Commodities Blogs and Articles
Commodities Blogs and Articles
Commodities Pulse
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Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
U.S. petroleum product exports surged to a new record in April 2026, according to the Daily Energy Report. The increase was most pronounced in shipments to Europe, which captured the bulk of the growth. The report’s “others” category, expected to be clarified soon, is believed to reflect rising exports to Asia. This upward trend underscores the United States’ expanding role as a global energy supplier.
President Trump used his latest address to reaffirm that the United States is on track to achieve its military objectives in Iran within a few weeks, signaling a longer‑than‑expected conflict. He repeated earlier claims that the war’s energy‑price impact is...
The USDA released its March Planting Intentions and Quarterly Stocks report on Tuesday, marking one of the year’s most closely watched agricultural data releases. The figures provide the first official glimpse into farmers’ crop‑planting plans for the upcoming season and...
U.S. gasoline prices have risen above $4 per gallon, the highest level since 2022, driven primarily by surging crude oil costs linked to geopolitical tensions such as the Iran war. While consumers often blame stations, retailers only capture roughly 10%...
President Donald Trump warned of a full‑scale bombing campaign against Iran following recent Israeli and U.S. strikes, reigniting geopolitical tension in the Middle East. The conflict has pushed crude oil to roughly $80 per barrel, a price level last seen...
Corn, soybeans and wheat rebounded from Friday’s losses as the market closed for Good Friday, tightening liquidity and elevating existing positions. February crush and grind data matched expectations, while weekly export sales are projected to mirror last week’s figures. Traders...
Brazil’s flex‑fuel market creates a rapid hedge against soaring oil prices by shifting sugarcane use from sugar to hydrous ethanol when gasoline becomes costly. Lower hedging by mills lets them reallocate cane within a single harvest, tightening Brazil’s sugar exports....
U.S. diesel and jet fuel inventories have slipped sharply, with diesel down about 5 million barrels and jet fuel off 4 million barrels compared with the previous month. Refinery utilization is hovering near 92%, squeezing supply even as demand from trucking and...
Gas prices on the U.S. East Coast have stabilized at roughly $10 per gigajoule as the regional gas export cartel continues to prioritize domestic supply. The author labels this a resurgence of “gas idiocy,” implying the cartel’s actions are intentional...
India’s petroleum product exports to Southeast Asia hit a record high in March 2026. The surge came even as the nation’s total petroleum product shipments fell that month. Historically stable seasonal patterns were overridden by heightened regional demand, pushing volumes...
U.S. agricultural futures opened April on a sharp decline, driven more by a White House announcement that the Iran conflict may be winding down than by fundamental supply‑demand factors. USDA data were largely neutral, with corn acreage edging higher and...
The recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz prompted a limited easing of sanctions on Russian crude, sparking a sharp surge in Urals oil prices. At the same time, Russia’s oil export capacity is being hampered by a series of...
March 2026 saw a sharp market downturn driven by the escalating war with Iran. While most major asset classes posted losses, the iShares S&P GSCI Commodity‑Indexed Trust (GSG) surged more than 24%, making it the month’s top performer, and cash...
Last week natural‑gas prices diverged across regions. In Asia, the JKM spot index jumped to $20 /MBtu, spiking into the high‑$22s amid renewed Iran‑related geopolitical risk and unplanned Australian LNG outages. Europe’s TTF fell to $18.3 /MBtu as Norwegian deliveries rose and...
The article warns that global LNG downstream investment is lagging behind a surge in liquefaction capacity, driving the regas‑to‑liquefaction ratio down from 2.7 in 2015 to 2.4 in 2025 and projected to hit a historic low of 1.75 by 2035....
The article highlights that front‑month Brent and WTI futures have moved in lockstep since 2022, underscoring a highly integrated global oil market. It rebuts former President Trump’s claim that U.S. oil prices consistently diverge from world prices, labeling the view...
Macquarie’s strategy team says copper is oversupplied and overpriced after a 1.5% drop to $5.47 per pound, roughly $12,000 a tonne. The metal has shed more than 16% – about $2,400 per tonne – from its January peak. The bank...
The latest Daily Energy Report shows Iran remains the primary crude exporter through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar have halted shipments entirely. Saudi Arabia has rerouted most of its oil to the Red Sea, and the...
Silver is approaching a pivotal technical juncture as it tests the down‑trend line formed over the past two months. Although the 4‑hour stochastic indicator shows overbought conditions, the price remains near the $73.50 resistance level. A breakout above $73.50 could...
The latest Catalyst Watch notes that despite the largest oil price shock in history, the U.S. economy remains resilient, buoyed by its status as a net exporter of crude and natural gas. Fed officials cite stable macro data and no...
Iran resumed selective control of the Strait of Hormuz, striking a Kuwaiti tanker in Dubai and permitting only flag‑aligned vessels such as COSCO to transit. The move coincides with a U.S. deployment of thousands of Army paratroopers to the Middle...
The Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about 20% of global oil, is now closed except for limited Iranian shipments, turning speculative price gains into an imminent physical shortage. J.P. Morgan predicts Gulf tankers will stop reaching Asian markets this...
ICE cocoa futures slipped to $3,165 per tonne, erasing more than 60% of the 2024 peak that topped $8,000. The International Cocoa Organization confirmed a 75,000‑tonne global surplus for 2024/25, the first in four years, while inventories rose to the...
Farm Action, a farmer‑led watchdog, warned that a handful of firms dominate U.S. fertilizer production, with four companies controlling 82% of nitrogen, two firms holding 90% of phosphate and 75% of potash. The organization argues that this concentration lets supply...
Energy analyst Anas Alhajji warns that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has dramatically increased the risk and cost of Gulf oil and LNG, making U.S. exports far more competitive. Insurance shortages force LNG carriers to detour around Africa,...
The Australian government’s planned fuel excise cut, worth about 26 cents per litre (≈ 0.18 USD), is expected to lower pump prices. However, analysts warn that in a tight, just‑in‑time supply chain, the sudden price drop could spark a rapid surge in consumer...
Australia’s sheep slaughter volumes are contracting sharply across most major producing states as the post‑spring drawdown accelerates, while lamb processing shows a mixed picture. In New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia sheep throughput fell from 37‑47% to as low...
More crude oil is offline across the Middle East than ever before, with roughly 7 million barrels per day shut in due to conflict‑related damage and precautionary curtailments. The blog analyses restart timelines, highlighting that infrastructure repairs and well damage could...
Energy Outlook Analytics (EOA) reports that Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments are set to hit a record high in April and May, surpassing previous peaks. Kpler data shows March exports already above the typical seasonal baseline, indicating a steady...
The article visualizes 113 years of CPI‑adjusted WTI oil prices, highlighting both absolute levels and growth rates. It notes that the 2008 year‑on‑year surge of 640% was the largest, surpassing the 1979‑80 increase that foreshadowed the 1980 recession. However, month‑on‑month...
Oil prices surged on Monday as Brent crude briefly topped $117 a barrel and U.S. crude hovered around $102, driven by escalating conflict in the Middle East. Iran’s attacks on aluminium smelters in Bahrain and the UAE pushed metal prices...
The U.S. and Israel’s recent strike on Iran prompted Tehran to shut the Strait of Hormuz, halting roughly 20% of global oil shipments and pushing crude above $120 a barrel. Higher oil prices quickly feed inflation, lift mortgage rates and...
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut roughly 11 million barrels of oil per day, creating the largest supply shock since the 1973 embargo and pushing prices toward $200 a barrel. Asian nations are already hoarding fuel and imposing...
The cocoa market has swung from record highs—above $4,000 per metric ton—to a sharp decline, leaving Ghanaian and Ivorian farmers unpaid for delivered beans. While chocolate makers scramble to cut margins, shrink bar sizes, or substitute ingredients, smallholder growers remain...
Electric vehicles rely heavily on Gulf‑sourced aluminum, but the U.S.–Iran conflict has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, forcing major smelters in Bahrain and Qatar to cut or halt output. Toyota and Nissan have already trimmed production by roughly 40,000 units,...
The author updates the key precious‑metal charts amid heightened market volatility driven by the Iran‑related oil price surge. Despite a sharp pullback, gold remains in an uptrend, as its 200‑day moving average stays upward‑sloping. The metal has become deeply oversold,...
Ukrainian drone strikes on the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust‑Luga and the Kirishi refinery have knocked out roughly half of Russia's oil export capacity, the most severe disruption since the 2022 invasion began. The attacks, combined with recent seizures...
At CERAWeek in Houston, industry leaders highlighted a rapid shift from coal to natural gas in power generation. The discussion, led by coal specialist Ernie Thrasher of XCoal, underscored falling coal demand, tighter coal‑gas price spreads, and mounting regulatory pressure...
Gold and silver surged today while the S&P 500 fell nearly 800 points and crude oil breached $100 per barrel, breaking the recent pattern where rising oil and falling stocks dragged precious metals lower. The Gold‑to‑Oil ratio, which had been...
QatarEnergy announced that an Iranian attack on its Ras Laffan facility has knocked out roughly 17% of the country’s LNG export capacity, with repairs expected to take three to five years. The outage translates to about $20 billion in lost annual...
Investor Kevin Muir’s latest column signals a renewed appetite for gold as a hedge against rising inflation and geopolitical uncertainty. He notes that central banks are rebuilding reserves, while retail investors are turning to physical bullion after a prolonged period...
Silver’s open interest has fallen to its lowest level in over two decades, suggesting the metal is deeply oversold and may soon reverse higher. Gold also shows weakness, with Comex open interest under 400,000 contracts and prices testing key moving...
Canadian farmers face looming fertilizer shortages as the U.S.-Iran war chokes the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for phosphate and sulphur shipments. Canada imports over 2.6 million tonnes of phosphate annually, with roughly 80% coming via the United States, which...
A Reuters poll predicts gold will set another record in 2026 as central banks, 95% of those surveyed, plan to increase holdings to historic levels. U.S. demand surged 140% in 2025 to 679 tonnes, while ETF inflows added 437 tonnes,...
Iron ore prices have plunged as the market reacts to ongoing geopolitical conflicts rather than fundamentals of the metal itself. Rising input costs—particularly energy and logistics—are squeezing steel producers, prompting a sharp slowdown in production. This combination has turned the...
Venezuela’s oil production climbed to roughly 1.1 million barrels per day in March, up from about 942,000 bpd in January. The rebound reflects easing U.S. sanctions, better access to diluents and a modest return of export flows, bringing output back to pre‑disruption...
Dutch underground gas storage fell to roughly 6.11% of capacity on March 23, 2026, marking the lowest level for this time of year since at least 2010. The drawdown outpaces the broader EU average, which remains near 20%, and is...
Grain and oilseed inventories are not unusually high when measured against current use. U.S. corn ending stocks represent 13% of 2025 projected use, yielding a 12.9% stock‑use ratio—close to the post‑1997 average. World grain‑oilseed stock‑use ratios sit at 26.1%, only...
Andy Millett and Alasdair Macleod dissect the recent plunge in gold and silver prices, arguing that paper markets have become detached from the underlying bullion demand. They highlight weak speculative activity on COMEX and note that retail demand in the...
The article examines how the escalating Iran crisis could reshape Russia’s gas exports to Europe, a market where Russia still accounts for roughly 40% of supply. It argues that the EU’s recent pivot toward liquefied natural gas (LNG) has swapped...
