Know What's Happening in Commodities
Know What's Happening in Commodities
Ireland launches €250M relief package as heating oil prices double
Heating oil prices in Ireland surged from about $545 to over $1,090 per fill within a month amid the Middle East conflict. The government responded with a €250 million ($273 million) relief package that includes excise cuts and a diesel rebate, though experts say a national energy‑security strategy is still lacking.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Oil majors acquire $164M of Alaska oil leases
The episode examines the immediate impact of the Middle East war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on global LPG markets, focusing on sharp price spikes in Asia's forward curve, especially the August Faris Index, which jumped 24% in a week. Esther Foix explains how the loss of Middle Eastern supply forced Asian buyers to turn to U.S. cargoes, driving up competition and prices, while earlier disruptions at Saudi Arabia's Juwama terminal had already tightened the market. David Appleton provides a longer‑term view, noting that the Middle East accounts for about 30% of global seaborne LPG exports, making its absence a serious supply shock, particularly for India, which relies on the region for 90% of its imports. The discussion also covers force‑majeure declarations in Vietnam and China, and how higher LPG costs are prompting petrochemical plants to cut throughput or switch feedstocks.
JUST IN: Brent crude oil price surges to $91, up 25% in the past 7 days.
ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo as tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalated, emphasizing energy security and confirming that the Ruwais LNG export facility remains on schedule. He reassured that construction has not...
Angola welcomed the recent surge in oil prices, with Brent climbing above $86 a barrel, far exceeding the $61 benchmark used in its 2026 budget. While the rally promises higher state revenues, the government warned that the boost could be...
Fastmarkets announced it will discontinue two European sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) cost assessments—AG‑SAF‑0006 (SAF max) and AG‑SAF‑0007 (HVO max)—that previously incorporated Dutch HBE‑IXB credits. The change follows the Netherlands’ update to its biofuel mandate, which now excludes aviation from the...
"U.S. Success Against Iran Could Be a Game Changer for World Oil Security," @WSJ https://t.co/ICXqOkIlg2 If Iran, along with Venezuela, is soon ruled by a regime friendly or at least not hostile toward the U.S., that would neutralize two oil exporters...
In this Beef Market Update, Anne Wasco of Gateway Livestock Exchange breaks down recent volatility in U.S. cattle futures, noting lower live cattle prices and packer margin pressures that have led to reduced slaughter rates and higher wholesale cutout prices....
The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, choking a key route for Middle‑East gas shipments, while Qatar has temporarily halted its LNG production, tightening global supply. Spot LNG prices have spiked above $30 per million British thermal units, prompting buyers to...
The Minerals Council South Africa praised Eskom for achieving a 68.5% energy availability factor, above the 68% target, but warned that the utility’s tariff methodology, legacy diesel contracts, and rising wage costs could push electricity prices beyond inflation. The council...
Longi’s subsidiary Longi Solar Technology secured the top spot in an 800 MW PV module tender for Gansu’s Hexi new energy base, offering a bid of CNY 0.754 ($0.104)/W and committing to delivery by June 2026. Canadian Solar announced that its 2 GW heterojunction...
They all said Hormuz closure would be brief. What if they were wrong? ▶️Baltic Exchange’s MEG-China VLCC index reaches new high of $485,959 per day; MEG-Singapore VLCC index is at $507,709 per day ▶️VLCCs are loading Saudi crude at Red Sea pipeline...
Capital.com reported a 49% jump in active retail traders and a 73% rise in total trading volume on 2 March as the Middle East conflict intensified. Oil surged to become the platform’s second‑most‑traded instrument, with new oil traders up 1,255% and...
🔥 Here’s my #stickynote for March 6, 2026: Big macro morning with Nonfarm Payrolls and Retail Sales at 8:30am — these numbers could move the entire market at the open. Expect volatility right out of the gate as traders react to...
The Iran‑Hamas war is unlikely to dent global GDP, as the Gulf accounts for only 2‑3% of world output. However, the Strait of Hormuz—through which roughly a quarter of seaborne oil and one‑fifth of LNG flow—poses a serious chokepoint for...
Bank of Baroda estimates that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices will directly lift India’s Wholesale Price Index by roughly 0.7‑1 percent, potentially reaching a full 1 percent when indirect effects are counted. The surge would push oil imports up by...
Freight rates from the Far East to the U.S. and Europe rose sharply after recent military strikes in the Middle East, according to Xeneta data. Spot prices jumped about 10% on West Coast routes and 9% on East Coast routes,...
U.S. rail carriers posted a modest 1.6% rise in total traffic for the week ending Feb. 28, reaching 516,729 carloads and intermodal units. Carloads jumped 6.9% driven by a 20% surge in grain shipments, while petroleum, chemicals and metallic ores also...
Markets reacted to the US‑Israel strike on Iran by pushing the dollar higher, which pulled gold and silver lower. In European trading, gold slipped to $5,090 per ounce, down $230, while silver fell to $82.70, down $11. Shanghai silver premiums...
Reliance Industries rerouted two fuel tankers—about 100,000 metric tons of diesel and 75,000 tons of jet fuel—from Europe to Asia as the Iran‑Israel conflict chokes supply through the Strait of Hormuz. Asian jet‑fuel margins surged to a record $80 a...
Libya’s National Oil Corp announced that the Sarir refinery has resumed gasoline production after a three‑year shutdown, restoring its 10,000 bpd gasoline capacity. The restart follows a major overhaul of the crude distillation unit completed in January and includes the activation...
Gold prices are being pushed higher as Middle East conflict escalates, with Argonaut raising its 12‑month target to $6,000 per ounce and State Street assigning a 35% probability to a bull case of $5,500‑$6,250. Safe‑haven demand has lifted gold ETF...
On March 1, Germany’s balancing market recorded an extreme negative imbalance price of ‑1474 €/MWh for a single 15‑minute interval. The price plunge was driven by an unexpected supply shortfall that outpaced intraday trading activity, leaving the system operator to procure balancing energy...
Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR) published its official gold buying rates for Zimbabwe on 6 March 2026. The fire‑assay cash price tops the table at $155.94 per gram ($4,850.28 per ounce) for gold above 100 g, while SG 90 %+ gold is priced at $155.12 per...
Crude's reaction to the one-month, conditional US "waiver" on Indian purchases of Russian oil says it all. Brent is not even 1% lower Friday afternoon in Asia, after settling at a 20-month high above $85. @VandaInsights' first Executive Briefing Note of...
My friend & oil expert Javier Blas reports just what I’ve been anticipating: that the US-Israeli war on Iran would force the US to lift sanctions on Russian oil. https://t.co/4VIvPSwm63
In this episode of This Week in Futures Options, host Mark Longo and CME Group chief economist Eric Norland dissect a volatile week across energy, equity, and crypto markets. They highlight heating oil, crude oil, and natural gas as the...
A Cboe measure of crude oil volatility has surged to its highest level since 2020 https://t.co/4FBZMvXK9Y
Metals and miners have recently pulled back as investors suddenly think the Fed won’t be as dovish. Wait until they realize the policymakers are cornered into cutting rates regardless of inflation accelerating, just to keep the government’s debt affordable. That’s an explosive...
Fastmarkets has announced a proposal to introduce two new ex‑works China graphite flake price indices – 94% carbon, -100 mesh and 94% carbon, +80 mesh. The indices will be published weekly on Thursdays at 7 pm Shanghai time, with a minimum...
Friday's Playbook: Oil Surging. Bearish Signals Across the Mag 7. See How We’re Positioning. https://t.co/Ab25axAjJe via @hedgeye
With WTI now at $87, the oil price spike is now definitely in the big-enough-to-matter-to-the-US-domestic-economy zone. National average gas price is headed to about $3.80; was just $2.90 at start of Feb. I expect this increase will prove extremely popular.
Australia shipped 91,511 tonnes of chickpeas and 300,009 tonnes of lentils in January, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Chickpea exports collapsed 85% from the December peak of 594,201 tonnes, while lentil shipments slipped 5% from December’s 316,358 tonnes....
So do the cattle look at the inflationary trade taking place and go higher or do they look at the equities and the consumer being hurt by higher energy products and a slowing economy possibly and come under pressure....
Iran is getting bombed to smithereens. If oil tanker traffic through the Straits of Hormuz resumes in any meaningful fashion, Iran has every incentive to blow up a ship. All it takes is one oil tanker and global markets will...
The global passenger EV market grew 18% YoY in 2025, pushing battery capacity deployment past 1 TWh for the first time. Raw‑material costs for lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and manganese reached $15.6 billion, an 11% rise over 2024 but still half of...
A major Middle East shift could ease geopolitical risk and send oil prices lower after a ceasefire. The implications for inflation, consumers, and markets ahead. 🟢 Open https://t.co/7zkGP8J4td
Futures with the strongest uptrends are the ones with inelastic demand curves...now the consumer will have less disposable income than ever...grains and energies expected to keep a steady bid
The article explains that grain basis is the difference between local spot prices and futures contracts, serving as the local market adjustment on top of global pricing. In Australia, wheat basis is measured against CBOT wheat futures in Australian dollars...
Have been saying for a while that commodities have been way under estimating upside potential(ag in particular) what a little wall street money could do to prices. However, if crude causes the equities to crater it can become “risk off”...
RBOB gasoline futures near $2.70.. implying $3.65 at the pump soon... close to the highest level since mid-2022 $RB_F $UGA @teconomics https://t.co/vQA49bLeZr
Fastmarkets published its March 5 2026 steel scrap No 1 busheling delivered‑mill price assessment for Chicago. The assessment is part of the Fastmarkets scrap package and follows the firm’s North America ferrous scrap methodology. The release includes a link to detailed specifications and...
WTI crude oil yodeling higher.. > $84 But stocks are OK with that... for now... payrolls & Jan retail sales on tap... @teconomics https://t.co/jopqYDfXo3
International Energy Agency executive-director Fatih Birol just spoke to journalists in Brussels after meeting with EU leaders. Here his main messages from the presser: https://t.co/uzZVrc46zi
Canola futures rose to C$719.90 per tonne, the highest level since August 2025, buoyed by a 3.3% jump in soybean oil and modest soybean gains. Wheat prices edged higher, but rising fuel costs for shipping threaten demand growth. Crude oil surged...
The Straight of Hormuz, which is a key shipping lane for the world's oil, fertilizer and other products, is effectively shut. Charts from @bloomberg: https://t.co/zunbN3eO7G
What will be impact of the conflict in the Middle East be on energy bills? What can we do to avoid being so exposed to international fossil fuel price volatility? I was asked these and other questions by LBC News....
Indonesia has signed a memorandum of understanding to import roughly 2 million tonnes of wheat annually from the United States, representing about 17% of its total wheat demand. The deal effectively earmarks a fifth of the market for U.S. exporters, removing...
The US is temporarily easing sanctions on Russian oil sales to India to address supply shortages and reduce the impact of the surge in prices in the wake of US and Israeli attacks on Iran. The decision to ease sanctions...
China lithium prices tumble as weak EV sales, Middle East war cloud demand outlook https://t.co/8TqB23mggy
This will help. But crucial to understand: India’s total crude imports are ~5.5 mil b/d. This is a minor offset to 20 mil b/d locked out of the market. Washington appears set on offering a drip-feed of relief to a major oil...
