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
Chilean miner Antofagasta reported a 52% surge in 2025 core profit to $5.2 bn, driven by record copper prices that rose over 40% last year. Despite slightly lower output, the company lifted capital spending to $3.7 bn, mainly for the Centinela concentrator expansion, and projected $3.4 bn capex for 2026. Net debt climbed 69% to $2.75 bn, while the final dividend of 48 cents per share fell short of analyst expectations, causing shares to slip 3.1% in London. CEO Ivan Arriagada highlighted progress on Centinela, a 2029 full‑capacity target, and a positive outlook on Chile’s new government and the Twin Metals project in Minnesota.
Buccaneer Energy completed an organic oil recovery (OOR) pilot at its Pine Mills field in East Texas, treating one water injector and two producing wells. Post‑treatment production in the pilot zone rose from roughly 15 barrels per day to about 30...
Gold and silver prices plunged up to 4% amid a rallying U.S. dollar and heightened profit‑taking. The sell‑off follows recent geopolitical tensions that initially lifted safe‑haven demand but have now softened. Technically, gold is trading around its 20‑day exponential moving...
A South African Energy Traders Association (SAETA) report declares the unbundling of Eskom Holdings the most consequential economic reform since the end of apartheid in 1994. The study, titled “Policy to power: 10 actions to deliver green, accessible and secure electricity,”...
Wrong. Vast majority of gold buyers have been non Americans that are more worried that their own fiat currencies will lose value than they are about the USD losing value. And while foreign CBs purchased around $100B of gold...
India, the world’s second‑largest crude‑steel producer, is pivoting toward the Middle East and Asian markets to cushion the impact of the European Union’s new carbon border adjustment tax. Roughly two‑thirds of its steel exports currently flow to Europe, where the...
The episode explains that the oil industry needs oil prices around $90 per barrel to achieve a 10% return on capital, the threshold where oil stocks typically outperform the S&P 500. It highlights that current reinvestment rates are just above...
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s February short‑term energy outlook projects total U.S. crude oil production, including lease condensate, to fall from an average of 13.60 million barrels per day in 2026 to 13.32 million barrels per day in 2027. The decline is...
Iran launched naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz “Maximum pressure” cuts both ways. Iran wants nuclear-only talk, while the US wants missiles and proxies too The “deal space” is small and the risk premium stays high. https://t.co/Gs9viHRneW #oil #Brent #Hormuz #Iran #geopolitics #energysecurity #OPEC...
The episode examines the recent rebound in wheat prices, noting a 3.6% weekly gain that places futures just below the long‑term technical ceiling. While global production remains near record levels—841.8 million tonnes—with strong output from Russia, Argentina, and the EU, U.S....
Ukraine’s grain exports have slumped dramatically as Russian shelling intensifies attacks on Black Sea ports and energy infrastructure, cutting monthly shipments from 3.6 Mt to 2.5 Mt. Year‑to‑date volumes are 28.5% lower and export value down 18%, eroding billions of foreign‑currency earnings...
Greek dry‑bulk carrier Almi Marine has re‑entered the new‑building market after a four‑year hiatus, signing a contract for two next‑generation 64,000 dwt ultramax vessels with Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (NACKS). The ships, slated for delivery in the second quarter of...
Indian vegetable‑oil importers are waiting for concrete details on the pending U.S.–India trade pact that could lower tariffs on U.S. soybean oil. The framework hints at a 0‑15% duty cut and a tariff‑rate quota of roughly 200,000‑250,000 tonnes, but exact...
NKT has inked a €6 billion long‑term agreement with Polish miner KGHM to secure copper supplies through 2036, extending their existing partnership by nine years. The contract covers copper needed for NKT’s power‑cable production as it scales up to meet rising...
Forget climate change for the moment. One of the main reasons for supporting green energy is to reduce our reliance on gas for electricity generation. The Ukraine war has compromised access to Russian gas and this has had a massive...
OIL MARKET: The 2nd round of US-Iran talks has concluded, and Iranian media says there would be a 3rd round of negotiations in the “near future” after both sides consult with their respective governments.
Guatemala’s Generation Expansion Plan 5 (PEG‑5) tender attracted 51 bidders submitting nearly 4.7 GW of capacity, more than three times the 1.4 GW the government sought. About 2 GW of the offers are solar, including hybrid projects with storage, while roughly 700 MW are natural‑gas‑fired...
The oil ministers of Iran and Russia met today. Contrary to popular belief, Moscow and Tehran are now bitter rivals in the oil market as the size of the black market for crude shrinks. Both compete to supply China. (My earlier @Opinion...
Australian Vanadium Limited has formed an exclusive partnership with Japan’s Sumitomo Electric to compete for Western Australia’s AU$150 million, 500 MWh Kalgoorlie vanadium flow‑battery project. The deal makes Sumitomo the sole provider of its flow‑battery technology, engineering services and technical support for...
Yanmar Power Solutions, a Yanmar Holdings subsidiary, will construct an 8,000 m² factory on a 33,898 m² site in Amagasaki, Hyogo, to conduct test runs of marine hydrogen engines. Operations are slated to begin in March 2029, complementing the company’s recent ClassNK type‑approval...
Seaborne agricultural trade set a new high in 2025, moving 716.5 million tonnes – a modest 1% year‑on‑year gain that nonetheless broke the previous record. After a 6% slump in the first half, volumes rebounded 7% in the second half, lifting...
BHP reported that copper now accounts for the majority of its earnings for the first time, propelling a sharp rise in six‑month profit and revenue. The miner’s shift away from iron ore, which is suffering from weaker Chinese demand, has...
Who could have seen this coming? Higher copper prices are BHP's main profit driver. https://t.co/ifvnq0Y31l #BHP #copper #mining #commodities #energytransition #AI #electrification #China #ironore #markets
South Korean Sinokor now controls 120 oil tankers When one buyer controls the tradable fleet, charterers panic-book, freight spikes, and shocks bleeds into physical oil prices and spreads. https://t.co/Z2GsMyfbtl #oil #tankers #VLCC #shipping #freight #supplychain #sanctions #geopolitics #markets #energy
In this brief episode, the host highlights a recent surge in API2 (Northwest Europe) thermal coal futures for March delivery, which have risen roughly $5 per metric tonne over five trading sessions, briefly breaching $108/mt before settling near $107.50/mt. The...
I've been cranking numbers. Full year 2025, it looks like nuclear power just about kept its nose ahead of wind and solar. But in H2 2025, while wind didn't quite overtake nuclear, solar did. In 2026 nuclear will drop to...
BHP Group posted a 22% rise in underlying attributable profit to $6.2 billion for the six months ended December, propelled by a sharp rally in copper prices. At the same time, demand weakness in China dampened iron‑ore and steelmaking‑coal sales. The...
The EV battery metals index surged to a 27‑month high as December’s raw‑material spend topped $2 billion, the first such level since August 2023. Global passenger EV sales likely passed 30 million units in 2025, driving a 25% increase in deployed battery...
Supply and demand balances show a 3.1 million‑barrel‑per‑day surplus in the first quarter of 2026, the largest for the year and unchanged from the previous month. Asian storage facilities have largely absorbed the excess crude, preventing immediate price spikes. Nevertheless, continued...
The Republic of Congo has begun Phase 2 LNG exports from the new Nguya FLNG facility, boosting total project capacity to roughly 3 million metric tons per year. Operated by Eni, the unit was commissioned ahead of schedule and shipped its first...
Canada’s energy minister announced a C$16.5 billion Pathways Alliance carbon‑capture buildout in Alberta’s oil sands, linking the project to a new pipeline deal and a higher industrial carbon price. Six of the country’s largest oil‑sands producers will capture and store CO₂...
The Bureau of International Recycling’s World Mirror report shows U.S. recycled‑steel prices rising as winter storms forced yard closures, tightening obsolete scrap inflows and bolstering export demand. Japan’s prices also firmed amid weak scrap generation and a depreciating yen. In...
Wärtsilä has been chosen by Gramme Storage 1 to build a 50‑MW/100‑MWh battery energy storage system in central‑eastern Belgium, with construction underway and commissioning expected by mid‑2027. The project will participate in Belgium’s Capacity Remuneration Mechanism, delivering frequency and voltage support...
The best—only?—argument that Trump is bearish for oil prices is that OPEC+ wouldn't have hiked crude production as aggressively last year in a world in which Harris was sitting in the White House.
Oil prices nudged higher on Monday as traders priced in the upcoming US‑Iran nuclear talks, which aim to ease regional tensions. The market also factored in OPEC‑plus’s plan to increase output later in the year, tempering the risk‑off sentiment. Brent...
Maurel & Prom (M&P) is lobbying Venezuelan authorities to regain access to its Urdaneta Oeste oil field after being omitted from the government’s initial roster of approved foreign operators. The Paris‑listed firm argues that the field, capable of delivering several thousand...
TotalEnergies and Oman’s state‑run OQ Exploration and Production are evaluating a second liquefaction train for the Marsa LNG project, which is currently under construction. The additional train would significantly raise the plant’s export capacity, positioning the facility as a major...
Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery reached full 650,000 bpd capacity in January 2026, processing a record 40.1 million litres of crude per day and supplying 57 % of the nation’s fuel. Domestic output now provides 62 % of premium motor spirit, overtaking imports for the first...
Egyptian fertilizer producer NCIC announced a new tender for March‑loading shipments, closing on 19 February. The offer includes 1,000 t water‑soluble SOP, 20,000 t CAN26 (grade corrected), 20,000 t granular urea, 25,000 t TSP and 20,000 t DAP. Prices reference previous tender sales, with urea spot...
European biodiesel trading on Argus Open Markets surged to its strongest January level in two years, driven by the EU’s revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) and Germany’s new rule eliminating carry‑over of surplus GHG certificates. The stricter mandates, which require...
Chevron is aggressively expanding its Venezuelan heavy‑crude production to feed its complex Gulf Coast refineries, which are optimized for dense, sulfur‑rich oil. Global supplies of such crude have tightened as Mexican exports fall, Russian barrels are sanctioned, and Canadian logistics...
Niger's military government moved roughly 1,000 tonnes of uranium concentrate, known as yellowcake, to Air Base 101 near Niamey after seizing the Orano‑run mine. The stockpile remains unsold, with potential buyers from Russia, China, the United States and the UAE...
Turkey's state grain buyer TMO closed a February tender for 195,000 t of feed barley at $266.20‑268.20 per tonne, pricing below the initial offers. Only 50,000 t were contracted on a CFR basis, with the remainder secured ex‑works from Turkish port stocks....
Rising silver prices, now 187 % above early‑2025 levels, are pressuring solar manufacturers as silver paste can account for up to 30 % of cell costs. Heraeus forecasts a decline in photovoltaic silver demand despite stable global installations, citing ongoing substitution efforts....
Metal Volatility Changed Everything $GLD $SLV $BTCUSD $SPX $QQQ $IGV $XLK Sharp volatility in gold, silver, crypto and equities was easier to spot than most think. And why I study sector rotation, options structure, and investor confidence. https://t.co/PYmLxcJSCJ
China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment has extended mandatory carbon‑reporting to petrochemicals, chemicals, flat glass, copper smelting, papermaking and civil aviation, laying groundwork for future ETS inclusion. The national emissions trading system already covers power, steel, cement and aluminum—about 60‑65%...
Why @IEA and @OPECSecretariat are split on what comes next for oil - and what it means for strategy this year https://t.co/FUAD5TlcG4 @TheNationalNews
The 14th Solaire Expo Maroc in Casablanca highlighted Morocco’s push toward an integrated renewable ecosystem, featuring electric‑vehicle pavilions and a strong Chinese presence in solar equipment. Local distributors reported a dynamic market with rising prices after China ended VAT rebates,...
EBW Analytics warned that U.S. natural‑gas demand could weaken heading into the President’s Day weekend, after the front‑month NYMEX contract briefly spiked to $3.316 per MMBtu before retreating. A recent EIA report showed a 249 billion‑cubic‑foot draw, leaving storage 97 bcf below...
French startup PvPilot has launched a fourth‑generation home energy management system (HEMS) that claims universal compatibility with all major solar inverters, batteries and EV chargers. The solution, delivered via a USB‑connected relay device, measures real‑time generation and demand to orchestrate...
