Commodities Focus

Gasoline volumes from Northern Europe to West Africa are expected to continue to grow, and new hedging tools may be needed for medium range clean tankers in the West of Suez market. Platts Shipping Editors Sam Eckett, George Griffiths, and Chris To discuss emerging benchmark opportunities into West Africa, while probing the unprecedented state of trans-Pacific container rates.

Ira Joseph, head of gas and power for Platts Analytics, and Ryan Ouwerkerk, manager of Americas natural gas pricing for S&P Global Platts, take a look at how US natural gas prices have jumped and the turnaround in global gas benchmarks.

The outlook for hydrogen Asia-Pacific has become a lot more positive over the last six to 12 months, with companies from Australia to Japan stepping up efforts to formulate policies and plan projects in the hope that the clean fuel can play a big role in the energy transition process. But at this point there are probably more questions than answers. How quickly new hydrogen projects can come up? How fast governments can formulate polices? And how soon trade flows and a transparent market place can develop? Peter Godfrey, Asia Pacific Managing Director of The Energy Institute of the UK, joins S&P Global Platts senior editor Sambit Mohanty in this episode of Commodities Focus Podcasts to discuss the opportunities and challenges in Asia's hydrogen market.

April was the nadir of the global demand slump from COVID-19 lockdowns while swinging output cuts from OPEC+ and a slump in US drilling hit production volumes across the board. Oil and gas producers have also been grappling with more pessimism over long term oil demand, have written down asset values and some have stepped up their energy transition game. S&P Global Platts senior writer Robert Perkins is joined by colleagues Nick Coleman, Starr Spencer and S&P Global Market Intelligence's Peter Marin to discuss the key themes of the latest earnings season.

Brazil has shifted to become a net importer of primary aluminum since 2014, but the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the market outlook. Is the increase in Brazilian P1020 exports here to stay? How does this situation impact domestic supply? Adriana Carvalho and Henrique Riberiro of S&P Global Platts look at those issues and more.

Amy Gasca, Daryna Kotenko and Veda Chowdhury of S&P Global Platts discuss West power and natural gas markets and how current market fundamentals are shaping spot and forwards pricing for the remainder of the summer.

Ira Joseph, head of gas and power for Platts Analytics, and Ryan Ouwerkerk, manager of Americas natural gas pricing for S&P Global Platts, look at the other side of the supply-demand equation, ranging from LNG cargoes pricing out pipeline deliveries to the prospects for further demand growth in the oversupplied and depressed pricing environment.

Over a decade after the first flight using sustainable aviation fuel took off, SAF has gained prominence in airlines' sustainability tool boxes as the industry tackles its collective carbon footprint. Growing consumer awareness around the environmental impact of the transportation industry has added to this global dialogue. SAF has made inroads into the US via California however producers and airlines alike must navigate fragmented environmental policies that this nascent market. Sophie Byron, associate pricing director for agriculture in the Americas, and Ellie Valencia, senior pricing specialist for jet fuel, are joined by Chris Cooper, Neste's vice president for renewable aviation in North America, to discuss the future growth of the SAF market.

China appears to be almost singlehandedly supporting global metals prices on the back of a return to high levels of industrial activity. But other Asian markets are still slowly emerging from Covid-19 related lockdowns. How is this impacting iron ore, steel, coking coal, scrap and alumina demand and prices? Julien Hall, director of Metals for APAC, S&P Global Platts, and Paul Bartholomew, head of metals news and insight, APAC, Platts, discuss key findings from the latest quarterly spot market trade reviews, and ponder the implications of these on the current quarter. Related special report: https://insight.spglobal.com/story/platts-asia-metals-quarterly-trade-insight/

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber and S&P Global Market Intelligence midstream finance reporter Allison Good preview with senior digital editor Jason Lindquist the upcoming release of second-quarter earnings results by companies in the North American midstream sector. The April-June period covered the peak of the impact on demand from the coronavirus pandemic, so this will be an opportunity for the market to see how deeply that impact was felt and what the outlook is for a rebound heading into next year. Many operators have cut their growth spending budgets.