Energy Markets

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, was quoted as saying that a U.S. proposal on a crucial minerals deal was unfair because it didn't include security guarantees. He also said he didn't want Ukraine to be a hub for raw material. Kyiv sent Washington last week a revised version of an agreement that could allow U.S. investors to access its vast reserves of vital minerals in order to win U.S. backing, amid concerns from Kyiv about an earlier U.S. draft. "I said, 'this document was not ready. We will not sign it. Zelenskiy told Turkish media that you continue to...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, was quoted as saying that a U.S. proposal on a crucial minerals deal was unfair because it didn't include security guarantees. He also said he didn't want Ukraine to be a hub for raw material. Kyiv sent Washington last week a revised version of an agreement that could allow U.S. investors to access its vast reserves of vital minerals in order to win U.S. backing, amid concerns from Kyiv about an earlier U.S. draft. "I said, 'this document was not ready. We will not sign it. Zelenskiy told Turkish media that you continue to...

In a letter to the United Steelworkers union on Monday, Lyondell Basll Industries announced that layoffs would begin at the refinery in Houston which was closed. Estalee Russi wrote in a letter to USW International president David McCall that "Employment Separations - including (USW) local 13-227 represented employees - will begin at or around April 17, 2025." Tuesday, the letter was examined. A spokesperson for Lyondell did not respond to a comment request. There are around 400 Lyondell employees working at the 263,776 barrel-per-day-capacity Houston refinery, with about 70% of them being hourly workers represented by the Steelworkers. On Tuesday,...

Constellation Energy, a U.S. energy company, beat Wall Street's estimates for the fourth quarter profit on Tuesday. The lower expenses and higher demand for electricity helped. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a U.S. government agency, expects that power consumption will reach new records in 2025. Data centers are expected to triple their demand in the next three months. Nuclear utilities, driven by unprecedented demand for power, were among the largest winners in the S&P 500. Constellation Energy grew 91.3% in 2024 while the S&P 500 utilities rose 19.6%. Constellation, a company that operates 21 nuclear plants in the United States, has...

The operator of the national gas transmission system revealed that Ukraine will increase natural gas imports on Tuesday by 8%, to 26,7 million cubic metres. Gas imports have increased by almost tenfold in the last few months after Russian missiles targeted Ukraine's natural gas facilities. "Shelling continues of gas distribution and production facilities. "We are doing all we can to make sure we have enough fuel to last through the heating season," said Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal at a government gathering. After Russian missiles attacked its gas installations, Ukraine asked its allies for help in importing more natural gas. A...

A senior government minister has said that South Africa may turn to Russia or Iran in order to increase its civilian nuclear energy capacity. Analysts say this could cause a rift between the United States, and delay the renewal of the strategic energy agreement. South Africa, the only nuclear power station in Africa, Koeberg plans to increase its capacity by 2,500 megawatts to combat electricity shortages that have plagued Africa's economy, and reduce emissions. We can't accept a condition that Iran or Russia cannot bid. This is not acceptable," said Gwede Mantashe. He's one of the leading government advocates of...

On Monday morning the benchmark Dutch gas contract traded in a narrow range, as higher wind speeds reduced gas demand for electricity generation. Meanwhile the market was monitoring updates on the U.S. and Russian talks to end war in Ukraine. LSEG data shows that the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF hub was nearly flat at 50.75 Euros per megawatt hour, or $15.59/mmBtu by 1004 GMT. Last week, the contract dropped to 49.25 Euros/MWh - its lowest level since 29 January. The British day-ahead contracts fell 1.25 pence to 124.55 pence/therm, while the Dutch contract lost 0.32 euros at...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The Asian share market has started the week on a positive note, despite a holiday that has reduced liquidity in U.S. stock markets. Hong Kong again led the charge, adding another 1.4% to last week's 7.5% jump amid optimism over potential low-cost AI application following the DeepSeek announcement. Goldman Sachs raised its outlook for Chinese growth and stocks. The firm argues that widespread AI adoption could increase earnings per share in China by 2.5% annually over the next decade. This would increase the fair...

Oil prices were little altered on Monday, as investors awaited developments in a possible Russia-Ukraine deal that may ease sanctions disrupting the global supply flow. Brent crude futures were up 7 cents to $74.81 per barrel at 0430 GMT. U.S. West Texas intermediate crude was unchanged at $70.75 per barrel. After U.S. president Donald Trump and officials of his administration announced that they had begun talks with Russia to end war in Ukraine, the market kept a close eye on the progress of peace negotiations. If negotiations result in a resolution, then more Russian barrels will enter the global supply,...

On Monday, oil prices fell for the fourth consecutive day as a result of expectations that a Russia-Ukraine agreement would ease sanctions disrupting supplies and concerns about global tariff wars slowing economic growth and reducing energy demand. Brent crude futures fell 20 cents or 0.2% to $74.59 per barrel at 0112 GMT. Brent crude futures have fallen 3.1% over the last four sessions since U.S. president Donald Trump and officials from his administration announced that they were in talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude was trading at $70.51 per barrel, down by...

Russian drone attacks have damaged a thermal plant in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, overnight. This has left at least 100,000 people in the cold without heat as temperatures plummet below freezing. The President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on Telegram that "this has nothing to do the fighting and the current situation at the front but it proves again that the Russians fight against our people and life in Ukraine." They are fighting viciously without releasing the pressure. "This is not the behavior of those who are really preparing to negotiate and want peace restored." Denys Shmyhal, the Prime Minister at the time,...

Benchmark global stock indexes hit record highs on Friday, while U.S. Treasury Yields fell as soft U.S. Data and the recent tariff announcements raised hope that the Federal Reserve could be more aggressive about cutting interest rates. Retail sales fell 0.9% in January, the largest drop since March 2023. This follows a 0.7% rise in December that was upwardly reviewed. It is also well below the 0.1% estimate by economists. Federal Reserve data showed that factory output fell 0.1% in January, below the 0.1% estimate, following a 0.5% decline in December. This was due to a drop in motor vehicle...

European futures reached record highs on Tuesday, as defence stocks soared amid expectations of a boost in spending. Meanwhile, Hong Kong shares were nearing three-year highs after investors celebrated the business leaders' meetings with President Xi Jinping. As expected, Australia's central banks began their rate-cutting cycle. The Australian dollar was supported at $0.6350, with a cautious approach to further easing. S&P 500 Futures rose 0.2%, while European futures gained 0.1%. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.5%, with shares in defence and bank stocks following Europe's rally. The pan-European STOXX 600 closed Monday 0.5% higher, as a gauge for defence and aerospace stocks...

The impact of China's retaliatory duties on U.S. energy exports will be felt most strongly in the seaborne coal market. Beijing imposed an import tariff of 15% on U.S. coal, liquefied gas (LNG), and crude oil on 4 February after U.S. president Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tax on all imports. Tariffs could kill energy trade between China and the United States. The United States is the biggest exporter of LNG, but ranks fourth for coal and crude oil. The U.S. shares of China's crude oil and LNG imports are small at around 2% each, so the global markets...

Kojiro Higachi, the president of Tohoku Electric Power in Japan, said that Tohoku Electric Power should review its LNG procurement strategy if it is to stop buying from Russia. Under a contract that runs for 20 years, the utility will import 420,000 metric tonnes of LNG per year from Russia's Sakhalin-2 Project. Higuchi stated that this accounted for approximately 10% of the LNG produced by his company. He said at a press conference that "we must think about (our future procurement plans) assuming we will eventually stop purchasing from Russia." Later, the company stated that no decision had been made...

Asia's crude markets are quickly adjusting to the new sanctions against Russia, grabbing cargoes as they come and looking for alternatives to deliver in the coming months. According to LSEG Oil Research, the top oil-importing continent Asia is expected to receive approximately 3.23 million barrels of Russian crude per day in February. India and China both bought less, but this is a decrease of 7.4% compared to January's 3,49 million bpd. In Asia, there are only two major buyers of Russian crude oil by sea, namely India and China. Myanmar does also take a small amount. LSEG expects India's imports...

The International Energy Agency (IEA), which released data on Thursday showing that China's road and air transportation fuels have likely reached their peak, said the agency. Data showed that China's consumption for gasoline, jet fuel and gasoil had decreased marginally by 2024. In a report published monthly, the IEA stated that the combined consumption of three fuels was 8.1 million barrels a day in China in 2018. This was 200,000 bpd less than 2021 levels and was only marginally higher than 2019 levels. It said that "this strongly suggests fuel consumption in the country has reached a plateau, and may...

Asia's crude markets are quickly adjusting to the new sanctions imposed against Russia, grabbing cargoes as they come and looking for alternatives to deliver in the coming months. According to LSEG Oil Research, the top oil-importing continent Asia is expected to receive approximately 3.23 million barrels of Russian crude per day in February. India and China both bought less, but this is a decrease of 7.4% compared to January's 3,49 million bpd. In Asia, there are only two major buyers of Russian crude oil by sea, namely India and China. Myanmar does also take a small amount. LSEG expects India's...

The Ganfeng lithium mining company in China has started producing lithium in its Mariana project, located in northern Argentina. This is the first of many new lithium projects that are underway in South America. Ganfeng, one of the largest producers of white metal in the world is used primarily to manufacture rechargeable batteries. The Mariana plant in Salta province represents an investment of $790 million and is capable of producing 20,000 metric tonnes of lithium chloride each year. This comes from the extraction of the Llullaillaco flat salt. Ganfeng spent another $190 million on a solar park that will support...

Malaysian palm futures rose by more than 2% in the past 24 hours, following gains made by rival edible oils. A positive U.S. report about world agricultural demand and supply estimates also helped. By midday, the benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in April on the Bursa Derivatives exchange had risen 102 ringgit or 2.22% to 4,695 Ringgit ($1,051.28) per metric ton. The Malaysian market was closed for a holiday on Tuesday. A Kuala Lumpur based trader reported that the Crude Palm Oil Futures were lifted due to a stronger oilseeds rival market and a positive World Agricultural Supply and...

Industry officials have said that India's thermal imports will fall in 2025 for the second consecutive year due to a decreasing reliance on coal as a power source, slowed economic activity, and record-high inventories. The six Indian and foreign coal traders who spoke at the Coaltrans India Conference in New Delhi all expected that shipments would decline this year. Three traders predicted that imports would plummet by about 10%, to 155 million tons. Two traders predicted a drop of 1-2% while the third forecasted a decline of 7-8%. The traders did not want to be named as they weren't authorised...

Five industry officials have said that the United States will increase coal exports to India following China's tariffs on U.S. energy imports. This could lead to a decline in Australia and Russia’s market share in India. China's Finance Ministry announced last week that it would impose a 15% tax on the import of U.S. Coal. The officials claimed this could force U.S. miner to ship coal to India, the second largest coal importer in the world behind China. "Three U.S. shipments that were meant to go to China are now in India, and another 10 shipments are awaiting." "These are...

Amanda Cooper gives us a look at what the U.S. market and global markets will be like today. Donald Trump has surprised us with another set of tariffs. The latest surprise is a 25% tariff on all U.S. steel and aluminum imports, on top of existing tariffs. Investors have sold off their shares in major steelmakers. However, the process has been relatively orderly. Prices are also fairly stable. Tariffs are now part of "Trump 2.0's" operating manual. Although they can cause volatility, the market is less sensitive to headlines. In the commodities market, where raw materials are actually traded, there...

Wayne Cole gives us a look at what the future holds for European and global markets. The week began with the now-common bang of President Trump using a scrum in front of the media on Air Force One, to announce 25% tariffs for steel and aluminum imports into America. He also promised more reciprocal tariffs by Tuesday or Wednesday. The new Chinese retaliatory duties on the U.S. also came into force at the same time. German Chancellor Scholz stated that the EU would be ready to respond "within one hour" to any levies. Investors have sold the usual suspects, with...