Commodities Focus

The European natural gas market has seen some dramatic changes year on year so far during the final quarter of 2018, with pricing seen volatile after crashing recently with multi-year highs seen at the beginning of the Winter 2018/19 season. In this podcast, S&P Global Platts European gas team...

Why would a refiner keep making gasoline at a loss? That's the situation facing US companies with gasoline cracks dipping into negative numbers against major US and European crude grades. Jeff Bair and Seth Clare of the US gasoline team break down the numbers and take look at what analysts are...

An escalation in tension between Russia and Ukraine following the seizure of three Ukrainian vessels by Russia in the Azov Sea could mean a change to market dynamics. In this podcast S&P Global Platts commodities specialists explore what it could mean for those who use Russian and Ukrainian...

Market expectations for Q4 were sky-high, but has the dry bulk sector delivered on its Q3 promise? S&P Global Platts Sam Eckett and Arthur Richier discuss how geopolitical challenges have affected different commodities around the Atlantic Basin, and how freight rates have been impacted as a...

S&P Global Platts European styrene editor Olu Shaw joins EMEA petrochemicals managing editor Ng Baoying to assess the European styrene market, which has lost close to a third of its value in the two months to mid-November, from $1,422/mt mid-August, to $979.50/mt. While some sources consider...

The US Gulf Coast has become the new crude export hub in the Americas. Brazil and USGC crude exports combined have transformed the VLCC runs from the Americas to the Asia-Pacific region into a front-haul market, attracting ballasters from as far away as Singapore. In recent weeks shipping cost on...

California voters are about to have the chance to ditch a recently passed increase in their gasoline tax. Is there a chance that they will vote against their self-interest and in favor of the greater good? Plus, does a tax really push gasoline demand one way or another? Jeff Bair and native...

US crude exports to Europe have declined in the past few weeks as the cost to move barrels across the Atlantic has risen. US crude editor Laura Huchzermeyer joins Americas crude oil managing editor John-Laurent Tronche to discuss this recent run-up in prices, and how the market is adapting to...

The International Maritime Organization has mandated bunker sulfur limits to drop to 0.5% sulfur on January 1, 2020, from 3.5% sulfur currently. Regardless of the compliance option shipowners choose, the global sulfur mandate will increase freight cost tremendously. Noteworthy is a huge uptick in...

The pricing power of domestic mills in Brazil was built on strengthening Chinese steel prices over the past few months, putting Brazilian steel products near discounts against imported material. Historically, sustainable import parity premiums for domestic flats and longs over imported goods were...