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Mideast conflict turbocharges diesel prices, squeezing Europe: Bousso
The conflict between Israel and Iran has increased global diesel prices. Gains have outstripped the increase in crude oil prices. This highlights the vulnerability of Europe's diesel-heavy consumers, even though the refiners are rewarded. Benchmark Brent crude has risen 10% to more than $76 per barrel since the Israel-Iran War began on June 13. This reflects investor concerns over a potential disruption in supply, especially issues related to Strait of Hormuz – a narrow waterway that connects Iran and Oman and through which a fifth of crude oil and refined petroleum products pass. The speculation that U.S. president Donald Trump would join Israel's election campaign has heightened concerns over escalation, which could lead to an energy shock around the world. In Europe, diesel prices are on the rise. Since June 12, the benchmark European ICE low sulphur gasoil price has risen by nearly 15%. The rally of the past few days was based on the recent strengthening of diesel prices, which were a result from robust global demand as well as low inventories across Europe and America. According to Kpler, the Middle East will be a major diesel exporter in 2024. This represents 17% of all diesel imports by sea. Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are the main exporters. They have invested in increasing their domestic refinery capacity to meet exports in recent years. According to the International Energy Agency, diesel, which is used in Europe for both private and commercial transport as well as for industrial purposes, will account for 44% (or 13.5 million barrels per day) of the total oil demand in the region in 2024. According to the IEA, Europe imported more than 1.2 million bpd of diesel last year. This is about a fifth the total consumption of diesel in the region. The IEA says that Europe's dependence on diesel imports leaves consumers and businesses in the region highly vulnerable to any disruptions in global diesel shipments, which could happen soon. The price increase has also been a good thing for European oil refiners. According to LSEG, European diesel refining profits have risen over 30% since the Israel/Iran conflict started. This is their highest level in more than fourteen months. It is noteworthy that the increase in crude oil prices coincided with this rise, since refining margins are usually inversely related to feedstock costs. The European refiners, on the other hand, are benefiting from the fact diesel prices have increased faster than crude. RUSSIA LOOPHOLE The market is also facing long-term volatility, as the Middle East tensions have a significant impact on the short-term outlook for diesel prices in Europe. The European diesel market has undergone a major shift since the European Union (EU) and Britain (UK) banned Russian oil imports to the region following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in February 2022. According to Kpler, the share of Russian diesel imported into the region dropped from 40% to less than 1% in 2018. In order to replace Russian diesel imports, purchases were made from the Middle East and Turkey. These'substitutes,' however, were often refined Russian crude oil, especially diesel from India. This was possible because Western sanctions had limited the price of Russian oil. The European Union has now proposed a ban on imports of refined oil products from Russia. A ban of this kind would be difficult to monitor and implement, as refiners use a mixture of crude grades to produce refined products. In the short and long term, there are both uncertainties in the European diesel market. This means that significant volatility is expected for a while to come. This column is interesting to you? Check out Open Interest, your new essential source for global commentary on financial markets. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, X.
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Algeria bids for 240,000 T of corn that was likely not awarded in the previous tender
On Thursday, European traders reported that the Algerian state agency ONAB had issued a tender for a purchase of up to 240.000 metric tons animal feed corn. They said that the deadline for submitting price offers to the tender is on Thursday, June 19. The traders stated that the new tender was viewed as an indication that Algeria had not made a purchase during a previous auction for 240,000 tonnes of corn, which closed on tuesday. Algeria issued corn tenders every week in May and June, but trading houses were said to be very few. According to traders, delays in the unloading of ships in Algerian port caused sellers to incur heavy financial costs. Some traders claim that they view the repeated corn tenders not as an indication of actual demand but rather as a price check. The traders reported that the latest tender called for six consignments ranging from 30,000 to 40 000 tons, which would be shipped between July 15 and 31. The new tender is open to corn from anywhere in the world. Traders said that a series of previous tenders seeking only corn from Argentina and Brazil ended with no significant purchases. (Reporting and editing by Kim Coghill, Michael Hogan)
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Maguire: Asia's one and only LNG hotspot could be about to heat up.
The first half of 2025 saw a record-breaking drop in imports of LNG to Asia, as trade tensions and slowing growth cooled the demand for super-chilled fuel. Taiwan is the only Asian country that has not yet reached 2025. Fortunately for LNG exporters, Taiwan will be able to reduce its dependence on gas following its closure of its final nuclear reactor in October. In fact, the forecasts of a period of temperatures above normal this summer could cause Taiwan's thermal energy needs to rise sharply in the months ahead, possibly leading to a new surge in LNG orders from Taiwan's electricity producers. SINGLE STANDOUT Data from commodities data firm Kpler show that, except for Taiwan, all of the major LNG importers from Asia reduced their LNG purchases compared to the same period last year. This widespread drop in demand in a region that imports two-thirds all LNG has put several LNG exporters in a difficult position, resulting in a 16% decline in Asia LNG spot price So far, this year. In 2025, five of the six biggest LNG importers are located in Asia, namely Japan, China South Korea India and Taiwan. These countries collectively registered a 16 million metric-ton drop in LNG imports in the first half year of this year, compared with the same months in the previous decade. Kpler data show that Taiwan has seen a modest increase of 100,000 tons in LNG order from last year. There are several reasons why Taiwan's appetite to buy LNG may continue to grow in the months ahead. NUCLEAR CUT Gas demand is primarily driven by the need to replace power lost due to the recent shutdown of Taiwan's only remaining nuclear reactor. Around the middle of the last month, Unit 2 of the Maanshan Nuclear Reactor was disconnected from Taiwan’s grid. This marked the end of 40 years of nuclear power in Taiwan. Ember data show that power firms have been preparing for the nuclear shut down for months. They have reduced their nuclear-powered electricity production accordingly, from 1 TWh per month in 2020 to 0.7TWh by April. Taiwan's coal and gas plants produce around 7.5TWh per month each, allowing power companies to easily accommodate the nuclear cutbacks. Solar farms, which produce around 1.5 TWh per month during the summer months, have helped to offset the loss in nuclear power generation. HOT SPELL In order to meet the system demand, which is likely to be higher in summer due to increased cooling needs, Taiwan's utilities are going to need to use all of their available resources. Ember data show that between 2022 and 2024 Taiwan's total electric demand increased on average by 23% from April to July. It went up from 22.4 TWh per month to 27,4 TWh per month. Natural gas and coal will be the main sources of power for this additional demand. They already provide around 46% of total electricity and 35% of total electricity respectively. This year, the challenge is that demand may be higher than anticipated due to forecasts of temperatures above normal for an extended period this summer. According to LSEG forecasts, the average temperature in Taipei is expected to be around 28.4° Celsius (83.1° Fahrenheit). This forecast is about 5% higher than the average long-term for that time period and indicates that air conditioners will be used in Taiwan at a high level. This suggests that Taiwan’s coal and natural gas plants may face an influx of capacity usage above normal, which could result in a faster-than-normal withdrawal from gas and coal stocks. This is good news for LNG producers, who were disappointed with the demand in Asia this year. However, they may be about to enter a period where Taiwan will drive a stronger interest in Asia. These are the opinions of the columnist, an author for. You like this article? Check it out Open Interest The new global financial commentary source (ROI) is your go-to for all the latest news and analysis. ROI provides data-driven, thought-provoking analysis on everything from soybeans to swap rates. The markets are changing faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on You can find us on LinkedIn.
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Vietnam's central bank has said that it can borrow from foreign lenders more money if necessary.
Nguyen Thi Hong, governor of the central bank, told the parliamentary on Thursday that Vietnam could borrow more money from foreign lenders to boost its economic growth. Southeast Asia's industrial hub needs investment funds to accelerate its infrastructure development. This includes new power plants, high-speed rail systems, airports, and highways. Hong stated that the central bank could also increase its 16% credit growth target for this year, if necessary, because Vietnam is looking to boost its investment in order to reach its economic growth goals of at least 8 percent this year. Hong stated that "we can arrange enough funding (for investments) while ensuring safety of the public debt and external debt." Hong stated that it was "too risky" to continue to rely solely on the funding provided by the local banking system, noting the total lending of the local banks at the end of 2024 was equal to 134% GDP.
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Southeast Asia's low-cost airlines are betting on the travel demand despite their competition woes
Southeast Asia's largest budget airlines are on a brutal capacity expansion race, despite increasing cost pressures which are squeezeing profitability. Qantas Airways shut down Jetstar Asia in Singapore due to this. In the last two decades, low-cost carriers have proliferated across Asia as disposable incomes increase and travel demand is strong from Chinese tourists. Demand for air travel in Asia is expected to grow faster than other regions in the next few decades and carriers like Vietnam's VietJet Aviation and Malaysia-headquartered AirAsia are to buy more planes to add to their already large orderbooks as they seek to gain market share. The margins in Asia-Pacific are smaller than those of other regions. This year, the International Air Transport Association, an industry association, expects Asia-Pacific carriers to have a net profit of just 1.9%, compared to a global average 3.7%. Since the pandemic, airlines in Asia have restored much of their capacity, which has increased competition, particularly for budget-conscious travellers and lowered airfares from their recent highs. ForwardKeys data show that international airfares in Asia fell 12% from 2023 to 2024. AirAsia reported a 9% drop in average airfares for the first quarter, as the airline increased capacity and passed on savings from lower fuel costs to its customers. Costs such as airport fees and labour are on the rise, and a lack of new planes has led to an increase in leasing and maintenance charges. The changing landscape has led Australia's Qantas, to announce that Jetstar Asia, its low-cost intraAsia subsidiary operating at a loss and after 20 years of operation, will shut down at the end of July. Jetstar Asia reported "high cost increases" in its Singapore base. These included double-digit increases in fuel prices, airport fees, security charges, and ground handling. Sheldon Hee is the Vice President of IATA Asia-Pacific. He said that operating costs are increasing in the region. In a white paper published in February, aviation data firm OAG said that Asia-Pacific is the most competitive aviation market. Rapid capacity expansion has driven airfares down "perhaps to a level where profits are compromised". The report stated that the balance between supply and demand, costs and revenue has never been more important. "GO BIG OR GO HOUSE" Southeast Asia is unusually dominated by budget international flights. CAPA Centre for Aviation statistics show that two thirds of all international seats in Southeast Asia were booked on budget airlines, compared with one-third worldwide. Analysts say Qantas chose to shift Jetstar Asia aircraft to Australia and New Zealand, where they can operate more efficiently. Brendan Sobie, an independent aviation analyst based in Asia, says that budget operators in Southeast Asia struggled to make a profit even before the pandemic. Now there are also higher costs. Low-cost carriers provide bargain fares because they keep their operating costs low. The economies of scale are achieved by large fleets of a single aircraft type. Jetstar Asia had only 13 planes, a fraction of the size of its local competitors. Singapore Airlines' low-cost subsidiary Scoot, which is part of AirAsia, had 53 aircraft as of March 31. VietJet, which includes its Thai branch, had 117 planes. Low-cost Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific had 99. The four companies will add more aircraft to their fleets in the coming year, and even further into future. VietJet signed a preliminary deal on Tuesday to purchase up to 150 additional single-aisle Airbus aircraft at the Paris Airshow. The airline said that this was only the beginning of its ambitious growth plans. This deal follows weeks of ordering 20 A330neo wide body planes and 200 Boeing 737 MAX jets. Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia said that it is in discussions to purchase 50 to 70 single-aisle long-range jetliners and 100 regional jets to allow for expansion to new destinations. Subhas Menon is the director general of Association of Asia Pacific Airlines. (Reporting and editing by Lisa Barrington)
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Report says future low-carbon material projects will need funding of $1.6 trillion.
A report on Thursday said that $250 billion has been allocated for the production of low-carbon material in sectors with heavy emissions, such as chemicals and fuels. However, future projects requiring low-carbon material will require more than five-times this amount of funding. Mission Possible Partnership report said that newly industrialised countries like Indonesia and Morocco had already secured a quarter of the $250 billion invested in clean industrial plants. The report stated that 69 projects were in operation, using clean energy for the production of materials. The report also tracked $1.6 billion of projects announced, but not yet funded, with the newly industrialized "sunbelt countries" accounting for 59%, while the United States, the European Union and China each accounted for 18%. Faustine Delasalle is the CEO of this organisation. She said, "The new generation energy-intensive industrial plant will move to places where there are abundant, reliable, affordable, and clean electricity sources to produce materials chemicals, and fuels." The MPP, a non-profit organization based in the United States that aims to promote the growth of the low-emissions industry with the support of the Bezos Earth Fund (BEF) and the World Economic Forum. Delasalle said that the new industrial sunbelt is set to surpass Western nations in ammonia sectors, creating major ripples across the global economy. The Industrial Transition Accelerator was established at the COP28 Summit in Dubai in order to encourage investment in green projects. Delasalle also serves as executive director of the ITA. According to the report, green ammonia (used as fertiliser) and sustainable aviation fuels are the fastest-growing sectors of clean industry. The report stated that in the metals industry, there are 33 projects for primary steel plants with near-zero emissions, but 90 more projects must be funded by 2030 to achieve net-zero goals. Aluminium has 44 projects, but requires 165, it said. Reporting by Eric Onstad. (Editing by Jane Merriman.)
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A report warns that poor grid planning could cause data centres to be located in different parts of Europe.
A report by the energy think tank Ember on Thursday showed that Europe's top data centres are facing a major change as developers will move to wherever connection times can be shortened. The data centre construction boom has been a phenomenon in recent years, as tech companies compete to offer the best artificial intelligence (AI), which relies on a newer generation of power-hungry servers. The report stated that this could lead to a geographic shift in investments in Europe, as developers search for places with better power access and shorter lead-times. The report stated that by 2035, half the data centres in Europe could be located outside of the main hubs Frankfurt am Main, London, Amsterdam Paris and Dublin. It said that this could lead to the loss of billions in investment from congested countries as data centres in Germany contributed 10,4 billion euros ($12billion) in GDP by 2024, which should double by 2029. The report stated that only France is expected to continue data centre investments as grid constraints remain relatively low. The report stated that it can take 7-10 years to connect a new data center to the grid at legacy hubs, and some projects could face delays as long as 13 years. It said that the wait time in Italy is only three years. "Grids ultimately decide where investments go... they are now effectively an instrument to attract investment," Elisabeth Cremona Senior Energy Analyst, Ember. She said that in order to make other projects a reality, Europe must now take grids into consideration and invest in this infrastructure. She said that the process is similar for any industry looking to electrify or is new. By 2030, the electricity consumption of data centres is expected to triple in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Austria, Greece Finland, Hungary Italy Portugal Slovakia, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovakia are all expected to see a three- to fivefold increase in data centre consumption by 2035, compared to the year 2024. ($1 = 0.8692 euros)
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US Safety Board wants to warn Boeing 737 MAX engine owners about smoke entering the cockpit
The National Transportation Safety Board released an urgent safety recommendation on Wednesday regarding the possibility that smoke could enter the cockpit or cabin in Boeing 737 MAX aircraft equipped with CFM International LEAP-1B engine. The NTSB recommended that the LEAP-1A/-1C engines be evaluated for the possibility of the same problem. This recommendation follows two incidents involving a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2023. The NTSB is asking the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make sure that flight crews are informed of aircraft equipped with affected engines. Southwest has confirmed that it is reviewing all recommendations and mitigation procedures are in place. Southwest informed its flight crews of the effects of bird strikes after two incidents that occurred in 2023. They emphasized the importance of adhering to established safety procedures. CFM LEAP engines can be found on Airbus A320neo variants and Boeing 737 MAX. CFM is the largest engine manufacturer in terms of units sold. It's owned by GE Aerospace, Safran, and Safran. The FAA and Boeing both agreed with the NTSB's recommendations. They also alerted the operators that, following a bird strike, smoke could enter the cockpit after the Load Reduction Devices (LRDs) were activated in the engines. The FAA stated that it advised operators to review their crew training and procedures to make sure they addressed this potential problem. When the engine manufacturer creates a permanent solution, we will demand that operators implement it in a reasonable timeframe. Boeing, GE, and Airbus have not yet commented. The NTSB requested that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China determine whether other variants of CFM LEAP engines are also susceptible of causing smoke to appear in the cockpit or cabin when the LRD is activated. November is a month of celebration. The FAA stated that it would not be necessary to require immediate After two incidents involving bird strikes involving CFM LEAP-1B engines, the Boeing 737 MAX engine review board convened to address concerns. The FAA was considering new takeoff procedures that would close airflow for one or both engines in order to reduce the impact of bird strikes and to prevent smoke from entering cockpits. The NTSB will begin an investigation in 2024 into the Southwest left-engine bird strike near New Orleans and the subsequent smoke in cockpit incident that took place in December 2023. Another incident took place on a Southwest flight departing Havana in March 2023, where a bird struck the cabin and caused smoke to fill it. Boeing released a bulletin in February 2024 to alert flight crews about the potential effects of severe engine damage on flight deck and cabin. Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Chizu Gregorio and David Gregorio
Texas Democrats ask Tesla to delay the launch of its robotaxi
A group of Democratic Texas legislators has asked Tesla not to launch its robotaxi in Austin as planned until September when the new autonomous driving law is set to come into effect.
In a letter sent to Elon Musk on Wednesday, a group of Austin-area legislators said that the delay of the launch, which Elon Musk "tentatively said" could happen this Sunday, is "in the best interests of public safety and building trust in Tesla's operation."
Tesla has been asked to provide "detailed" information on how it will comply with new state laws when it launches if they decide to launch this month.
Musk staked Tesla’s future last year on autonomous driving technology, as the company shifted away from its pursuit of rapid growth in electric vehicle sales.
Tesla didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment about the letter.
In a state with a Republican governor and majorities in the two legislative chambers, it is not clear how much influence a letter by Democratic legislators will have.
Musk announced in early January that Tesla will be offering "autonomous rides for money" in Austin in June. Since then, the Austin roll-out has been closely monitored by investors and analysts. Many of them attribute the majority in the stock value of Tesla to the hopes of robotaxis and robotoids the company has not yet delivered.
Texas law currently allows companies that manufacture autonomous vehicles to operate in the state as long as they meet certain registration and insurance requirements. The new legislation passed by the Texas legislature in December but has yet to be signed by the Governor would require for the first-time that autonomous vehicle companies apply for authorization before operating within the state.
State authorities would be able to revoke a permit if they believe a driverless car "endangers public safety." The state will also require that firms provide information to the state on how first responders and police can handle the driverless vehicles in an emergency situation.
Musk and Tesla are not giving many details on their plans to launch the Austin robotaxi. Musk has stated that Tesla's Austin robotaxi launch will start with 10 to 20 Model Y cars. The company will only operate in the areas of Austin it deems safest. Chris Kirkham, Los Angeles. Edited by Christopher Cushing.
(source: Reuters)