

Commodities Focus
S&P Global Commodity Insights
S&P Global Commodity Insights analysis of key news and pricing issues from across the global shipping, natural gas, power, petrochemicals, agriculture, and coal markets.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 30, 2017 • 7min
Petrochemical expansions, exports dominate conversations at AFPM IPC
It was another busy International Petrochemical Conference from the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers in San Antonio, and our editors and analysts share what they learned from various conversations about olefins, polymers, aromatics and intermediates. John Calton, managing editor for...

Mar 22, 2017 • 5min
Northeast US coal burn increased in March even as retirements will impact power gen mix
It seems Mother Nature decided to skip most of winter in the Northeast US this year, but a recent cold snap bumped up power and gas prices in March and the region's generation mix is still changing. Charles Noh and Eric Wieser, with the power pricing team, examine how day-ahead power prices were...

Mar 20, 2017 • 6min
Asian thermal coal market: Japan April price talks, S Korean consumption tax in focus
Senior editor Michael Cooper and associate editor Mia Corazon Aureus give an overview of Asian thermal coal markets, including the latest in Japan's benchmark contract negotiations, South Korean imports and coal consumption tax updates, Indonesian prices, and our newly-launched Northeast Asian...

Mar 10, 2017 • 6min
UK, US sugar: If you cane beet them, join them
On both sides of the Atlantic, recent political developments are starting to have an impact on what will end up on your plate. Fresh back from the International Sweetener Colloquium, Tim Worledge, editorial director of pricing, sits down with Thomas Houghton, senior pricing specialist, to take a...

Feb 22, 2017 • 6min
Polymer volumes poised to pick up on US railroads as resin producers target exports
Last year, CSX's chemical segment surpassed coal as the railroad's largest revenue generator as it and other railroads are moving more resin and years of polymer production growth is coming. Kristen Hays, petrochemical analyst, examines how railroads are looking to fill space where coal revenues...

Feb 21, 2017 • 8min
Brexit's impact on the UK natural gas market
Ahead of the launch of formal Brexit divorce negotiations expected in March, Thierry Bros, senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies joins Lucie Roux, senior European gas specialist at S&P Global Platts, to discuss the challenges ahead for an import-dependent UK gas...

Feb 17, 2017 • 6min
How will European producers cope without anti-dumping duties on Chinese PET?
On February 8, the European Commission dropped its anti-dumping duty on imports of PET from China, which were as high as 22.9%. But will the European PET producers now find themselves with an elephant in the room? Shashank Shekhar, petrochemicals EMEA news editor, explores this subject with the PET...

Feb 13, 2017 • 6min
Russian agriculture flourishes against the odds
It would hardly be an understatement to say Russia has fallen on hard economic times in recent years, although this does not tell the whole story. Tim Worledge, editorial director of pricing, joins Erin Burns, senior analyst, and Thomas Houghton, senior pricing specialist, to discuss some of the...

Feb 3, 2017 • 7min
Russia weighs up January crude output cut, impact of new US administration on oil sector
Preliminary data for January indicates that Russian oil producers are complying with an OPEC/non-OPEC deal to cut crude output, which alongside Russia's relationship with the new US administration looks set to have a significant impact on Russian oil in 2017. Nadia Rodova, managing editor at...

Jan 31, 2017 • 5min
US coal producers disciplined in the face of higher prices, lower stockpiles
US thermal coal prices have risen over the past few months, largely lifted by higher gas prices for power generation, and forecasts for a tighter gas market in 2017 is good news for coal producers. Jim Levesque and Jeff McDonald, associate editors for Coal Trader, detail price movements for Central...


