Commodities Focus – Details, episodes & analysis

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 the presidency, and whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress, the energy sector faces major potential shifts. There will be implications for supply chains, energy infrastructure, and the overall direction of US energy markets. 

Jasmin Melvin, senior editor and team lead for The Energy Daily, leads a discussion on what’s at stake in the oil, gas, power and metals arenas with Commodity Insights reporters and analysts Zack Hale, Taylor Kuykendall, Starr Spencer and Anna Mosby. They examine the polarizing energy positions from the presidential candidates and how a potentially divided Congress could reshape energy policy. 

Links: 

Platts Connect - S&P Global Commodity Insights news coverage, pricing and analysis

CapIQ - Commodity Insights Americas news

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 energy transition efforts intensifies, DRI has gained prominence due to its potential for reducing carbon emissions in energy-intensive sectors like steel.

Recognized as a key pathway to 'green steel,' DRI offers various low-carbon steelmaking alternatives. Walking the DRI path is expected to help India's steel industry to lower its emissions. Capturing this evolving and dynamic market in India, S&P Global Commodity Insights' Platts has launched a daily pellet-based Indian domestic direct reduced iron spot price assessment on an ex-works Raipur, Chhattisgarh basis.

Related:

Indian domestic direct reduced iron price assessment

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 podcast, our experts sift through the policy options, from windfall taxes to licensing bans, and discuss why they matter, not just for the UK, but for Europe and beyond.
Nick Coleman, senior editor for oil news, is joined by Gethin Baker, senior technical research analyst specialising in the North Sea, and Stuart Elliott, news reporter focusing on the UK and European gas markets.

Links:
Energy Security Sentinel 
PCAAS00 Dated Brent
GTFTX00 Dutch TTF Eur/MWh Day Ahead

Jonty Rushforth, Senior Director of Markets and Energy Transition, and Paula VanLaningham, Platts Global Head of Carbon, talk about the devastating wildfires sweeping across the globe and the challenges facing Nature-Based Carbon Credits as the market reckons with Offset Permanence in the face of rising global temperatures.

For more discussions on all topics related to the Energy Transition, make sure to tune in to the Platts Future Energy podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and our website.

Plastic usage and recycling has become a hot-button topic recently, as the push for sustainable products is forefront in manufacturing goals.

Aluminum has long been touted the beverage package of choice because of the perceived sustainability it offers, but are the two closer in the race for sustainability than we think?

We take a closer look at the economic and environmental sustainability of recycling a can versus recycling a plastic bottle, and what it means for the industry at large.

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber, S&P Global Market Intelligence senior midstream finance reporter Allison Good and Platts managing editor for Americas LNG Luke Stobbart discuss current trends in the North American midstream sector as operators of gas pipelines and LNG export terminals prepare to release financial results for the second quarter of 2021.

Investors will be watching for signs that the pickup in commercial activity in recent months is sufficient to support new infrastructure growth opportunities, as ESG initiatives command a lot of attention across the industry.

US refineries have ramped up production in the second quarter as domestic demand for gasoline and diesel grows and global energy markets begin to adjust back to pre-pandemic demand and production levels.

Increasing US Gulf Coast refinery utilization has had an adverse impact to clean and dirty tanker freight in the Americas, however, leaving shipowner earnings at less-than-favorable levels. S&P Global Platts tanker freight editors Catherine Wood, Nicole Baquerizo and Marieke Alsguth, along with senior oil writer Janet McGurty, discuss the "push and pull" of the US refinery landscape and how it's playing out among various tanker freight segments in the Americas.

In this episode of the S&P Global Platts Agriculture Focus podcast, the Platts EMEA Agriculture team discusses how the prices of different agricultural commodities, from wheat, corn and rice, to veg oils, sugar and biodiesel, have fared during the coronavirus pandemic and whether we can expect any knock-on effects in the coming months.

Cheniere, the biggest exporter of LNG in the US, is working to secure sufficient buyer
interest for a proposed mid-scale expansion at its Corpus Christi liquefaction facility
in Texas. It is also pursuing initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint at Corpus Christi
and at its Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana, and give customers more information about
the life-cycle emissions of its cargoes.

S&P Global Platts senior natural gas writer Harry Weber is joined by Anatol Feygin,
Cheniere Energy’s chief commercial officer, for a discussion about current trends in
the global LNG market, with a special emphasis on North America and the energy transition.

Raw feed materials have seen unprecedented growth in prices, putting a dent in the Asian feedmakers’ margins. In this podcast, S&P Global Platts editors Elizabeth Thang, Takmila Shahid, and Ivy Li examine factors impacting the buying patterns of Asian customers, including supply and demand fundamentals, the impact of weather conditions on prices, as well as the current hog farm situation in China.