Commodities Focus

Copper TC/RCs have plunged 89% since January, hitting record lows as concentrate supply tightens and demand stays firm. At the same time, the Middle East war has driven sulfuric acid prices – an important by-product for copper production - up 156% since mid-March, supporting copper smelters to maintain production, and exposing copper's growing vulnerability to geopolitical shocks.

Join Ruilin Wang, associate director of nonferrous market, Yuya Pan, senior principal analyst of sulphur & phosphate raw materials at S&P Global CERA, Lu Han, senior editor of nonferrous, and Mok YuenCheng, senior manager at S&P Global Energy, in a discussion on the evolving copper and sulphur markets.

Global beef prices are rising, with multiple record highs recorded for beef from Australia and Brazil, as well as in the US lean trimmings import market during the first quarter. Although strong US demand has supported the market, the global beef industry is facing challenges related to quotas and geopolitical risks. In this podcast, we will shed light on the increasing risks affecting the beef trade. Join S&P Global Energy's Edward Low and Chow Yuh Nien, price reporters for agriculture and food pricing, along with Jack Mullumby, senior principal analyst for APAC proteins, as they discuss the robust global beef prices and the emerging risks to international trade.

The Indian solar market has grown considerably over the past decade as the country continues to invest in its module and cell manufacturing capacities. However, the recent imposition of additional duties by the country's largest export market – the US – has restricted India's export opportunities. In response, the Indian solar industry is increasingly redirecting their efforts towards the domestic market, while simultaneously exploring new international prospects.

Join Lena Dias Martins, associate price reporter at S&P Global Energy, price reporter Srija Basu Roy, associate price reporter Aditya Saroha and Jessica Jin principal analyst of clean technologies and supply chains at S&P Global Horizons in a discussion on the evolving Indian solar market.

With one of the world's largest shares of renewables in its energy generation mix, Brazil offers opportunities for companies in the country seeking to reduce their emissions. In this episode, we discuss how the country has developed a large supply of International Renewable Energy Certificates, or I-RECs, and which challenges came with it.

Join Felipe Peroni, associate price reporter at S&P Global Energy, Fernando Lopes, director of Totum Institute, and Vittoria Morini, Americas Renewables Manager at S&P Global Energy, in a discussion about the Brazilian energy transition.

For the first time since Platts began tracking these markets, frozen boneless chicken legs shipped to North Asia are priced higher than skinless boneless breast meat destined for the Middle East. This shift highlights changing demand and supply dynamics in the global poultry market. The podcast explores the impact of bird flu, supply chain disruptions, and how producers like Brazil are adapting to consumer preferences.

Join S&P Global Energy's Graham Style, price reporter for agriculture and food (EMEA), Rubashiny Veeramohan, associate price reporter for agriculture and food (APAC), and Jessie Khor, principal analyst for Proteins, as they discuss how global events and shifting demand are reshaping the poultry landscape.

India's greenhouse gas emissions in the hard-to-abate and power sectors are expected to rise in the decades to come, necessitating an examination of strategies deployed for energy transition in these crucial segments. Though steps have been initiated to help reduce emissions, a bespoke, sector-specific decarbonization roadmap over a multi-year timeframe can help guide this journey.

Join Amit Sharma, managing director & chief executive officer at Tata Consulting Engineers, Ashish Singla, director for South Asia power and renewables research at S&P Global Energy and Ruchira Singh, editor, energy transition at S&P Global Energy, in a discussion about the requirements for India's industrial decarbonization.

Asian flows of MTBE to arbitrage markets in Europe and Latin America have come to an abrupt halt after the start of the US-Iran war. Through early 2026, Chinese MTBE producers were able to overcome muted blending demand around Singapore by pushing their production to hungry buyers in Europe as well as Latin America. With the European summer driving season on the horizon, Asian MTBE producers were eyeing growing demand over the next few months.

The podcast dissects and discusses how the initial flows have stalled and what lies ahead for producers in China and Southeast Asia as well as buyers in Europe and Latin America.

Join S&P Global Energy's Pankaj Rao, senior price reporter, chemicals, Baran Serdaroglu, price reporter, chemicals Europe, Leo Engels, price reporter Americas and Felipe Perez, lead Latin American fuels and refining, in a discussion about the impact of the ongoing conflict on product flows and on retail prices for gasoline.

In this episode of the Commodities Focus Podcast by S&P Global Energy, host Tina Allagh, lead specialist for nonferrous metals pricing, is joined by senior nonferrous price reporter Colleen Ferguson, metals news reporter Anthony Rizkala and principal aluminum analyst Karen Norton to review the key industry and pricing takeaways from the Miami symposium Feb. 1-3.

How has the current macroeconomic backdrop, with 50% import duties in place since June, impacted sentiment within the domestic aluminum industry? What does the demand environment look like after the removal of electric vehicle incentives and the rise of data center construction? Within the physical aluminum market, what does spot activity look like as existing stocks continue to dwindle?

From current market drivers to the year's forecasted supply and demand balance globally, this episode explores the numerous uncertainties weighing on US aluminum trade.

Related link:

Specification Guide: Global Nonferrous Metals: global_nonferrous.pdf

The US import tariffs for shrimp are redefining cost structures and market access for major suppliers. As the American buyers restructure and rebalance their origin portfolio, major suppliers, India and Ecuador, are dealing with the domino effect. The podcast discusses how the tariff frictions could reorder global trade flows and influence farmgate pricing and stocking decisions in India and Ecuador.

Join S&P Global Energy's Asim Anand, manager, agriculture & food pricing, Max Bouratoglou, principal analyst, Proteins, Elvis John and Felipe Peroni, price reporters for agriculture & food, in a discussion about the intricacies of the global shrimp trade amid these tariffs.

The global demand for basmati rice has been rising, especially in the Middle East and the EU. As a result, the competition to sell this long-grain variety has intensified in recent years. The world's biggest Basmati suppliers -- India and Pakistan -- claim proprietary ownership over this long-grain Asian indica rice. In this podcast, we will shine some light on the fundamental issues in the basmati trade and the way forward for the two South Asian countries. Join S&P Global Commodity Insights' Asim Anand, manager, agriculture & food pricing, Dipanshi Agarwal, principal analyst, APAC crops, Ayushi Baloni and Namarita Kathait, associate price reporters for agriculture & food, in a discussion about the intricacies of the global basmati trade and why it has become a source of disagreement between India and Pakistan.