Commodities Focus
च्यानल विवरणहरू
Commodities Focus
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.
हालैका एपिसोडहरू
634 एपिसोडहरू
A tale of two tariff pauses
The first pause of triple-digit tariffs between the US and China prompted a container shipping surge. The second pause? Not so much.
The US and...
Navigating the shifting tides of Asia’s gasoline market
The landscape of gasoline pricing and supply in Southeast Asia is evolving. The rising demand for low-sulfur blend stocks as Australia prepares for it...
Trade changes, policy barriers reshape Asia’s traditional UCO market dynamics
Asia's used cooking oil (UCO) market is navigating an upheaval this year as the US, which once used to be the largest buyer, has removed incentives fo...
Is Japan’s rice supply crisis an opportunity for US and Thai farmers?
For months, Japan has been suffering from an extremely low availability of its staple food—rice. Despite Tokyo's efforts to mitigate the supply crisis...
Foot and Mouth Disease shapes the future of European pork trade
A new outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease discovered in Germany earlier this year has reshaped trade flows of European pork and led to significant pric...
Seafood Surge: The Fastest Growing Sector in Global Animal Protein Markets in 2025
As the demand for sustainable protein sources escalates, seafood production is poised to become the fastest-growing sector in the global animal protei...
The rise of battery recycling and black mass markets amid global EV adoption
Global electric vehicle adoption is increasing the demand for recycled battery raw materials. While the recent slowdown in EV sales growth and an over...
Chinese jet fuel remains bright spark in latest export quota tranche
China’s latest round of oil product export quotas had tightened compared to the same tranche a year ago. However, healthy margins and strong aviation...
Low-carbon methanol awaits regulatory backing for transportation use
The global methanol market is seeing emerging demand for low-carbon transportation fuels, with particular focus on marine fuels, driven by a need to d...
Alumina, aluminum markets react to tariffs, new capacity plans
Will US tariffs reshape aluminum trade flows? How will new alumina capacity out of Indonesia impact prices?
In this podcast, Asia nonfer...
Mexico’s chicken meat importers mull options in case of trade war
Exporters of chicken meat from the US have been mulling what might happen to their trade in the event of a trade war. Mexico is their largest customer...
Global copper markets navigate trade flow shifts and smelting challenges
Copper smelter margins have been facing noticeable pressure in recent months as copper concentrate TC/RCs plunged on tight supply, will this mean more...
Brazil's evolving role in the global ferrous scrap market
Brazil's ferrous scrap exports have undergone a significant transformation, driven by a weakening domestic steel industry and increasing demand from I...
Understanding the cattle cycle, why US beef prices are at record highs and the role of Australia and Brazil
Beef prices in the US started 2025 at a record high. The world’s largest consumer is also seeing a 63-year low in the size of its cattle herd and is e...
India Energy Week to seek answers on demand trajectory, oil diplomacy and upstream push
India's rapidly growing energy demand, the shifting focus of oil producers towards the country, and the transition to cleaner energy sources are key t...
Emergency or policy? Unpacking Trump’s take on US energy and metals
Within hours of being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders, and declared a national e...
Nickel markets look ahead at battery, steel sector stimulus, Indonesian growth
Amid sustained supply growth out of Indonesia while higher-cost production shuts down, will the focal point of nickel markets continues to be shifted...
Navigating a new era of shipping environmental regulations
As the maritime industry faces a crucial turning point, the adoption of stringent environmental regulations is reshaping fuel consumption and market d...
How India's ethanol boom is transforming the country's corn trade flow
India is at the crossroads of transitioning from Asia's primary corn exporter to a net importer amidst growing ethanol production within the country....
After export ban removal, Indian rice enters global markets amid shipping uncertainties
The world’s top rice exporter India recently lifted most of the restrictions on its rice exports, which the country placed in July 2023 to control soa...
The global ripple effects of the 2024 US elections on energy
The outcome of the US presidential election in November will have ripple effects for the international energy picture. In the weeks before the electio...
How the 2024 elections could reshape US domestic energy policy
Political experts say Nov. 5 will likely become known as one of the most pivotal elections in US history. Whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins t...
Direct-reduced iron: India carving its path to meet 'green' steel ambitions
India has maintained its position as the world's largest producer of direct-reduced iron (DRI) for several years. As the global race to accelerate ene...
Of improving weather and slow demand – are wheat prices headed for a further fall?
In the global wheat markets, recent concerns over a major production cut in Russia, a key exporter, have sparked attention on the supply and demand dy...
Hot gas summer for a hot power market
With high temperatures moving through the US, multiple regions are preparing for gas and power price volatility. Gas supply constraints or cooling dem...
Container market surge puts different pressure on Americas markets
Global container markets have endured a year of volatility not experienced since the global pandemic in 2020-2021, anchored by the complexity for supp...
Field to fork: Unpacking feed and meat demand in Asia and the Middle East (part 2)
Meat consumption is soaring globally, driven by population growth, rising incomes, and dietary preferences. As emerging markets embrace protein-rich d...
Field to fork: US grilling season and Brazil’s role in beef trade (part 1)
Grilling season is underway in the US -- the world's largest producer and consumer of beef. Even so, per capita consumption of beef in the US has halv...
UK oil refining struggles in the age of energy transition
As election fever grips the UK, this Commodities Focus podcast looks at the country’s oil refineries as they grapple with the fast-changing process of...
Amid ambitious expansion plans, India's steel production may face headwinds for raw material supply
The expansion in the Indian steel manufacturing capacity comes at an opportune moment for the industry as the country has witnessed massive infrastruc...
Indonesia’s rice import surge, ban on Indian exports: what lies ahead for rice markets?
The rice markets in Asia have seen new trends emerging with Indonesia importing rice, and India putting restrictions on their rice exports. Ripple eff...
Does the UK need the North Sea for its energy future?
As a UK general election looms, energy security and the transition to net-zero are high on the agenda.
In this episode of the Commodities Focus...
How are gas operators navigating the difficult gas environment in 2024?
Pressured by sub-$2/MMBtu prices, many US producers have decided to cut spending on gas-directed drilling and completion activity and to scale back pr...
Red Sea crisis forces carriers and shippers to rethink strategies as cost of operation rises
Red sea crisis has forced carriers and shippers alike to adjust strategies. Container freight rates not only reached yearly high after receding throug...
Lithium producers pump brakes on North American projects amid low prices
Lithium producers are pushing timelines out for project development in North America as global lithium prices sit near a three-year low after plunging...
Lower prices and uncertain demand: navigating choppy waves of wheat markets in 2024
Wheat prices have been on a largely downward trend since the start of 2024 despite lower production in key exporters, Canada and Australia, and contin...
Supply disruptions drive copper TC to three-year low; smelters may cut production
The Asian copper market saw CIF China copper concentrate TC/RC fall by 65% in just three months’ time, while smelters were still not able to find enou...
US power markets weather winter storms with more success
Following on from heavy winter storms in recent years that disrupted power supply across US regions, power markets managed a mid-January 2024 winter s...
Brazil’s emergence as a dominant agriculture exporter
Over the past 20 years, Brazil’s growth in the production of feedstuffs like soybeans and corn has been remarkable. In the process, it has become a po...
Asian aluminum, alumina markets mixed on demand expectations, cost pressures
Asian aluminum markets continue to see lackluster demand and ample stocks pressuring premiums, though the sporadic reopening of the Chinese import arb...