The HC Commodities Podcast

What is the future of commodity trading? Is volatility here to stay and thus the profit pools available continue to grow? What will the market structure look like in 10 years and who will be the privileged few that have built, or are building, commodity trading platforms to be able to capture that future? What will that future look like? Who will participate and which category of participant will...

Emergency Pod: Nick Kumleben of Greenmantle, the geopolitical risk consultancy headed by Niall Ferguson, joins us to discuss the events in Venezuela, the 'Donroe' Doctrine and what it means for commodities. Is Venezuela an oil story or something else? Is the Donroe Doctrine a structured, intelligible set of principles or just a catchy phrase coined by a New York tabloid ? Intelligible or not, what...

Today, we are talking coffee, cocoa and sugar. And in the case of coffee and cocoa, the absolute wild ride they had in 2025.Record prices and extreme volatility. Was it all just a story of tariffs? Or is there something more fundamental going on? Our guest is Kona Haque. Head of Research for ED&F Man, one of the world's largest soft commodity traders that has recently been acquired by Hartree Part...

For a special episode we have the recording of a webinar, David Tannenbaum, the Director of Deep Blue Intelligence, and Carmella O’Hanlon from Blank Rome, discuss the US Coast Guard’s seizure of the Skipper, a Dark Fleet vessel, the legal basis underpinning it, and how the administration can enact a “blockade” of Venezuelan oil. They also discuss examples of typologies and red flags relating to Ve...

As we come toward the end of the year, what is the global macro-economic picture. What have been the key themes in 2025 and how have they manifested in energy and commodity markets? And what can we divine about 2026? Are we in for stagflation? Boring commodity markets or is this the calm before the storm….? Our guest is David Fyfe, Chief Economist of Argus, the independent energy & commodity price...

As we begin to wrap up the year, we return to the crude markets. What has been oil’s journey in the latter half of 2025? What has all this meant for trader performances after a challenging first half? What is the outlook for 2026 in prices and volatility? Our guest is Homayoun Falakshahi. He leads crude analytics at Kpler, the data and analytics firm for the commodity markets. For related content...

In this episode we return to Singapore and commodity trading in Asia. Is Singapore still a must -have hub as part of a global commodity footprint? What are the key commodities traded there? How do those markets differ from Europe and North America? How has the broader Asia-Pacific region fared over the last decade? And what are some of the key challenges, both market and cultural to doing there? A...

Today, in time for the US Thanksgiving, we discuss wine. From rare Burgundies to commodity wine that is shipped in containers and blended. What is wine? How is it made? What is the market structure and how has that changed with internationalization, changing tastes and climate change. And why is English wine ascendant? Our guest is Nick Brewer, former COO of Noble Group and ECTP and now founder an...

Today, we are talking agricultural markets and the case for investing in agricultural commodities, particularly in ETFS. And why that case is enhanced in the volatile world of today and the perhaps much more volatile world of the future. Our guest is Jake Hanley, Managing Director at Teucrium, a US -based ETF issuer with a specialisation in agricultural commodities. For related content and to find...

Why don’t more energy & resource companies have trading arms? For that matter, why don’t more sectors trade? Chips, drugs even real estate? Why are CEOs reticent to set up trading platforms and what are the barriers to entry? What sectors would benefit most from trading? And more broadly, how have those firms who have launched trading arms in the energy and commodities trading sector fared over th...

In Part 2, Mark Crandall relives the events that led to the founding of Glencore and Trafigura. Why did Claude Dauphin go his separate way and what was the founding vision for Trafigura? How had Marc Rich already set the vision for the trading houses which would lead to their domination? How has that dominance led to almost insurmountable barriers to entry for aspiring competitors today? And what...

Our Global Our Middle & Back Office Salary Report 2025 is now available for purchase. Published by HC Group's Talent Intelligence team. the report covers salary benchmarks for Risk, Legal & Compliance, Corporate Finance (includes STF/Treasury), Finance & Accounting,Technology & Human Resources positions across all commodity trading hubs. The report, created using proprietary data, is designed for...

Today, we're joined by Mark Crandall, one of the founding fathers of the modern trading house and the commodities sector as we know it today. Mark started his career at Morgan Stanley, where he helped launch its commodities desk, before joining Marc Rich & Co. Mark went on the have a pivotal role in, and ring-side seat to, the machinations that lead to the founding of Glencore and Trafigura. In Pa...

On October 1st, at HC Group’s Headquarters in London, host Paul Chapman interviewed Colin Bryce and Adi Imsirovic about their new book – Rivers of Money - in front of an invited audience of 100 friends, former colleagues and industry veterans. Why did they write the book, what stories and insights stand out and who received a pickled pig’s head at their desk (it later transpired the sender was in...

HC Groups’s Q3 Market Review is available to download here: https://www.hcgroup.global/insights/market-reviews/access-market-review-q3-2025 400+ notable people moves. An editorial by podcast host Paul Chapman on US talent in turbulent year to date. Articles on APAC liquid fuel trends and how participants are recruiting and training Gen Z and much more. You can also download www.hyperionsearch.com...

Today, we are joined by the award -winning author Mark Kurlansky, whose books such as The Big Oyster, Paper, Salt and Cod tell us how commodities have shaped history and in turn the present day. Why commodities sit at the very heart of human history creating cooperation, trade but also war. Mark shares his views on the books and how they fit in with the current world, his views and philosophy on f...

The HC Commodities Podcast was invited to host a panel at the excellent Argus Global Markets Conference in London on September 30. We discussed how the commodities world is adapting trading strategies to markets now driven by Truths Socials, algorithmic sentiment, shifting geopolitics and increasing government intervention. A world where the fundamentals of supply and demand are only part of the p...

What actually is systematic trading and the capabilities behind it? How can it generate returns? How can it inform the broader trading desks and organization's decision making? How is it delivering a competitive advantage and strategic edge to companies behind those returns? What have been the developments over the last couple of years? And how is such trading shaping the markets themselves? Our g...

Recorded at the Canadian Crude Oil Conference in the wonderful Lake Louise in Canada on 17th September 2025, Randy Ollenberger of BMO Capital Markets, dives into global oil fundamentals, Canadian crude production in a changing world and what that means for oil and gas equities. Sanctions, tariffs, pipeline expansions and Canadian politicians (reacting to a very different relationship with the US m...

In this episode, we tackle disputes, arbitration, and the challenges of navigating a fractious commodities world. Energy and natural resources have always sat at the heart of international transactions and, in today’s more volatile climate, disputes are arising more frequently. What happens in international contract disputes? What is international arbitration? And how can companies best mitigate t...

As we enter the planning season, we consider why business planning in the commodity sector is so challenging. And how uncertainty and a more volatile world has made it even more so? What can organizations do to build in resiliency and flexibility into planning and what tools are available to better manage the downsides and also capture opportunities? Our guest is Savvas Manousos. Savas has spent a...

Today, we return to the subject of investing in the global commodities markets. What are the key narratives out there on Main Street, Wall street and K Street and how are they shaping opportunities? How can you sort narrative from thesis? How does policy volatility and geopolitical volatility impact investments? And in a potential return to 1970s -style stagflation, what does that mean for commodi...

Colin Bryce joins us to discuss ‘The Rivers of Money: Social and Economic History of Modern Oil Trading’, which he co-authored with Adi Imsirovic. Both authors participated in oil trading during its pivotal years and through knowledge of the industry, experience and contacts bring to life this period in rich detail creating a unique book, blending reportage and economic history. Why did London bec...

Today, we discuss three critical minerals to illustrate, and challenge or reinforce the common narratives out there, the intractable problems those supply chains face - even with projected soaring future demand. And consequently, the influence these elements have on geopolitics and economics. Influence that is only growing. We're talking Yttrium, Rhenium and Graphite and each one tells a different...

Today, we're joined by Doomberg, the most popular energy and commodity focused sub-stack. He and his team publish over 90 articles a year on the intersection of global energy and commodity policy, geopolitics, risk and technology. Today, it's Doomberg unleashed. How close are we to World War III? Are we already in it? What does that mean for the energy and commodity supply chains. How sanctions an...