Shell's LNG enthusiasm for Asia is a conundrum of volume vs. price: Russell
Shell's long-term outlook is contradictory, which shouldn't be surprising. Shell's annual LNG outlook was released last week. It predicted that the demand for LNG would increase by 60% by 2040. This is largely due to the strong economic growth of Asia, artificial intelligence, and the need to reduce emissions in heavy industry and transportation. Shell has said that the global LNG demand is expected to rise from 407 millions tons in 2024 to 630-718 million metric tonnes by 2040. Shell's estimates reveal a large potential gap in supply.
Shell's LNG enthusiasm for Asia is hampered by a conundrum of volume and price: Russell
Shell's long-term outlook is contradictory, which shouldn't be surprising. Shell's annual LNG outlook was released last week. It predicted that the demand for LNG would increase by 60% by 2040. This is largely due to the strong economic growth of Asia, artificial intelligence, and the need to reduce emissions in heavy industry and transportation. Shell has said that the global LNG demand is expected to rise from 407 millions tons in 2024 to 630-718 million tons by 2040. Shell's estimates reveal a large potential gap in supply.
Sources say that Vitol has reduced its China coal trading operation
Two sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that Vitol, a global energy trading company, is reducing the size of its China thermal coal trading business it acquired recently from Noble Resources. A source who has direct knowledge of this decision says that two of the three thermal coal traders in China are being fired. According to a second source, there is only one coal trader in the Beijing office. Vitol failed to respond immediately to an email sent by its Europe headquarters before the opening of business hours.
Alberta projects C$5.2-billion budget deficit if Trump tariffs proceed
Alberta, Canada's oil producing province, forecasted a deficit of C$5.2billion ($3.5billion) for fiscal 2025/26 if U.S. Tariffs were implemented. This would result in a decrease of government revenues as well as slowed economic growth. The outlook shows a drastic reversal in Alberta's financial health following what was expected to be a C$5,8-billion surplus for the current fiscal period. It also illustrates the widespread uncertainty Canadian policymakers face as they deal with the tariff situation. How can you plan a budget with so many unknowns? What will the U.S.
Palm oil drops on weaker rival oils and a bearish outlook
The price of Malaysian palm futures fell on Thursday after two sessions of gains. This was due to the weakness in other oils and a negative outlook from analysts. By midday, the benchmark contract for palm oil delivery in May on the Bursa Derivatives Market had fallen 96 ringgit or 2.21% to 4,509 Ringgit ($1,015.31) per metric ton. Paramalingam Supramaniam is the director of Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari. He added that the expectation of a recovery in production during the second half this year increased the pressure on the contract.
Iberdrola raises its 2025 forecast after exceeding expectations
Iberdrola, Europe's biggest utility, expects to grow its net profit by a single digit percentage this year. This is after the increased earnings of its network business helped push 2024 profits above analyst expectations. Iberdrola's performance is better than what it had predicted in its strategy for 2026. This is a clear sign that the company is achieving results from its shift to building and upgrading grids, and taking a more selective approach towards renewable energy. The company can increase its predictable return by investing in expanding its network assets.
Palm oil drops on weaker rival oils and a bearish outlook
The price of Malaysian palm oils futures plummeted on Thursday. This ended two sessions of gains as analysts and the weakness in other oils weighed it down. By midday, the benchmark May palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange had fallen 96 ringgit or 2.08% to 4,515 Ringgit ($1,016.43) per metric ton. Paramalingam Supramaniam is the director of Selangor-based brokerage Pelindung Bestari. He added that the expectation of a recovery in production during the second half this year increased the pressure on the contract.
Industry body: China's solar growth to slow for the first time in six years
According to a forecast by an industry association on Thursday, China's rapid expansion in solar is expected to slow down this year for first time since 2019. The industry's growth will moderate. According to Wang Bohua (Honorary Chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association), new solar capacity in 2025 will range between 215 gigawatts in a conservative scenario and 255 GW with a more optimistic outlook. This would represent a 8% to 23% decrease from the 277.57 GW record installations last year.
Palm oil prices rise on short covering
Malaysian palm oils futures rose again on Wednesday, despite the bearish outlook of industry analysts. At closing, the benchmark palm oil contract on Bursa Malaysia's Derivatives exchange was up 42 Ringgit (0.92%) or $1,040.89 per metric ton. A Kuala Lumpur trader stated that "since the market remained at 4,550 ringgit and there was no fresh selling, bargain buying occurred". Analysts at a Kuala Lumpur conference this week said that a recovery in palm oil production as well as lower imports from rate-sensitive consumers will drive down prices…
Gas prices continue to drop in Europe amid healthy supplies
The wholesale gas prices in the Netherlands and Britain continued to drop on Wednesday morning, amid a comfortable supply situation and the prospect that European storage targets will be relaxed. The benchmark contract for the Dutch TTF hub at the front-month was 0.94 euros lower, at 43.05 Euros per Megawatt Hour (MWh), and the contract for April was 0.83 euros lower, at 43.31 Euros/MWh. The day-ahead contract in Britain was lower by 1.10 pence, at 104.60 cents per therm.
Microsoft's data center worries continue to persist, as Europe's top AI companies slide further.
The sentiment of some of Europe's top AI stocks was dampened for a second consecutive day on Tuesday after an analyst report late last week, which warned of a possible slowdown in Microsoft data centre leasing, impacted the market ahead of Nvidia's make-or-break earnings. In less than a week, the Chinese DeepSeek artificial intelligence model was released. This triggered a sell-off of tech stocks and a reassessment on how much Western companies spend on infrastructure and development.
Shell anticipates a 60% increase in global LNG demand between 2040 and 2040, with Asia leading the growth.
Shell's annual report said that the global demand for liquefied gas will increase by 60% by 2040. This is mainly due to economic growth in Asia and AI, as well as efforts to reduce emissions in heavy industry and transportation. As the world moves to cleaner fuels, demand for natural gas is increasing. Shell's 2025 LNG annual outlook forecasted that the industry will demand between 630 and 718 millions metric tons of LNG per year by 2040. The most recent forecast from the world's biggest LNG trader shows a higher global LNG demand than last year…
Shell anticipates a 60% increase in global LNG demand between 2040 and 2040
Shell's annual report said that the global demand for liquefied gas will increase by 60% by 2040. This is mainly due to economic growth in Asia and AI, as well as efforts to reduce emissions in heavy industry and transportation. As the world moves to cleaner fuels, demand for natural gas is increasing. Shell's 2025 LNG annual outlook forecasted that the industry will demand between 630 and 718 millions metric tons of LNG per year by 2040. The most recent forecast from the world's biggest LNG trader shows a higher global LNG demand than last year…
BHP and Rio Tinto discuss energy transition; bet on minimal Trump impact: Russell
BHP Group, Rio Tinto and other mining giants have delivered similar results and outlooks this week for commodities. They chose to focus on the benefits of the energy transformation and minimise short-term risk. BHP, world's largest mining company, announced on Tuesday that its underlying profit attributable for the six-month period ending December 2024 had dropped by 23% to $5.08 billion. Rio, the largest iron ore mining company in the world, announced underlying earnings for 2024 of $10.87 Billion, down from $11.76 Billion a year earlier.
French and Benelux stocks: Factors to watch
Here are some company news and stories that could impact the markets in France and Benelux or even individual stocks. ALTEN: Alten has announced that its net profit for the fiscal year is EUR 277 million. COFACE: Coface has announced a proposed dividend of EUR 1,40 per share and forecasts growth at the same 2.7% rate as in 2024. GTT: GTT expects to have a consolidated EBITDA of between 490 mln and 540 mln euro for 2025. Imerys has published an EBITDA adjusted for 2024 of EUR 675 millions and proposed a EUR 1.45 dividend.
Nine Entertainment is the top gainer among Australian shares.
Australian shares rose Friday on the back of gains in energy and mining stocks, as well as strong commodity prices. Nine Entertainment was the biggest gainer, after Domain Holdings Australia, which owns 60%, received a purchase offer. As of 0026 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 was up by 0.1% to 8,333.1. The benchmark index has lost 2.6% in the first week. Iron ore prices rose overnight, causing miners to gain as much as 1.5 percent. BHP Group and Rio Tinto gained between 0.2% and 1,6% on Friday. The strong oil price has led to a 1.5% increase in energy stocks.
Vopak's profits are unlikely to change much by 2025 as one-offs have a negative impact on the 4th quarter results
Dutch tank storage company Vopak said that it expects to see little difference in its earnings by 2025, despite the fact that strong demand for energy-storage infrastructure is boosting its results. Analysts cited a missed quarterly core profit and a cautious outlook as the reason for the 7% drop in shares of this company that operates terminals and stores fuels and chemicals around world. Vopak reported a negative impact in the fourth quarter of 2024 due to technical problems…
S. Africa's Sibanye signs a chrome pact to Glencore amid a slump in platinum prices
Sibanye Stillwater, a miner with a diverse portfolio of operations, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a deal to manage chrome for Glencore's Merafe Venture South Africa in order to offset the effects of a prolonged platinum metal price slump. Chrome is a platinum by-product, and South African miner Sibanye has reported increased incomes from the metal that's used in steelmaking despite the sharply reduced prices of the primary minerals. Platinum group metals, used to reduce automotive emissions…
Prices near four-week-low on US-Russian talks and weaker demand
Dutch and British wholesale prices of gas held near four-week lows, as the market awaited the outcome of talks between the U.S.A. and Russia on how to end conflict in Ukraine. Strong renewables output also curbed demand. According to LSEG, the benchmark front-month contract for the Dutch TTF Hub was down 0.07 euros at 47.65 Euro per Megawatt Hour (MWh), which is $14.60/mmBtu by 0913 GMT. The contract traded earlier at 47.15 Euros/MWh, the lowest level since 20 January. The Dutch April contract is down by 0.29 euros at 47.44 Euro/MWh.
Shell's scenarios predict significant LNG growth within the next few years
Shell published scenarios on Wednesday that showed a rapid rise in global demand for liquefied gas. Gas will probably have a gradual increase, and oil could peak at the start of the next decade. The British energy company created three scenarios to model energy security on a long-term basis, but said that these do not reflect their strategy or business plans. Surge is the most optimistic outlook for economic growth. It assumes that artificial intelligence will be used widely to boost productivity and increase energy demand.
