The world’s top rice exporter India recently lifted most of the restrictions on its rice exports, which the country placed in July 2023 to control soaring domestic food prices. Price-sensitive rice importers, such as the West African countries, are likely to look towards India as a competitive supplier. However, shipping concerns that impacted the country’s rice exporters recently may continue to add to the trade uncertainties in the coming days as well.

In this podcast, Asim Anand, managing editor, agriculture and food and pricing is joined by Tanya Rana, associate editor, agriculture and food pricing, Pranay Shukla, director, head of dry bulk freight & commodities research, and Tanya Kalra, associate editor, Asia container markets, to discuss the factors impacting global rice markets as well as the freight and container outlooks in 2025, and their possible impact on Indian rice trade.

The outcome of the US presidential election in November will have ripple effects for the international energy picture. In the weeks before the election, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are trying to draw contrasts with each other, including on energy and foreign policy.

Kate Winston, oil news editor for S&P Global Commodity Insights, discusses oil sanctions, LNG exports and solar tariffs with reporters Chris Vanmoessner, Corey Paul and Kirsten Errick. They discuss the foreign policy and economic policies of the candidates and how they may impact supplies and prices for oil, gas and solar components across the globe.

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How the 2024 elections could reshape US domestic energy policy

Political experts say Nov. 5 will likely become known as one of the most pivotal elections in US history. Whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the presidency, and whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress, the energy sector faces major potential shifts. There will be implications for supply chains, energy infrastructure, and the overall direction of US energy markets. 

Jasmin Melvin, senior editor and team lead for The Energy Daily, leads a discussion on what’s at stake in the oil, gas, power and metals arenas with Commodity Insights reporters and analysts Zack Hale, Taylor Kuykendall, Starr Spencer and Anna Mosby. They examine the polarizing energy positions from the presidential candidates and how a potentially divided Congress could reshape energy policy. 

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Platts Connect - S&P Global Commodity Insights news coverage, pricing and analysis

CapIQ - Commodity Insights Americas news

India has maintained its position as the world's largest producer of direct-reduced iron (DRI) for several years. As the global race to accelerate energy transition efforts intensifies, DRI has gained prominence due to its potential for reducing carbon emissions in energy-intensive sectors like steel.

Recognized as a key pathway to 'green steel,' DRI offers various low-carbon steelmaking alternatives. Walking the DRI path is expected to help India's steel industry to lower its emissions. Capturing this evolving and dynamic market in India, S&P Global Commodity Insights' Platts has launched a daily pellet-based Indian domestic direct reduced iron spot price assessment on an ex-works Raipur, Chhattisgarh basis.

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Indian domestic direct reduced iron price assessment

In the global wheat markets, recent concerns over a major production cut in Russia, a key exporter, have sparked attention on the supply and demand dynamics. Neighbouring European producers are also facing similar concerns. Meanwhile, in Canada and Australia, weather developments in recent months have played a significant role in shaping production prospects. While, on the demand side, key importing regions such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asia are experiencing challenges as well.

In this podcast, Lalita AVD, editor, agriculture news, talks to Vivien Tang, senior editor, APAC agriculture and food Pricing, Vivian Iroanya, editor, EMEA agriculture and food pricing, and Ashya Kaderabek-vela, associate editor, Americas agriculture pricing about the potential implications of the production cut in Russia and analyze how other key wheat exporters, such as Canada and Australia, could step up to fill in the supply gap.

Russian Wheat 12.5% FOB Black Sea Deep Water (WRBSD00) 

CWRS Wheat 13.5% FOB Vancouver (30-45 days forward) (AWHCD00) 

APW Wheat FOB Australia (WAUSA00) 

With high temperatures moving through the US, multiple regions are preparing for gas and power price volatility. Gas supply constraints or cooling demand could result in power demand spikes. Data centers have been increasing power and gas requirements in some areas, power generators have been competing for gas supplies with LNG terminals along the Gulf Coast, and high gas storage levels in Southern California could lower gas and power prices from past summers.

Americas gas editorial lead J Robinson and senior power editor Jared Anderson discuss these factors in the natural gas and power market outlook for summer 2024.

Links:Register for the Financing US Power Conference

Global container markets have endured a year of volatility not experienced since the global pandemic in 2020-2021, anchored by the complexity for supply chains as carriers loop around the Cape of Good Hope. Now that demand is ushering back into markets in a period of restocking, rates have surged upwards for North and South American import markets from Asia, with some suggesting that the ceiling has not yet been reached heading into Q3. In the midst of all of this is an uncertain geopolitical environment, where impending tariffs imposed by the US government on Chinese goods have influenced volume shifting in this upward drive.

Meat consumption is soaring globally, driven by population growth, rising incomes, and dietary preferences. As emerging markets embrace protein-rich diets, demand for feed grains intensifies, and the weather, government policy, animal disease and other factors can have major impact on both industries. 

For the second installment of this two-part series focusing on global beef and poultry markets, Will Bland resumes the conversation, this time with agriculture managing editors Liz Thang and Asim Anand. The team turns the spotlight to Asia and the Middle East, where most of the world's population and livestock live.

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Press Release: S&P Global Commodity Insights Launches New Platts Price Assessments for Poultry, Beef Proteins Price Assessments: S&P Global Commodity Insights Live

Grilling season is underway in the US -- the world's largest producer and consumer of beef. Even so, per capita consumption of beef in the US has halved over the last 50 years. The US can now produce more beef with fewer head of cattle, but it has become reliant on imported beef. And Brazil has a herd of some 235 million head and now supplies the world. 

In this first installment of a two-part series focusing on global beef and poultry markets, EMEA agriculture and food manager William Bland speaks with Americas agriculture managers John-Laurent Tronche and Rafael Savoia about these changing dynamics.

Links:

Press Release: S&P Global Commodity Insights Launches New Platts Price Assessments for Poultry, Beef Proteins Price Assessments: S&P Global Commodity Insights Live

As election fever grips the UK, this Commodities Focus podcast looks at the country’s oil refineries as they grapple with the fast-changing process of energy transition, including shifting government targets, shrinking diesel demand, the rise of sustainable aviation fuel, and unrelenting competitive pressure from giant refiners around the world. In this new instalment of the Commodities Focus podcast focusing on UK energy policy, Nick Coleman, senior editor for oil news, is joined by managing editor for downstream oil news Robert Perkins, senior analyst for global oil markets Rebeka Foley, and downstream oil news reporter Kelly Norways.

The expansion in the Indian steel manufacturing capacity comes at an opportune moment for the industry as the country has witnessed massive infrastructure projects like construction of national highways over the past few years. Now, with the general elections underway in the country and if the incumbent government comes back to power, the thrust on infrastructure would likely receive continued boost on account of policy continuity. 

Even though India has unseated Japan as the second largest producer of steel in the world over the past few years, steel production is quite a capital-intensive business, and a large chunk of production costs is driven by prices of raw materials. In such a scenario, the question arises if the Indian steel sector is comfortably placed in terms of having access to conventional and non-conventional raw materials going ahead. 

In this discussion, Anirudh Iyer, steel and raw materials is joined byKeith Tan, associate regional pricing director for Asia metals, Rohan Somwanshi, managing editor for global agriculture and metals news and Paul Barthomolew, lead analyst for metals and mining, to share their views on what lies ahead for the Indian steel sector.