It’s all too easy to be overwhelmed by the current global crisis, and this episode of “From the Economist’s Chair” takes a step back from the day-to-day maelstrom of likely crude oil price floors, inventory capacity, ultimate demand loss and upstream budget cuts. What shifts may be ahead in the global economic and financial system as a result of this pandemic?

Argus Chief Economist David Fyfe considers more broadly the changes this cruel coronavirus episode might force upon international commerce, global relations and the commodity markets.

Long-stable crude oil price relationships at the US Gulf coast have been upended by the global crude supply/demand imbalance. What is likely to happen next? How much crude can Cushing store? And what does this mean for US exports? Argus VPs for Crude Business Development, Jeff Kralowetz and Bruce Fulin, and Argus Americas Crude Editor Gus Vasquez discuss this and more.

Asia-Pacific refiners are preparing to scale down operations to confront a collapse in global fuel demand. As storage fills up, they will have to reduce the amount of crude they process, but not at the expense of competitive feedstocks from the Middle East. Soaring freight rates are rendering long-haul crude shipments from the Atlantic basin too expensive to Asia-Pacific, so it is North Sea, US and Latin American grades that face the biggest challenge, while west African cargoes and short-haul Russian supplies may remain competitive.

Host: Alejandro Barbajosa, Argus VP, crude & LPG - Middle East & Asia-Pacific.

The US refining industry is entering unchartered territory as it navigates impacts from the Coronavirus. How will refiners handle the virus? How will their markets be affected?

Argus VP of North America Refined Products, John Demopoulos, and Argus Senior Consultant Ed Arnold discuss COVID-19 impacts to US refiners.

Sentiment is bearish as the coronavirus crisis has affected the economy and reduced minor metals demand from most downstream sectors. China, being one of the largest global producers and consumers of minor metals, is significantly affected.

Metals demand from the main downstream sectors, including automotive, real estate, lead-acid battery, air-conditioners and electronics, has been affected by the coronavirus crisis as many manufacturers have delayed resuming operations. The worsening coronavirus outbreak in South Korea and Japan is also weighing on potential demand for battery metals and materials.

Join Argus Media’s China editor for nonferrous metals, Ohmin Zhao, and Vice-President for Metals, Tim Hard, in an exclusive podcast discussing the potential impact for minor metals markets.

Oil prices have posted their biggest drop in almost three decades towards $30/bl on expectations that an Opec-induced supply surge will exacerbate a global surplus, as demand growth collapses beyond Asia with the spread of the coronavirus to most major economies. The unravelling of co-operation between Opec and Russia to restrain oil output also throws the US shale sector and other non-conventional oil basins into their deepest crisis since at least 2015, as plummeting crude prices jeopardise higher cost projects from Canada to Brazil.

Volatility has returned to America’s RIN market, with court decisions adding some unexpected shorts to a constrained marketplace. Argus VP of North America Refined Products, John Demopoulos, and Argus Senior Reporter Elliott Blackburn take a deep dive on the US renewable fuels standard (RFS): what it is, where we are and what’s to come?

The recent coronavirus outbreak in China is significantly impacting commodity and petrochemical markets. China is one of the largest petrochemical consumer and producers globally. Sentiment is bearish with petrochemical plants running at lower operating rates in China and with high inventories. David Hanna, Muhamad Fadhil and Bohan Loh from Argus discuss the potential impact for markets in Asia and the Middle East in an exclusive Argus podcast.

Economic activity has significantly slowed across Asia, denting energy consumption and oil demand, particularly in the transportation sector. Travel restrictions and precautionary behaviour are curtailing people movement, sending oil prices to their lowest in more than a year. The implications are stark for the energy industry and for the people who work in it. And demand is likely to remain depressed as the epidemic expands to South Korea and potentially to other major regional economies, which have been forced to pare output.

Host: Alejandro Barbajosa, Argus VP, crude & LPG - Middle East & Asia-Pacific

The epidemic’s effect on energy consumption in China, the world’s top crude importer, is unprecedented. About a third of the country’s total refining capacity is down at a time when oil markets were already oversupplied. Economic activity remains subdued, making it uncertain how long the downturn will last. That’s already being reflected in the value of virtually every crude grade imported into Asia-Pacific. And there is also the question of whether Beijing will use this as an opportunity to consolidate China’s refining sector, contributing to the erosion of demand in the longer term.

Host: Alejandro Barbajosa, Argus VP, crude & LPG - Middle East & Asia-Pacific