Oil Markets

An alphabet soup of changes have impacted US light end markets in the last year, including changes in environmental rules that have readjusted the entire RBOB market. S&P Global Platts editors Sarah Hernandez and Matt Kohlman look at the forces shaping the market.

On July 29, the oil product tanker Mercer Street was victim of a deadly drone attack, while a few days later another tanker, the Asphalt Princess, was reportedly hijacked. Both incidents are adding to heightened tensions in the Middle East, which remains a critical region for global oil supply. What impact are these incidents having on freight and oil markets at the time when COVID-19 is still weighing on global oil demand? In this episode of the Oil Markets Podcast, S&P Global Platts Senior Editor Eklavya Gupte and Associate Editorial Director of EMEA Clean Refined Products Francesco Di Salvo discuss the latest drama unfolding in the Middle East.

China, Asia's biggest oil consumer, saw its January to June crude oil imports post negative growth for the first time in eight years, pulled down by sharp falls in May and June inflows. But there are expectations that the commissioning of new refining capacity would create incremental demand for cargoes. In a wide-ranging discussion with S&P Global Platts Senior Asia Energy Editor, Sambit Mohanty, Platts Global Head of Oil Pricing Vera Blei and Platts Analytics Global Head of Oil Demand Kang Wu share their views on the key global and domestic factors - including OPEC+ decision to ease quota limits and the potential return of Iranian barrels - that could influence the outlook on China's imports in the second half of the year and  in 2022.

Cash differentials for jet fuel barges trading in ARA reached 17-month highs mid-July. At the same time, the European Commission announced sweeping proposals to make flying greener, including a future tax on jet fuel. How far is the jet market from a complete recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and what will the EC’s “Fit for 55” plan mean for the aviation sector and the jet fuel market? In this episode of the Oil Markets Podcast, S&P Global Platts senior jet fuel editor Virginie Malicier and middle distillates editor Christopher Ewen discuss with Gary Clark the latest dynamics in the European jet fuel market and the potential impact of the EU Green Deal on future jet demand.

Against a backdrop of growing Coronavirus infections and OPEC+ discord, oil prices keep rising. How can long-haul crude cargoes stay competitive as backwardation in the forward curve widens and puts pressure on Asia-bound oil from West Africa and Europe? In this episode of the Oil Markets Podcast, S&P Global Platts reporters Emma Kettley and Nick Baldwin discuss with Joel Hanley why a stronger backwardation is boosting certain crude grades while hitting others.

It's been a tumultuous stretch for Canadian crude as the coronavirus pandemic and infrastructure uncertainty have impacted the market. However, prices have risen to a level that supports higher production and increased takeaway capacity may provide differentials some uplift. S&P Global Platts editor Patrick Harrington discusses Canada's crude prices, infrastructure and politics.

Gasoline prices are rallying on underlying demand strength in Europe, West Africa and across the Atlantic, while diesel prices remain steady amid stagnant demand and an abundance of supply as jet fuel continues to be blended into the middle distillates pool, despite slowly rising flight demand. In this episode of the S&P Global Platts Oil Markets Podcast, reporters Evridiki Dimitriadou, Rowan Staden-Coats and Christopher Ewen discuss with Francesco Di Salvo the latest trends on the vital transportation fuel markets.

In a fast-changing landscape where energy transition is the most popular catch phrase, the trading community is looking for answers on what’s in store for the oil market over the next decade. Ravinder Kumar Malhotra, Director General of the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry, and Dave Ernsberger, Global Head of Pricing and Market Insight at S&P Global Platts, join Sambit Mohanty, Senior Asia Energy Editor at Platts, to exchange views on the potential growth of low-carbon oil flows and the influence of carbon pricing on oil markets. They also discuss the importance of sustained investment in oil projects in order to ensure plentiful supplies in the years to come.

While demand for tankers of clean and dirty oil products has yet to recover fully from the pandemic, prices of bunker fuels have been rising to 16-month highs, thus threatening the profitability of the shipping industry and making shipowners less willing to offer a certain number of loss-making routes. In this episode of the Oil Markets Podcast, S&P Global Platts reporters Britt Russell-Webster and Chris To discuss with Tamara Sleiman the reasons behind the bullishness in crude oil futures.

Gasoline imports into the US Atlantic Coast have surged to record highs in recent months. Andrea Salazar and Anna Trier of S&P Global Platts look at what has been driving the flurry of imports -- from the recent Colonial Pipeline cyberattack to a winter storm that impacted the Gulf Coast -- and how long that is expected to last.