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A tip for Trump — tax Mexico for its gasoline and diesel imports from US
Disclaimer: This post in no way, shape or form is an endorsement for or against Donald Trump or any other presidential candidate, for that matter. Nor is it an endorsement of this made-up “wall tax.”...
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Indonesia’s ore export ban a hard blow to China Nickel Resources
China Nickel Resources, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, had to admit publicly how badly it is suffering from the Indonesian government’s sudden ban on all ore exports, including iron and...
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China’s teapot refiners are not all hot steam
Dongming, Yatong, Kenli, Lijin: A new breed of companies are emerging from China. Part of the band of independent teapot refiners, which by almost any measure are considered underdogs in the country,...
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US Atlantic Coast crucial stronghold for rail and crude
Pipelines are chasing crude-by-rail shipments out of most US markets, but the Bakken-to-Atlantic-Coast route has managed to keep a hold on its market share, making the spread between domestic and...
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US continues to distance itself as the world leader of natural gas
Over the last decade, the United States has firmly established itself as the world’s largest natural gas producer. This significance of this is difficult to overstate, as less than a decade ago growing...
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Smoke gets in your eyes: The future of China’s love of steel
So I’m outside smoking a cigar (yes, my one bad habit) at Chicago’s Fairmont Hotel during a break from last week’s sessions of worldsteel-49 — the annual gathering of top global steelmaking CEOs. A...
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Why US natural gas prices hit multi-year lows this week
On Oct. 29, 2015, the NYMEX November natural gas futures contract settled at $2.033/MMBtu. For comparison, the November contract closed at $3.649/MMBtu in 2014, $1.61 higher or 79 percent higher than...
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Look to Mexico for some of the best oil market story lines through 2020
“Reform” is one of those words that means anything you want it to mean. It’s been deployed in so many political fights, it has really lost its meaning in most contexts. I suppose some people still say...
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The Oil Big Five: Already looking at changes for 2016 and beyond
We’re speeding toward the end of 2015, which means that our monthly oil feature, The Oil Big Five, is increasingly focused on topics that could shape the global oil industry into 2016 and beyond. This...
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Yes, Virginia, there is a turnaround for the steel sector
Once the US Thanksgiving holiday passes it is never too soon to summon the Christmas spirit. The American steel industry, suffering persistently low prices, high inventories and weak demand, could use...
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Nigerian crude no longer the ‘talk of the town’
“It is a buyer’s market.” This phrase is omnipresent on most oil trader’s lips these days as crude oil prices continue to slide. None typifies this better than the current state of the Nigerian crude...
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Ethane cash cow a red herring for European petchems producers
In the next few weeks the first ship bringing US shale gas to Europe will arrive on the southern shores of Norway, marking an end to Ineos’ search for cheap feedstock to power its European...
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Political promises squeeze Canadian oil industry
The oil industry had eight years of an energy friendly government in Canada and couldn’t get a single new export pipeline built. Now, with newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau keeping his...
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US steel wonders if interventions are enough to keep imports at bay
A couple decades or so ago, Bethlehem Steel, then the USA’s second largest steelmaker, introduced a team of trade attorneys as it was about to embark on another round of massive unfair trade case...
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The next stage in America’s evolving ethanol landscape targets five countries
2015 was a difficult one for US ethanol producers, prices came down from an eight year high in 2014 to a near-eleven year low in January of 2016. As with any market, when times are hard, it’s essential...
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The challenges and opportunities around US NGL and petrochemical exports
Earlier this week we attended the NGL Feedstocks and Derivatives: Global Supply & Demand Dynamics 2016 conference in Houston, hosted by the American Business Conferences. During the presentations,...
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In Babylon, sugar refinery gives hope at the darkest of times
Claudiu Covrig reflects upon his invitation to see the new Etihad sugar refinery in the ancient heart of civilization, and contemplates what it means for the battered and troubled land, and the wider...
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Let’s get physical, physical — but what exactly is physical (gold)?
Following Swiss gold import/export data this week it dawned on S&P Global Platts that there has been a glut of headlines this year suggesting that physical gold demand is on its knees. Which leads...
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Thermal coal futures so bright, you gotta wear shades
After crashing to levels last seen in the 2009 global financial crisis, spot market prices for Australian thermal coal delivered to power stations in southern China have shrugged off their aura of doom...
View ArticleSteel leading the charge for trade wars
After the devastation of World War II, some said we would never again see such desperate fighting among major world powers given the existence of nuclear weapons. Instead, future wars amongst these big...
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