with gasoline cracks dipping into negative numbers against major US and European crude grades. Jeff Bair and Seth Clare of the US gasoline team break down the numbers and take look at what analysts are...

An escalation in tension between Russia and Ukraine following the seizure of three Ukrainian vessels by Russia in the Azov Sea could mean a change to market dynamics. In this podcast S&P Global Platts commodities specialists explore what it could mean for those who use Russian and Ukrainian...

Market expectations for Q4 were sky-high, but has the dry bulk sector delivered on its Q3 promise? S&P Global Platts Sam Eckett and Arthur Richier discuss how geopolitical challenges have affected different commodities around the Atlantic Basin, and how freight rates have been impacted as a...

S&P Global Platts European styrene editor Olu Shaw joins EMEA petrochemicals managing editor Ng Baoying to assess the European styrene market, which has lost close to a third of its value in the two months to mid-November, from $1,422/mt mid-August, to $979.50/mt. While some sources consider...

The US Gulf Coast has become the new crude export hub in the Americas. Brazil and USGC crude exports combined have transformed the VLCC runs from the Americas to the Asia-Pacific region into a front-haul market, attracting ballasters from as far away as Singapore. In recent weeks shipping cost on...

California voters are about to have the chance to ditch a recently passed increase in their gasoline tax. Is there a chance that they will vote against their self-interest and in favor of the greater good? Plus, does a tax really push gasoline demand one way or another? Jeff Bair and native...

US crude exports to Europe have declined in the past few weeks as the cost to move barrels across the Atlantic has risen. US crude editor Laura Huchzermeyer joins Americas crude oil managing editor John-Laurent Tronche to discuss this recent run-up in prices, and how the market is adapting to...

The International Maritime Organization has mandated bunker sulfur limits to drop to 0.5% sulfur on January 1, 2020, from 3.5% sulfur currently. Regardless of the compliance option shipowners choose, the global sulfur mandate will increase freight cost tremendously. Noteworthy is a huge uptick in...

The pricing power of domestic mills in Brazil was built on strengthening Chinese steel prices over the past few months, putting Brazilian steel products near discounts against imported material. Historically, sustainable import parity premiums for domestic flats and longs over imported goods were...

The European paraxylene market is seeing significant changes this year as fundamental shifts in global demand and supply yield opportunities and challenges for the region. The start-up of a new downstream PTA plant in Portugal has placed the region in a net short position, and Europe will now have...

North American power pricing specialists Kelli Ainsworth, Kassia Micek and Jeff Zhou, all based in Houston, look back on how US power markets fared over the summer, where ERCOT markets sizzled out, but California markets reached decade high prices. Kelli, Kassia and Jeff also turn their attention...

As the bunkering industry gears up for the International Maritime Organization's tighter sulfur emission standards from 2020 onward, is the blending of biofuels a viable way to reduce emissions? S&P Global Platts senior biofuel specialist George Griffiths and fuel oil associate editor Emma...

When US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel imports earlier this year, the impacts went far beyond that industry, with ripple effects for crude oil, natural gas, LNG export projects and petrochemicals. S&P Global Platts editors Michael Fitzgerald, Kristen Hays, Starr Spencer and...

A unique season for the 2018-19 sugarcane crop in North-Northeast Brazil is starting to shape up, with producers expected to maximize ethanol production. And for the first time since 2010-11 producers are expected to focus on hydrous production, which is already is triggering higher anhydrous...

S&P Global Platts senior pricing specialists John DeLapp and Veda Chowdhury discuss the changing natural gas storage picture in the Midwest. Although stocks are running well behind the five-year average build, market participants do not seem to be concerned. John and Veda explain why. Related...

Join us for a discussion of how US-China trade tensions and tariffs are rocking the US petrochemical industry and markets for chemicals and plastics. Participating are Kristen Hays, senior petrochemicals editor; Chris Ferrell, managing editor of olefins and polymers; and Phillipe Craig, associate...

Up in the summer, down in the winter. What is going on with your gasoline? Jeff Bair and Seth Clare of Platts' light ends team discuss the influence of RVP on US gasoline assessments and how they provide a wrinkle into how fuel was priced during Hurricane Florence. Download: S&P Global Platts...

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber, LNG Editorial Lead for Asia Pacific and the Middle East Abache Abreu and Managing Editor Gas & Power Joe Fisher preview next week's Gastech conference in Barcelona. They analyze the key themes and what the global gas and LNG...

A unique season for the 2018-19 sugarcane crop in Center-South Brazil is resulting in the highest ethanol mix in 10 years. What have been the impacts in the supply-and-demand dynamics in the world's largest sugarcane producer and second-biggest ethanol market? Can demand catch up with the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Asian leaders at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, September 11-13, 2018, where discussions are likely to be dominated by trade tensions and North Korea peace talks, as well as the most promising areas for future cooperation. S&P Global Platts...

S&P Global Platts Editor Kate Winston and Senior Manager Matthew Eversman discuss the Affordable Clean Energy rule and whether this new legislation will have an impact on the US generation mix.

Coal stockpiles at US utilities and natural gas storage are both down this year rather significantly, but prices have yet to react. Andrew Moore, managing editor of Platts Coal Trader, says increasing gas production is one reason prices have stayed low, which is also limiting coal demand. But with...

Brazil, the world's largest soybean exporter, is bound to be nearly alone in providing the oilseed to China with competitive prices, after the Asian country imposed a 25% tariff on US exports. However, uncertainties around Brazilian domestic freight costs make the scenario for the South...

Senior Pricing Specialists Samer Mosis, Arsalan Syed and John DeLapp of the S&P Global Platts North American Natural Gas team discuss the behavior of the often-volatile Southern California gas market this summer. They dissect and analyze the market fundamentals behind a recent price surge and...

S&P Global Platts reporter Harry Weber and Senior Managing Editor Matt Eversman discuss the outlook for further US LNG export growth amid the escalation of international trade disputes. They analyze the impact on projects currently being developed on the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts and...