Global demand for commodities has been obliterated. From copper as a barometer of the global economy to oil as a potential inflation hedge, no commodity has escaped the impact of coronavirus. Jeff Currie, head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs and someone who identified the commodities supercycle in the 2000s, did a Q&A with the London news team at S&P Global Platts on 7th April hosted by Paul Hickin and Andy Critchlow. He discussed what a potential supply and demand recovery coul...
Apr 15, 2020•26 min
US power markets are following similar trends from Asia and Europe following the coronavirus track, which is creating supply and demand challenges. Peakload averages were down more than 10% in March compared with a year earlier, power dailies have yet to see a dramatic impact, and pricing forwards experienced movement that was more drastic in March for April and May packages.
Apr 14, 2020•21 min
S&P Gloal Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and S&P Global Market Intelligence natural gas reporter Corey Paul discuss with Platts senior digital editor Jason Lindquist current trends in the North American and global LNG markets amid ongoing headwinds, including low prices, narrow margins, shifting trade flows and a significant dropoff in commercial activity that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The outlook has been clouded by extraordinary uncertainty about t...
Apr 07, 2020•19 min
With COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe rapidly bringing the petrochemical demand into a lull, pressure on the upstream naphtha market has become two-fold in the recent weeks. Travel restrictions and the progressive loss in demand from the petrochemical sector have added extra weight. S&P Global Platts ethylene and naphtha editors look closely at the cycle of events since the coronavirus breakout.
Apr 07, 2020•12 min
S&P Global Platts agriculture specialists Liz Thang, Rafael Savoia, Sergio Alvarado, and Andrei Agapi examine the factors driving corn prices as trading communities in Asia and the Americas try to manage market volatility and logistics disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the usual weather issues.
Apr 07, 2020•17 min
The tsunami of IMO 2020 turned into a tidal wave of cheap oil as producers flood the crude oil market and refiners cut runs amid the COVID-19 demand destruction. In the meantime crude is heading toward containment in tankers floating offshore. Catherine Wood and Barbara Troner of the S&P Global Platts shipping team put their heads together with Platts crude editor Kristian Tialios to explore the dynamics of current floating storage plays.
Apr 03, 2020•13 min
Metals like aluminum and steel had been relatively unaffected as COVID-19 began to spread in the US, but the shift came as automakers – including The Big 3 and others – announced temporary production stoppages in North America. Auto is a growing demand sector for aluminum. Another big consumer – the aerospace industry – has been gutted as airlines have slashed flights and Boeing announced a temporary production stoppage in Washington state. A number of states have implemented lockdowns of non-es...
Mar 31, 2020•10 min
The shipping markets are often considered a bellwether of global trade, and the dry bulk and container markets are on their knees due to the coronavirus pandemic. Editors George Griffiths and Sam Eckett take a look at whether there are any positive signs of global economic recovery in the seaborne markets while on-shore market participants remain bound to their living rooms.
Mar 31, 2020•8 min
Global commodity markets have been hit by a combination of the oil price war and the coronavirus pandemic, and European wheat is no exception. Robert Beaman talks to senior grains editor Alexandre Bobylov about how the French and Black Sea Wheat markets are reacting, while Piero Carello looks at how the pandemic and fluctuating exchange rates are affecting the agriculture logistics chain.
Mar 27, 2020•12 min
The coronavirus pandemic has impacted all aspects of daily life and US power markets are not immune. With the majority of people staying at home, per recommendations to stop the spread of the disease, grid operators are keeping a close eye on changes in power demand and how to respond.
Mar 26, 2020•20 min
Cash prices for US diesel and jet fuel markets have been under heavy pressure since the coronavirus outbreak hit the US. Jet fuel has seen the worst impact, with prices falling to multiyear lows. Diesel prices have mostly avoided any large drops, but it's unclear how long that will last. Ellie Valencia, senior pricing specialist for US jet fuel; and Margaret Rogers, senior pricing specialist, US diesel; discuss the markets with Joshua Brown, manager, US distillates and Latin products....
Mar 24, 2020•14 min
S&P Global Platts market specialists Kirsten Hays, Eric Su, and Simon Price join associate director Vanessa Ronsisvalle to give a global view on how the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the recent oil price crash are affecting petrochemical markets, with particular focus on blendstocks, olefins, and aromatics.
Mar 24, 2020•17 min
Unlike other commodities sectors, the domestic steel market seemed to be largely immune during the first few weeks of Covid-19's spread across the US. Prices held relatively steady and mill production was fairly constant, with most participants basically in wait-and-see mode, but concern was limited. The scenario has shifted dramatically in recent days. The Big 3 automakers of GM, Ford and Fiat-Chrysler, as well as Honda and Toyota, announced temporary production stoppages in North America. That...
Mar 20, 2020•12 min
China's long-awaited value-added-tax rebate on fuel oil paved the way for domestic producers to supply bunker fuel to ships plying international routes at Chinese ports. A month after its implementation, S&P Global Platts fuel oil experts Su Ling Teo and Rajesh Nair examine what has changed and what the road ahead looks like for China's bunker market, and whether it the country is getting closer to its dream of being a bunkering hub in Asia.
Mar 20, 2020•8 min
With commodities weakening on the back of the coronavirus epidemic and the oil price crash, Robert Beaman of S&P Global Platts talks to sugar specialists Nicolle Monteiro de Castro and Beatriz Pupo about the impact on the Brazilian sugar market. Brazilian sugar has been in the news following February's reversal of fortunes in Brazil's Center-South region, which saw sugar prices starting to pay producers better than ethanol for the first time since 2017. Joined by global manager Piero Carello...
Mar 18, 2020•18 min
US LNG developers face challenges advancing any new export projects this year amid the escalating coronavirus outbreak, which has exacerbated the drop in global demand that has already led to record-low prices in Asia. Decision makers are lamenting that for the foreseeable future China's door appears to be shut to US LNG, and that has put the sector in hunker-down mode as participants try to ride out the turmoil. S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and senior digital edit...
Mar 17, 2020•11 min
With oil prices off roughly 30% in the past week in face of falling demand triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, impacts in the downstream are far-reaching. Changes in crude flows, refinery operations, LNG development and petrochemical price dynamics all are newly in play. Editors from S&P Global Platts and S&P Global Market Intelligence explore market and industry dynamics triggered by the extreme volatility in world oil markets, with a special focus on downstream us oil, natural gas, ...
Mar 13, 2020•20 min
The ongoing and extreme volatility in world oil markets has triggered a range of industry dynamics in the US. Editors from S&P Global Platts and S&P Global Market Intelligence examine the latest market news, with a particular focus on upstream US oil, gas and LNG operations. Coming soon: Part 2: Downstream impacts
Mar 12, 2020•12 min
S&P Global Platts refined products experts Wendy Cheong and Wanda Wang focus on the impact of lockdown policies in parts of China on petrochemical deliveries, the buildup in stocks, and the effect on the Asian naptha market.
Mar 11, 2020•7 min
Clean energy resource capacity in PJM Interconnection states has been increasing in recent years, often spurred by state programs that provide financial support. In response, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's December 19 order aimed to combat the potential price-suppressing effects of subsidized resource participation, setting off a scramble to assess the impacts of the rule.
Mar 04, 2020•20 min
S&P Global Platts editor Eric Yep and pricing specialists Fred Wang and Srijan Kanoi examine the impact of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, on China's coal and LNG markets, and take a look at potential demand centers that could absorb existing supplies in the market.
Feb 27, 2020•12 min
Amid prolonged drought in Thailand, the latest S&P Global Platts Commodities Focus podcast investigates the damage to the country's vital agriculture sector. This has been most keenly-felt in the rice industry, and EMEA agriculture lead Robert Beaman discusses the latest developments in production and prices with rice expert Stephen Jones. They are joined by rice team manager Charlotte James and senior reporter Peter Storey, as well as Piero Carello, who highlights some surprising parallels ...
Feb 27, 2020•12 min
Hydrogen is seen across all sectors of the economy, from transportation to industry, power generation and domestic heat, as a potential decarbonisation tool. Huge questions remain about the cost and route to market of low and zero carbon H2 production, and whether governments and industry are willing and able to step up and accelerate a transition to meaningful scale. This episode of the Commodities Focus podcast defines the pathways to H2 decarbonisation, explains what S&P Global Platts is ...
Feb 25, 2020•11 min
With natural gas prices bumping down to record lows and supplies set to increase in the coming years, sellers of gas into Europe are keeping everything crossed that coal and nuclear closures will galvanize a new dash-for-gas in generation markets. Platts news and analytics experts compare notes on the state of the market, the outlook for pipeline and LNG supply and the prospects for new gas burn in the generation markets of Germany and Italy.
Feb 18, 2020•15 min
With India's domestic steel prices staging a recovery, steelmakers have shifted their focus to their home markets. However, they remain cautious about any repercussions from COVID-19, fundamentally slow demand growth, an uninspiring Union Budget, and ongoing auctions for mining leases. Will India's domestic market continue showing strength in the face of these developments? S&P Global Platts Asian Steel Markets Editor Ashima Tyagi discusses these issues and more with Head of APAC Metal Insig...
Feb 18, 2020•9 min
Steel and raw materials markets have been particularly affected by the coronavirus, as two of the key demand sectors – construction and manufacturing – remain in limbo awaiting workers to return. Meanwhile, deliveries of raw materials have been held up by logistical constraints, while mills are tentatively starting to trade again. Paul Bartholomew, S&P Global Platts head of market insight for metals in Asia-Pacific is joined by Keith Tan, Platts senior managing editor, for steel and raw mate...
Feb 13, 2020•10 min
A little over a month into the IMO 2020 switch from 3.5% to 0.5% sulfur bunker fuels, the lifting of US sanctions on COSCO-owned tankers and dented crude oil and jet fuel demand due to the coronavirus outbreak had tanker freight take a u-turn and re-open arbitrage flows from the US Gulf Coast. Marieke Alsguth, Barbara Troner and Catherine Wood of the S&P Global Platts shipping team talk about how the first 40 days of IMO 2020 have shaped up for the Americas loading tanker markets....
Feb 12, 2020•13 min
From the bursting bubble of palm oil prices, to the soybean harvests of South America and the far-reaching impact of the coronavirus, the global vegetable oil markets are multi-faceted and dynamic. Join Robert Beaman, George Duke, Anu Das, Rafael Savoia and Huw Shortland to understand the complicated and fast-moving world of vegetable oils, and why prices have come under pressure in recent weeks.
Feb 11, 2020•23 min
The coronavirus outbreak, which has been declared by the World Health Organization as a global health emergency, is expected to slowdown economic growth in China, the world's largest crude oil, iron ore and soybean importer, and steel exporter. S&P Global Platts Analytics, Insight and Pricing teams gather to take a deep dive into the demand and price impact of the outbreak on the commodity markets.
Feb 07, 2020•18 min
Brazil, the largest fuel consumer in South America, has been going through many changes in fuel consumption and pricing dynamics. Since state-led oil company Petrobras started to follow the international price parity reference for gasoline and diesel, E100 hydrous ethanol consumption has started to spike due to a favorable price advantage for consumers. Brazilian drivers have shifted their consumption to the biofuel E100 and in 2019 the hydrous share in the country's energy matrix accounted for ...
Feb 06, 2020•14 min
