Commodities Focus

Can the abandoned smaller TEU vessels become the workhorse for the customer focused container market? S&P Global Platts senior editor Andrew Scorer explores some potential options for these vessels to become a key player and provide a competitive advantage. RELATED CONTENTBlog post -- Container...

Wholesale electric power prices in the US are starting 2017 by ticking upward, lifted by firmer natural gas prices, which overall has caused coal generation to take some of gas generation's share in the overall fuel mix. Kassia Micek and Eric Wieser of the North American power pricing team...

It's been tough going for the secondary aluminum market over the last few months, and an ample alloy supply is weighing on the US market as the year ends. Sarah Baltic Hilliard, metals market editor in Pittsburgh, assesses the current market level for the A380 aluminum benchmark and what is...

S&P Global Platts editors Jacqueline Holman and Cameron Carswell discuss recent moves in European and Asian thermal coal markets, from the rapid increase in prices which saw the Australian market hit $115.50/mt FOB for 6,000 NAR kcal/kg cargoes, to the more recent price retreat and where the...

In October 2016, new gas balancing schemes were rolled out in Italy and Spain to align the two countries gas hubs with European standards. Market reporters Dalila Ouerghi and Mario Perez discuss the implementation of these new gas balancing regimes, their effect on liquidity and the feedback from...

It's a much different picture for American natural gas, coal and power than just a few days ago as the US energy industry eyes a future under President-elect Donald Trump. Not only will key Washington appointees shift the tone of agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the...

S&P Global Platts editors Jacqueline Holman and Cameron Carswell discuss the surprise announcement from the Turkish government to levy a $15/mt tax on imported thermal coal for power generation, the short term impact of the tax, the potential beneficiaries and the ways in which market players...

The seaborne thermal coal market has seen a huge turnaround with an unexpected surge in prices since June. In this podcast, senior editor Michael Cooper joins managing editor Deepak Kannan in examining what's driving coal buyers in China to bid higher for cargoes from Australia and Indonesia, the...

S&P Global Platts editors Jacqueline Holman and Cameron Carswell discuss European utilities importing high ash thermal coal from Mozambique, the requirement for blending with lower ash coal grades, the range of prices for Mozambican coal and whether demand is likely to rise in the coming...

Pipeline maintenance and an uptick in gas-fired power generation are supporting price movements in North American spot and forwards natural gas markets. Curt Mrowiec and Chris Pedersen, senior pricing specialists at Platts, and Thad Walker, energy analyst with Bentek Energy, detail the current...

Platts Stuart Elliott, associate editorial director, Europe and Africa oil news, and Nastassia Astrasheuskaya, Platts editor in Moscow, discuss the current status of Belarus' gasoline supplies to Russia, its refinery modernization program and Minsk's ambitions to boost oil product exports to...

The tension between US coal producers and fuel buyers was evident at the recent Eastern Fuel Buyers Conference, where coal sellers expressed the desire for utilities to work with them to help keep the coal industry afloat. But continued low natural gas prices means the US EIA expects gas generation...

Platts Stuart Elliott, associate editorial director, Europe and Africa oil news, and Nick Coleman, Platts senior editor in London, discuss the implications for the UK's oil sector of the Conservative Party victory in the May 7 UK general election, the rise of the Scottish Nationalist Party and what...

Platts Stuart Elliott, associate editorial director, Europe and Africa oil news, and Rosemary Griffin, Platts editor in Moscow, discuss the possible outcome of talks May 8-10 between Russia and China in the areas of oil and gas supply and financing, as well as the continued rise in Russian oil...

Konstantinos Tsolakis, freight editor for the Atlantic Supramax market, discusses the impact low Turkish demand for petroleum coke and scrap metal has had this year so far on the freight cost of shipping both commodities to Turkey, with Aleksandrs Juhnevics, managing editor for West of Suez freight...

Platts EU energy policy specialist Siobhan Hall and International Gas Report senior managing editor William Powell discuss the European Commission's latest charges against Russian gas giant Gazprom for alleged market abuse in central and eastern Europe, looking at the legal precedents and the...

Lucie Roux, pricing specialist for Platts European gas team, spoke to Laurent Remy, Spokesman and Social Media Manager at Fluxys Belgium, on Belgian Zeebrugge's main assets to support year-round LNG deliveries from the Yamal Peninsula to Asian-Pacific markets. We welcome any feedback or...

Powder River Basin coal buyers met recently outside Chicago and expressed long-term optimism that the using PRB coal would offer some stability -- including with prices -- despite changes to the US power generation landscape. Jeff McDonald, associate coal editor, talks with Andrew Moore, managing...

Platts Stuart Elliott, associate editorial director, Europe and Africa oil news, and Nadia Rodova, Platts Moscow bureau chief, discuss the outlook for Russia's oil sector against the backdrop of international sanctions against Moscow, including the opening up of Russia's offshore, expected crude...

The $70-billion takeover deal between Shell and BG Group will make Shell the second largest global oil producer in the world. But both companies are also active on the LNG front. In this podcast, Platts pricing analyst Max Gostelow and editor Abache Abreu look at the implications of the deal on the...

North American natural gas production is outstripping demand, and increasing power demand due to the forced retirement of coal plants may not be enough to stabilize gas prices going forward. Senior pricing specialists Curt Mrowiec and Chris Pedersen and Bentek Energy senior analyst Bob Yu analyze...

Taiwan is starting to prepare for its peak summer season and LNG demand fundamentals are about to change. Platts editor for LNG Abache Abreu explains the seasonal increase in the country's downstream consumption and state-owned buyer CPC's demand for spot cargoes to offset an expected shortfall in...

The US natural gas markets are transitioning to spring, and now the industry is wondering where the big demand drivers will be as the weather warms. Will power burn come in and "save the market" this year? Senior pricing specialist Curt Mrowiec, associate editor Patrick Badgley, and Bentek Energy...

While winning bids at the 2015 US Central Lease Sale 235 were down from 2014, prices per acre for the ability to potentially produce oil offshore were among the highest of the last 20 years. Starr Spencer, senior editor for oil news, evaluates how the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's annual...

Questions abound after the US' largest privately-held coal producer, Murray Energy, acquired prominent Illinois Basin producer Foresight Energy. Platts Coal Trader managing editor Andrew Moore and associate editor Jim Levesque contemplate whether Foresight's longwall mining production will continue...