Interview: AISI president on the prospects for global steel markets
Platts interviews Tom Gibson, president of the American Iron and Steel Institute, on the state of the US steel market, trends, global trade and the future growth of the industry.
All eyes on 2017. Yes, 2017, if you’re in the metals world
Guess what, it’s official: 2015 was a terrible year for commodities.
Crude oil prices started 2015 relatively low, ended the year lower
(Wed, 06 Jan 2016) Crude oil prices ended 2015 below $40 per barrel (b), the lowest level since early 2009. Spot prices for the international crude oil benchmark Brent averaged $52/b in 2015, 53% below the level in 2014 and 49% below the average price over 2010-14. Spot prices for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil were also down 53% in 2015 compared with 2014, averaging $49/b for the year.
In the balance: North Sea oil struggles to adapt
With oil in the grip of sustained low prices, Britain’s North Sea oil companies are among those hoping against hope for a recovery. Nick Coleman looks at the future of both crude production, and the level of investment in exploration and production in the region, as well as the longer terms prospects for oil economics in the North Sea.
Once too little, now too much? US oil pipelines, projects, production and prices
An overabundance of investment capital has driven a wedge between US midstream asset valuations and actual shipping demand for infrastructure, and the imbalance looks to only be getting more severe as time goes on.
Average annual natural gas spot price in 2015 was at lowest level since 1999
(Tue, 05 Jan 2016) Natural gas spot prices in 2015 at the Henry Hub in Louisiana, a national benchmark, averaged $2.61 per million British thermal unit (MMBtu), the lowest annual average level since 1999. Daily prices fell below $2/MMBtu this year for the first time since 2012.
Prices for most oil and natural gas commodities fell significantly during 2015
(Mon, 04 Jan 2016) The energy component of the widely followed S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) fell 41% from the start of 2015, a larger decline than the industrial metals, grains, and precious metals components, which declined 24%, 19%, and 11%, respectively, in 2015.
The Oil Big Five: Looking to a new year and new opportunities
This is the final iteration of The Oil Big Five for 2015, and we look at what could be big to watch for the winter as well as further into 2016.