Russia and CIS Oil & Gas Quarterly Review

China spreads its wings over cobalt

The global cobalt market is going through change as more supplies flow into it from top-producing countries, primarily the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which accounts for 68% of the world’s cobalt ore output.

21.12.2023

Coal holds its ground

One of the key issues brought to the table at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai is the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, including by ‘accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power.’

14.12.2023

Green hopes for the platinum industry

Gold prices climbed to a six-month high of $2,000 per troy ounce at the end of November, propped up by a softer dollar. Market players are waiting for updated figures on the state of the US economy and for the Fed’s reaction to see whether the price will hold at this peak.

01.12.2023

Copper in a fragile balance

Copper prices continue on the down path, having tumbled to an average of $8,560 per tonne since the beginning of this year, a marked fall from $8,790 in 2022 and $9,300 a year earlier.

27.10.2023

Nickel caught in a bear hug 

London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouse nickel stocks have been shrinking since the end of last year as monthly averages plummeted from 66,600 tonnes in 2022 to 41,700 tonnes in the first nine months of 2023, having bottomed out at 37,000 this August.

21.09.2023

How strong is China’s iron grip?

In September, iron futures traded at $119.5 per tonne on the Singapore exchange, the highest level since late April, having gained 2% YTD and never falling below the psychological threshold of $100 per tonne.

14.09.2023

The specter of labor unrest haunts the LNG market

Over recent weeks, the world has been watching as Woodside Energy Group and Chevron became embroiled in a labor standoff with workers at their LNG plants in Australia. The news that these facilities could temporarily go offline has triggered an immediate reaction from the market, with spot LNG prices in Asia climbing to a five-month high of $14 per million BTU.

08.09.2023

A bad spell for European steel

The Eurozone Manufacturing PMI marked a sixth consecutive decrease in July, having plunged to a 38-month low of 42.7, plagued by an accelerated decline in production volumes and new orders. These negative trends have a bearing on the steel sector as well.

03.08.2023

Is the EU Energy Platform here to stay?

Now that the second round of joint gas purchases on the EU Energy Platform has come to an end, the bloc wants to make this mechanism a permanent feature. So it’s about time we explore how well it works.

28.07.2023

Where will the copper scales tip?

Global refined copper output in January-April 2023 soared 8% YoY to nearly 9 million tonnes, while consumption rose only 3% to 8.6 million tonnes, leading to a 384,000-tonne surplus, compared with a 43,000-tonne deficit in the same period last year. As a result, the price of copper started to go down. Will this trend persist and what will happen to prices in the longer term?

19.07.2023