Commodities Focus

The gene editing system is being used extensively by the private and public sectors to develop new traits of interest in crops. To date, more than 500 products are being developed worldwide using the technology and are at different stages of product development, with more than a dozen of gene edited grain and oilseeds having authorization for cultivation in the US. In this episode, S&P Global Comm...

The global petrochemical industry is grappling with the aftermath of COVID-fueled demand. The supply squeeze in 2020 and 2021 that led to soaring prices has been doused by economic uncertainty and oversupply, leaving producers with hard decisions about output and buyers with lots of options.  S&P Global Commodity Insights' global polymer lead Kristen Hays speaks with Chemical Week editors Rob West...

Algorithmic trading is increasingly a mainstay of European electricity and natural gas trade as major players seek to stay on top of fast-moving, volatile markets. So-called algos, which make hundreds if not thousands of trades a day, are widely used to balance renewable energy portfolios and bring more liquidity to the market. But traders have blamed the automated process for exacerbating volatil...

Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered major supply risks and wide-ranging sanctions that have dramatically changed global oil and gas markets. In a year of price volatility, supply concerns and increasingly harsh sanctions, Russia has accelerated its pivot to Asian markets. As we enter a second year of the conflict, the risk of major security incidents, a decline in Russian production, and even t...

The Freeport LNG terminal in Texas started exporting LNG cargoes in mid-February for the first time since a fire and explosion in June 2022 forced a shutdown of the facility, marking a milestone in the history of US LNG. In the global LNG market, the Freeport outage initially exacerbated supply shortages that sent sky-high spot prices even higher. In the US, the shutdown took the lid off a really...

Prices are closer to lower, volatility has reduced and inter-product price spreads have come in, so are we seeing gas and LNG markets revert to normality? What are the factors that have calmed markets, and is this new-found tranquillity likely to be sustained? In this Commodities Focus podcast episode, S&P Global Commodity Insights experts Kenneth Foo, Allen Reed and Stuart Elliott discuss these t...

In this episode of the Commodities Focus podcast, our experts delve into the Black Sea wheat trade situation amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War, from the impact of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on global food security to the challenges faced by the initiative and the future of wheat exports in the region. Additionally, our experts also discuss the impact of sanctions on Russian fertilizer suppli...

Copper prices reached six-month high in December on a weakening US dollar and news of China relaxing its zero-COVID control policy, but copper cathode end-users reduced term contracts coverage for 2023. Copper concentrate supply is expected to be in surplus this year, but we saw spot tightness just in the start of the year. S&P Global Commodity Insights' experts Yuen Cheng Mok , Han Lu and Jesline...

Adverse weather events due to climate change are increasingly impacting agriculture. In this podcast, S&P Global Commodity Insights reporters  Shikha Singh  and  Mugunthan Kesavan  speak to  Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig,  Senior Research Scientist with NASA, and recipient of the 2022 World Food Prize Award on greenhouse emissions, rising temperatures and their impact on agriculture. James McMahon ,   CE...

As EU sanctions on Russian crude and oil products come into force, the Baltic and Black Sea shipping markets face uncertainty. In this episode of the Platts Commodities Focus podcast, our EMEA Tanker Editors and Freight Analytics team delve into the challenges and opportunities facing shipowners in these regions. From navigating new strategies to considering the potential impact of these sanctions...

Price regulation plays an important political and economic role in emerging countries, and Latin American countries this year have faced oil price volatility that has forced them to look for buffer alternatives. News experts Jeff Mower and Sheky Espejo sat down with pricing experts Maria Jimenez and Sarah Hernandez to discuss how price regulation has been applied in Colombia, Brazil and Mexico and...

Demand for moving goods around the world has dramatically fallen as the cost of living rises and consumers start to tighten their belts. However, many shipowners have been left with bumper profits accumulated during the peak. Are freight rates going to continue their downward trend? How will the market react to the upcoming ESG regulations? In the latest Platts Commodities Focus podcast, our conta...

As the oil and gas industry works to find its footing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic it now faces a world transformed, with new risks stemming from Russia's war in Ukraine and brewing global economic headwinds. In their third quarter earnings, oil industry executives appeared to diverge on their outlooks for the sector. Upstream players, hamstrung by capacity constraints, are maintaining...

With Luis Inacio Lula de Silva returning to the presidency in Brazil after 12 years, the agriculture industry anticipates its market fundamentals could be impacted by an increasingly progressive agenda. Some defining issues include how Lula's government will deal with Petrobras' fuel price policy; fuel subsidy mechanisms; regulation of the biodiesel mandate; and the Renovabio program. In this epis...

Market participants expect a supply glut in 2022-23 amid record Brazilian soybean output forecast by different agencies. If Brazil can produce a huge volume of the oilseed in the upcoming marketing year, that could have major implications for US soybeans exporters and for Chinese demand.  In this podcast, S&P Global Commodity Insights agriculture experts Asim Anand, Rafael Savoia, Pete Meyer and E...

LNG markets are in the spotlight after the Russia-Ukraine war, with Asia and Europe both competing for limited cargoes.  A harsher than expected winter may trigger unprecedented changes in LNG trade flows and force many Asian governments to implement contingency measures to tackle power outages. In a discussion ahead of the  Asia LNG & Hydrogen Gas Markets Conference ,  S&P Global Commodity Insigh...

With global container shipping costs coming down, European polymer markets are seeing offers of material from the Far East rise, adding pressure to prices in an already over supplied environment. Platts Petrochemicals editors Abdulaziz Ehtaiba, Hui Heng and Daniel Pelosi, and Containers editor George Griffiths talk about the logistical landscape and the fallout it is causing in the polymer markets...

As gas supply disruptions send shockwaves across the world, the ability and capacity to store energy has come under close scrutiny. Associate Director Paul Hickin discusses with gas and power editors Stuart Elliott and Kira Savcenko whether Europe has enough energy in reserve to get through the winter, the challenges of providing sufficient back-up from both fossil fuels and alternative sources, t...

Used cooking oil (UCO) or vegetable oil unfit for human consumption has found a new life as feedstock for biofuels like Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester (UCOME). UCO is also used to produce renewable distillates like sustainable aviation fuel and hydrotreated vegetable oil. With governments across the world pledging emission-reduction targets and increased capacity coming online, the demand for UCO i...

In this episode of the Commodities Focus podcast, S&P Global Petrochemicals Editor Abdulaziz Ehtaiba talks with Univar Solutions' Nick Powell, board member at FECC, about events like Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as factors like inflationary pressures in Europe, and how they are impacting the chemicals distribution industry.

US steel and polymer producers rode a wave of soaring prices for their products in 2021 as the economy roared back from the coronavirus pandemic and construction activity boomed. The hot building market brought with it an uptick in demand for steel and polymers. But the fun couldn't last forever. Rising interest rates are tamping down inflation, and the construction industry is feeling the pain. S...

US summer power markets are just warming up. A heat wave hit the central US in mid-July , leading to multiple alerts and records across two grid footprints, and a late July heat wave brought triple-digit temperatures to the Pacific Northwest, shrinking power exports to neighboring regions in the West. But the summer demand season is far from over, as forecasts for summer-like temperatures now exte...

Australia's ban on export of alumina to Russia following the war in Ukraine sent prices on a rollercoaster ride in the first half of 2022. Uncertainties surrounding the supply-demand dynamics and policies continue to loom ahead. In the aluminum markets, Chinese smelters have been ramping up production but are facing operational losses, while elevated energy prices and operational challenges threat...

Amid geopolitical risks threatening the key wheat-growing Black Sea region, Canadian wheat is taking on a bigger role in the global spotlight for this key food crop as recently launched CME futures give additional tools for those looking at FOB Vancouver wheat. Join agriculture managing editor Josh Pedrick and senior pricing specialists Luke Lundgren and Alexandre Bobylov as they talk through the...

India's imposition of steep tariffs on steel exports has put global markets in a tizzy, with unanswered questions on the longevity of the policy, immediate benefits to domestic end-users and strategies that local mills could adopt to manage excess inventories. In this podcast, S&P Global Commodity Insights' experts, Senior Editor Ashima Tyagi  and Lead Analyst  Paul Bartholomew , discuss with  Aru...