Commodities Focus

Labour shortages have been one of the key problems caused by the coronavirus crisis in the rice market. Robert Beaman talks to senior rice editors Rebecca Li and Peter Storey about how the Indian rice industry and its competitors have coped with access to labour during lockdown and the consequent market disruptions, while Piero Carello considers some of the lessons learnt by the agriculture sector as a result of the crisis.

US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette joins Chris Newkumet, Washington bureau chief for S&P Global Platts, to discuss the state of America's energy markets -- what we know, where we are, and what's ahead. Topic for discussion include US oil production and exports, new oil price benchmarks, LNG trade flows, the future for US coal, and the ongoing energy transition.

S&P Global Platts journalists discuss European gas, power and carbon market trends going into the third quarter of 2020. The markets saw price support in June as economies began to emerge from coronavirus lockdowns – but any faltering in demand or rebound in gas flows could undermine these trends, as could a modest uptick in French nuclear availability.

The annual acreage report from the US Department of Agriculture saw a 5 million acre drop in corn planting from the Prospective Plantings report at the end of March. The resultant rise in corn prices coupled with low ethanol stocks lifted ethanol prices, the S&P Global Platts benchmark Chicago Argo terminal ethanol price reached its highest level in eight months seven on July 7. Join Sophie Byron, associate pricing director for agriculture in the Americas; Pete Meyer, director of agriculture analytics; and Rafael Savoia, pricing specialist covering Latin American corn, as they discuss what is happening to Americas corn crop and how the Brazil and Argentina export programs are shaping up.

The death of George Floyd in the US on May 25 significantly raised global awareness of racial and cultural issues. Within this environment, giant resources company Rio Tinto attracted opprobrium for the destruction of an indigenous sacred site in Western Australia during the expansion of an iron ore mine. In light of this, how might ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) play a bigger role in resources? Could it impact iron ore supply? What might it mean for the way mining companies are rated? S&P Global Platts Head of News for Asia Mriganka Jaipuriyar discusses these issues with Platts APAC Head of Metals News and Insight Paul Bartholomew, and S&P Global Ratings Associate Director, Corporate Ratings, Minh Hoang.

S&P Global Platts managing editor Laura Varriale talks to steel news editor Annalisa Villa and pricing specialists Amanda Flint and Len Griffin about the state of the European steel industry after lockdowns start to ease across mainland Europe, sparking hope for more industry activity.

In the UK, the drive toward Net Zero 2050 makes hydrogen an attractive investment, but questions remain about how markets will develop and the associated costs. Hydrogen has vast potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy transport, home heating and industry, but the path to decarbonisation is still not entirely clear. Jeffrey McDonald speaks with Corin Taylor, principal consultant in DNV GL and Tony Smith of Peel, to dive further into these questions and the potential for a hydrogen hub to emerge in the UK.

As the push towards clean fuels intensifies, many alternate energy sources are figuring in discussions among policy makers in Asia, as they prepare for energy transition. One fuel that has garnered a lot of attention is hydrogen. From finding low-cost production methods to creating a transparent price discovery mechanism, hydrogen has a few challenges to overcome to make bigger inroads into leading Asia-Pacific markets, says Edgare Kerkwijk, Board Member of the Asia-Pacific Hydrogen Association, in an interview with S&P Global Platts Senior Editor Sambit Mohanty.

S&P Global Platts global thermal coal experts Deepak Kannan, Fred Wang and Sarah Matthews discuss key developments driving coal demand in the South Asian region, specifically in Bangladesh and Pakistan, and explain how Platts new assessments shed light on the price impact and supply-demand fundamentals in the region.

France’s Total was the first mover among European oil and gas majors to announce its ambition to become a greener company, creating in 2016 a separate division for gas, renewables and power under the leadership of Philippe Sauquet. Sauquet joined S&P Global Platts on June 10 for an in-depth chat about Total’s strategy, its ambitions to grow the business, and challenges facing the sector given low energy prices and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.