Emma Slawinski
Editor, Platts Insight 
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July 19, 2019 12:25 UTC 
(0)
After a calmer start to the week in geopolitics, US-Iran tensions erupted again on July 18 when President Donald Trump said the US Navy had shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude prices responded with a near 2% increase by in Singapore morning trading hours. |
Julien Hall and Jun Kai Heng
Asia metals 
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July 17, 2019 11:48 UTC
(1)
Iron ore, the “red dirt” that is the key ingredient for the manufacture of steel, is attracting significant interest again, both internationally and within China. Its price has just seen one of its sharpest ever rallies, almost doubling in value over seven months to hit $126.35/mt on July 3, responding to a confluence of supply and demand-side factors. |
Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA
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July 16, 2019 09:19 UTC
(1)
Deploying more of the Royal Navy to protect oil tankers from Iranian attack as they sail through the Strait of Hormuz is a short-term fix to a historic problem of providing energy security in the Persian Gulf. Instead of Britain adding to the crowded fleet of warships converging on the region, new export routes such as pipelines and canals should be opened up to provide long-term peaceful alternatives that would finally reduce the world’s dependence on the narrow 21-mile-wide channel dominated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. |
S&P Global Platts
News editors
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July 15, 2019 09:26 UTC
(1)
S&P Global Platts editors’ pick of unfolding commodities trends. This week, bunker values at Fujairah plunge, mine overcapacity puts pressure on key battery metal lithium, and US LNG exporters face tight margins over the summer. Plus Chinese refiners’ growing taste for Saudi crude, EU CO2 prices and gas and coal profitability. |
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Emma Slawinski
Editor, Platts Insight
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July 12, 2019 12:40 UTC
(0)
As Tropical Storm Barry approaches the US Gulf Coast, offshore oil and gas producers, refineries and ports have been shuttering facilities in preparation. Utilities are also on alert. As of July 11, US offshore drillers have shut 1 million b/d (53%) of Gulf of Mexico oil production and 1.2 Bcf/d (45%) of natural gas output. |
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Pat Harrington, Kristian Paris Tialios and Laura Huchzermeyer
Editors, Americas crude oil markets
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July 11, 2019 15:40 UTC
(1)
Values for heavier, sour crude oil grades available on the US Gulf Coast have dropped as the outlook for global demand deteriorates, production remains strong and the deadline to implement low sulfur standards for marine fuel approaches. The front-month differential for benchmark medium sour crude Mars plunged to WTI plus $2.40/b on June 27, which was its lowest assessed level since August 28, 2018. |
Joniel Cha
Senior specialist, pricing 
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July 11, 2019 08:53 UTC
(0)
US-based uranium market participants are anxiously awaiting a decision from President Donald Trump on whether to take protectionist action on imports of the element that fuels nuclear reactors. Trump is weighing a decision on a January 2018 petition by US uranium producers Energy Fuels and Ur-Energy that asked him to require US nuclear plant operators to purchase 25% of their uranium annually from domestic producers, citing national security concerns of relying on uranium imported from the CIS nations. The decision is due July 15, although market sources have speculated the administration’s action may be delayed. |
Sam Eckett
Associate editor, shipping 
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July 10, 2019 08:41 UTC
(3)
When the bulk carrier New Journey was put to sea in January 2015, Myanmar was in the depths of civil war. Clashes between the Myanmar Army and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army killed more than 200 people in the early months of 2015, and displaced over 50,000 civilians. The South Asian country hadn’t held an openly contested election in nearly thirty years. |
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Andrew Critchlow
Head of news, EMEA
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July 9, 2019 09:07 UTC
(1)
OPEC would be wise to avoid picking a fight with Greta Thunberg. The 16-year-old poster child of the Extinction Rebellion movement wants to bring the fossil fuel era to an abrupt end, regardless of the economic risks. Branding her populist methods an enemy could make big oil an easier target for protesters to aim at. That is exactly the mistake OPEC’s Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo has made. The head of the oil cartel – which pumps just under a third of the world’s crude – was quoted last week saying that attacks leveled at producers by a “growing mass mobilization of world opinion” had become “perhaps the greatest threat to our industry going forward.” |
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S&P Global Platts
News editors
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July 8, 2019 06:03 UTC
(2)
S&P Global Platts editors’ pick of unfolding commodities trends. This week, record iron ore prices are crushing Chinese steelmakers’ margins and Germany’s coal-fired generation is under intense pressure from gas and renewables, while in European wholesale gas markets, Gazprom is registering ever-higher sales through its auction platform. Finally, OPEC is targeting a thorough rebalancing of the oil market, and we take a look at the latest moves in coffee prices. |
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