Commodities Focus

An initial trade agreement between the US and China signed by officials from both countries January 15 could change the landscape for commodities markets that have been roiled by punishing tit-for-tat tariffs over the last 18 months.

Caustic soda is considered a major economic indicator for manufacturing, which is why its weaker pricing was among many indicators of economic slowdowns in China and Europe last year. Current market prices remain under pressure in all regions, amid global oversupply and lack of demand growth. Global Market Lead for polymers and editor Kristen Hays tells Ora Lazic about the events that led to this...

With details still scarce on the US-China trade deal, markets' initial reaction was underwhelming. This indicates that the highly anticipated deal did not deliver on market expectations. Ivy Li, Gustavo Bonato, Pete Meyer, and Andrei Agapi, S&P Global Platts specialists from China, Brazil, the US, and Singapore, examine the impact of the deal on soybean exports from US and Brazil, and the demand i...

Pressure on plummeting coal prices could cascade throughout 2020 as unprecedented events within the wider energy markets have helped the energy mix to connect like never before. Platts reporters Antoine Simon, Joseph Clarke and Amanda Flint discuss with Sarah Matthews where this year could lead in both the worlds of coal and gas and whether coal-to-gas switching levels can really go any higher.

The consortium of ExxonMobil, Hess and China's CNOOC recently announced that first oil was being produced from Guyana's offshore. Starr Spencer, S&P Global Platts senior editor for oil news, talks with Laura Huchzermeyer, Platts managing editor of Americas crude markets, about the news from Guyana and the potential impacts on the market.

As more US municipalities set ambitious goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power generation, transportation and other sectors, use cases for hydrogen are emerging that include fuel cells, direct burning in gas-fired turbines and energy storage applications. With these trends in mind, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems is launching the Advanced Clean Energy Storage project in central Utah tha...

In the final Shipping Commodities Focus podcast of 2019, S&P Global Platts editors George Griffiths and Sam Eckett discuss the state of the markets ahead of IMO 2020's January 1 deadline. They review the inaugural Platts European Shipping Seminar in Athens; how the Kübler-Ross model of grief (the five stages) applies to global shipping; and investigate why public and private companies are approach...

With record-high production and unprecedented exposure to global markets through exports, US natural gas markets are in many ways heading into uncharted territory this winter. S&P Global Platts Americas natural gas manager Ryan Ouwerkerk speaks with senior gas pricing specialists Veda Chowdhury and Kelsey Hallahan about what to expect this winter for US natural gas pricing. The discussion includes...

Two consecutive campaigns of lower sugar production and trade deficits are forecast in the European sugar market. EMEA agriculture pricing lead Robert Beaman, global market development manager Piero Carello and sugar editor Thomas Wigglesworth discuss, in the latest S&P Global Platts Commodities Focus podcast, the on-going sugar beet harvest, changing trade flow dynamics and the overall European m...

What's in store for 2020? As 2019's heavy turnaround season at all main European petrochemical cracker units came to an end, ethylene supplies returned to a progressively weakening derivatives market. Styrene monomer in particular has been significantly affected and set to remain bearish for the foreseeable future. On the opposite side, upstream naphtha has kept strong and has recently pushed Euro...

In today's Commodities Focus podcast, join EMEA agriculture pricing lead Robert Beaman, oilseeds editor George Duke and global market development manager Piero Carello as they discuss how the global vegetable oil complex is pressuring sunflower oil prices upwards, despite the bumper sunflower harvests in the Black Sea region.

In today's Commodities Focus podcast, steel pricing analysts Viral Shah and Pascal Dick speak to Shan Islam, head of ferrous trading at Amalgamated Metals Trading (AMT) about the growing market interest in scrap and rebar futures contracts traded on the London Metal Exchange. The team discuss the various scenarios and questions that may arise when a market participant begins hedging, as well as th...

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and S&P Global Market Intelligence natural gas reporter Corey Paul discuss with Platts head of Americas gas news Joe Fisher the outlook for US LNG export growth in 2020, which projects will advance, which ones remain on the bubble, and how the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China will impact the landscape.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) is holding its fifth heads-of-state summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, next week with gas heavyweights such as Russia, Iran and Qatar set to discuss the state of the global gas market. With gas prices still low across the world and an oversupplied LNG market adding to the bearish mood, GECF members will have much to discuss against the background of an in...

The International Energy Agency has released its latest annual long-term energy outlook in which US shale gets a major resource uplift, shifting the oil market dynamic over the coming decades. S&P Global Platts editor Nick Coleman and Market Intelligence editor Peter Marrin join Robert Perkins to discuss the implications of the IEA's latest forecasts, how producers are meeting the supply challenge...

Platts Shipping editors Sam Eckett and George Griffiths interview Alexis Rodriguez on environmental initiatives by the Panama Canal ahead of IMO 2020. In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss new rules prohibiting the use of marine distillate fuels in canal waters; traffic impacts of the US-China trade tensions; and answer the question: Is the Panama Canal turning into an ECA zone?

The energy transition has become an increasingly important driver of energy and commodity markets, as power generation undergoes a profound transformation across the globe. In this podcast, Bruno Brunetti, S&P Global Platts head of global power planning, analytics; and Morris Greenberg, senior manager, North American power, analytics; discuss with Amy Gasca, manager of power pricing, the global an...

London-based editors Jeffrey McDonald, Sarah Matthews and Joseph Clarke discuss the mood of key sectors within the Atlantic basin thermal coal markets amid cheap gas prices and tumbling demand from Europe and the Mediterranean. The mood is bearish, especially for US and Colombian producers. Russian...

Ethanol has been at the forefront of the discussions at Sugar Week in Sao Paulo. The ethanol story will most probably remain bullish, with the renewable fuel accounting for more than 45% of Brazil's total gasoline pool since 2018 and the launch of the RenovaBio program in 2020. The...

FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee launched the EnVision Forum in his home state of Kentucky on October 21. The daylong event drew a diverse crowd of power and natural gas stakeholders, including CEOs, utility regulators, consumer advocates and landowners, to discuss challenges posed by the changing...

The middle distillate complex in Asia is expected to maintain a firm footing in the fourth quarter amid looming supply concerns despite Saudi Arabia's full restoration on all of its crude oil production following the September 14 attacks. Industry sources in the bull camp also anticipate rising...

In today's Commodities Focus podcast, steel pricing analysts Len Griffin and Viral Shah speak to lead news editor Annalisa Villa about the European steel market after the World Steel Association released its outlook for 2019, which revises global steel growth significantly upwards, with...

The energy transition has become the key talking point among energy and commodity market participants, marking what seems to be the beginning of a paradigm shift in power generation. And who better than S&P Global Platts experts in Global Power to analyse key drivers such as policy, the...

With domestic steel prices at three-year lows, India's steelmakers are hoping the government's efforts to boost liquidity and investment will stimulate demand. If not, will Indian steel exports increase and how will they fare in an overcrowded Asian market? S&P Global Platts Asian Steel Markets...

S&P Global Platts shipping editors George Griffiths and Sam Eckett look at the alternative marine fuels debate, ahead of IMO 2020's January 1st deadline. They are joined by Managing Editor for Freight Alex Younevitch, and discuss the ASBA Cargo Conference in Miami, nuclear power's...