Commodities Focus

Prices of Australian alumina have ebbed after recently climbing to multi-year highs. In this podcast, S&P Global Platts editors Yuen Cheng Mok and Joanna Lim examine the factors driving alumina prices and the impact of the anticipated smelter output cuts in China. They also talk about the...

S&P Global Platts senior sugar analyst, Erin Burns, and biofuels editor, George Griffiths, take a look at the delicate political issues in Zimbabwe following Robert Mugabe's resignation, and investigate the potential impacts on sugar and ethanol production within the breadbasket of Africa.How...

A working group of the IMO met at the organisation's headquarters in London recently to discuss cutting greenhouse gas emissions, setting off a public dispute about whether the shipping industry has too much influence over the UN body. S&P Global Platts fuel oil managing editor Ned Molloy and...

Mexico's Energy Regulatory Commission has been working for the past couple of years on NOM-016 to update the country’s gasoline regulations, including standards around blending ethanol to the fuel supply. But an injunction stopped an increased blend of 10% and moved it back to 5.8%. Editors...

Ahead of Platts first ever Digital Commodities Summit in London on November 14, 2017, James Rilett, Global Director of Innovation at S&P Global Platts spoke to our premier event sponsor, James Robert ("Bo") Collins, Founder of Matrix Global, on the key conference theme of how blockchain...

Close to 3,000 petrochemical industry representatives attended the recently concluded EPCA annual meeting in Berlin, where digitization dominated discussions.A Platts seminar organized on the sidelines discussed key aspects like the impact of crude on petrochemicals and the polymers and aromatics...

Russian and OPEC officials last week discussed the progress of their landmark crude oil production deal, and plans to increase bilateral cooperation, during multiple meetings and events held in Moscow.Russia's relationship with Saudi Arabia took center-stage, with the Saudi King’s historic...

The Asian thermal coal market is at an interesting crossroads this week, as Chinese buyers make a cautious return to the Asia seaborne market after their week-long holiday. Meanwhile, buyers in Japan continue to wrestle with Australian coal suppliers over prices for term contracts starting October...

Recent Platts spot billet upcharges are being driven higher by strong extrusion demand and a handful of supply issues, which may continue into next year. Karen McBeth, director of metals pricing and market engagement, speaks with Sarah Baltic Hilliard, Americas aluminum products pricing specialist,...

Over the past two weeks, the alumina market has seen high prices, fewer spot cargoes and talks of refinery cuts, sending prices to multi-year highs. In this podcast, S&P Global Platts editors Yuen Cheng Mok and Joanna Lim examine the surge in alumina prices and look at market expectations in...