Commodities Focus

Ahead of the launch of formal Brexit divorce negotiations expected in March, Thierry Bros, senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies joins Lucie Roux, senior European gas specialist at S&P Global Platts, to discuss the challenges ahead for an import-dependent UK gas...

On February 8, the European Commission dropped its anti-dumping duty on imports of PET from China, which were as high as 22.9%. But will the European PET producers now find themselves with an elephant in the room? Shashank Shekhar, petrochemicals EMEA news editor, explores this subject with the PET...

It would hardly be an understatement to say Russia has fallen on hard economic times in recent years, although this does not tell the whole story. Tim Worledge, editorial director of pricing, joins Erin Burns, senior analyst, and Thomas Houghton, senior pricing specialist, to discuss some of the...

Preliminary data for January indicates that Russian oil producers are complying with an OPEC/non-OPEC deal to cut crude output, which alongside Russia's relationship with the new US administration looks set to have a significant impact on Russian oil in 2017. Nadia Rodova, managing editor at...

US thermal coal prices have risen over the past few months, largely lifted by higher gas prices for power generation, and forecasts for a tighter gas market in 2017 is good news for coal producers. Jim Levesque and Jeff McDonald, associate editors for Coal Trader, detail price movements for Central...

Tim Worledge and Claudiu Covrig look at the intricate interplay between supply and demand in the global sugar markets, and mull the impact of recovering sugar production in India and Thailand, the return of the EU to the international markets and the effect of prolonged poor monsoons in India which...

Mike Boswell, chair of the Brexit Committee at the British Plastic Federation assesses the challenges for an import dependent UK plastics industry post Brexit. UK converters face legislation changes, currency volatility and uncertainty in demand as the UK moves towards leaving the European Union. We...

After years of steady price declines, European power markets are dancing to a lively tune of nuclear outages, low wind and spiky Winter demand. Will prices rebalance once the current capacity squeeze is over? S&P Global Platts power reporters Henry Edwardes-Evans and Andreas Franke compare...

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...