In this week's Market Movers Americas, presented by Binish Azhar:
• Market expects limited impact from EU ban on Russian refined products
• ERCOT to review grid performance during Texas ice storm
• California regulators to examine high gas price impacts
• US ferrous scrap could trade higher as steel prices rise
This week, an EU ban on Russian refined products that went into effect Sunday means European allies will be looking to the US and other suppliers to meet their diesel demand. Potential disruptions to trade flows could tighten global supply and eventually spell higher fuel prices in the US, but the US futures market expects a calm transition this week as it has already priced in any immediate disruptions.
The G7 is working to impose product price cap regulations that the US Treasury pushed for to allow maritime service providers to continue shipping Russian fuels. These regulations will take effect with a 55-day grace period for refined products loaded before Feb. 5 and unloaded by April 1.
In power markets, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' Reliability and Operations Subcommittee will hold a meeting on Wednesday. It will discuss grid performance during the recent ice storm which cut power to more than 440,000 ERCOT customers, with almost 240,000 people still in the dark late last week.
California power regulators are holding a meeting tomorrow to examine the causes and impacts of recent high natural gas prices on electricity markets, and to discuss how to limit the impact of market volatility. In December, SoCal city-gate spot gas prices averaged 334% higher year over year and California wholesale power prices followed, averaging around 315% higher.
And in metals, the US ferrous scrap market is set to trade in February-delivered cargoes this week. Prices could reach the highest levels seen since July, as US steelmakers have already bid up and US mills have announced their own price hikes on finished steel products.
I'm Binish Azhar. Thanks for kicking off your Monday with S&P Global Commodity Insights.