Commodities Focus

With global container shipping costs coming down, European polymer markets are seeing offers of material from the Far East rise, adding pressure to prices in an already over supplied environment.

Platts Petrochemicals editors Abdulaziz Ehtaiba, Hui Heng and Daniel Pelosi, and Containers editor George Griffiths talk about the logistical landscape and the fallout it is causing in the polymer markets.

Price assessments relevant to this episode:

PP Homo Inj FD NWE Spot Eur/mt - AALUR00

PP Inj CFR FE Asia - PHBIF00

Platts Container Rate 1 North Asia-UK Continent $/FEU - PCR0100

HDPE Film CFR Far East Asia - AATYE00

As gas supply disruptions send shockwaves across the world, the ability and capacity to store energy has come under close scrutiny.

Associate Director Paul Hickin discusses with gas and power editors Stuart Elliott and Kira Savcenko whether Europe has enough energy in reserve to get through the winter, the challenges of providing sufficient back-up from both fossil fuels and alternative sources, the knock-on effects to the rest of the world, and whether we might experience déjà vu this time next year.

Related price assessments:

Dated Brent: PCAAS00

UK baseload front-month (GBP/MWh): AADGP00

TTF front-month (Eur/MWh): GTFTM01

Used cooking oil (UCO) or vegetable oil unfit for human consumption has found a new life as feedstock for biofuels like Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester (UCOME).

UCO is also used to produce renewable distillates like sustainable aviation fuel and hydrotreated vegetable oil. With governments across the world pledging emission-reduction targets and increased capacity coming online, the demand for UCO is steadily growing.

S&P Global Commodity Insights' experts Elizabeth Thang, Donavan Lim, and Loren Puette discuss how these markets are developing in Asia and the policies that will drive future demand.

Subscribe to Platts Dimensions Pro for access to assessments and premium content covering Platts UCO FOB Straits (UCFCC00), UCOME FOB China (UCFCA00), UCOME Singapore (UCFCB00) and many more.

Related infographic: As airlines eye SAF for blue skies, used cooking oil in demand

In this episode of the Commodities Focus podcast, S&P Global Petrochemicals Editor Abdulaziz Ehtaiba talks with Univar Solutions' Nick Powell, board member at FECC, about events like Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as factors like inflationary pressures in Europe, and how they are impacting the chemicals distribution industry.

US steel and polymer producers rode a wave of soaring prices for their products in 2021 as the economy roared back from the coronavirus pandemic and construction activity boomed. The hot building market brought with it an uptick in demand for steel and polymers. But the fun couldn't last forever. Rising interest rates are tamping down inflation, and the construction industry is feeling the pain.

S&P Global Commodity Insights global polymer lead Kristen Hays and US metal news editor Nick Lazzaro dive into recent trends in US construction activity, and how the price swings in polymer and steel markets illustrate that after two red-hot years, the economy might be finally cooling down.

Subscribe to Platts Dimensions Pro for access to assessments and premium content covering US hot-rolled coil (STHRI00), US polyvinyl chloride (AAGZR00), and much more.

US summer power markets are just warming up. A heat wave hit the central US in mid-July, leading to multiple alerts and records across two grid footprints, and a late July heat wave brought triple-digit temperatures to the Pacific Northwest, shrinking power exports to neighboring regions in the West. But the summer demand season is far from over, as forecasts for summer-like temperatures now extend into September, which means there's likely much more on the way before things cool off.

US power news editor Kassia Micek, power pricing analyst Karen Rivera, senior power and gas editor Mark Watson, and North American power analytics manager Morris Greenberg discuss what's happened this season to date, and how things look down the curve.

Subscribe to Platts Dimensions Pro for access to assessments and premium content covering ERCOT North Hub day-ahead on-peak (IERNM00), SPP South Hub day-ahead on-peak (ISSOM00), and much more.

Australia's ban on export of alumina to Russia following the war in Ukraine sent prices on a rollercoaster ride in the first half of 2022. Uncertainties surrounding the supply-demand dynamics and policies continue to loom ahead.

In the aluminum markets, Chinese smelters have been ramping up production but are facing operational losses, while elevated energy prices and operational challenges threaten further smelter curtailments in the Atlantic basin.

In this podcast, S&P Global Commodity Insights' senior managing editor Mok YuenCheng discusses with pricing specialists Jenson Ong and Germaine Lee, and analyst Lucy Tang on what lies ahead for the alumina and aluminum markets this year.

Subscribe to Platts Dimensions Pro for access to assessments and premium content covering Platts Alumina FOB Australia (MMWAU00), FOB Brazil Atlantic Differential (MMWAD04), China ExWorks (MMXCY00), as well as the Aluminum Premium CIF Japan (MMANA00) and much more.

Amid geopolitical risks threatening the key wheat-growing Black Sea region, Canadian wheat is taking on a bigger role in the global spotlight for this key food crop as recently launched CME futures give additional tools for those looking at FOB Vancouver wheat.

Join agriculture managing editor Josh Pedrick and senior pricing specialists Luke Lundgren and Alexandre Bobylov as they talk through the current market dynamics in global wheat, while head of grain analytics Pete Meyer discusses the supply and demand picture.

This Commodities Focus podcast was produced by Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.

India's imposition of steep tariffs on steel exports has put global markets in a tizzy, with unanswered questions on the longevity of the policy, immediate benefits to domestic end-users and strategies that local mills could adopt to manage excess inventories.

In this podcast, S&P Global Commodity Insights' experts, Senior Editor Ashima Tyagi and Lead Analyst Paul Bartholomew, discuss with Aruna Sharma, Former Secretary, Government of India the immediate and long term implications of this decision. They also weigh in on India's diminishing role as an exporter of prominence and its future pace of capacity additions.

As hurricane season 2022 unfolds in the US Gulf of Mexico, the implications for oil and gas infrastructure in the region are wide-ranging. More than ever, the whole world is watching the US Gulf as energy from the United States grow their presence in global markets.

Americas gas news manager Joe Fisher sits down with natural gas editor Alan Lammey and oil editor Jordan Blum to discuss what the forecast says and what tropical activity could mean for natural gas, LNG and oil.

This Commodities Focus podcast was produced by Jennifer Pedrick in Houston.