Crude oil prices were set for the most substantial gain since October this week amid intensifying U.S. pressure on Venezuela, with both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate gaining over $2 per barrel in the last full week of 2025. A newly reported U.S. military strike on Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria contributed to the oil price climb. At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $62.41 per barrel... With West Texas Intermediate at $58.54 per barrel, after media cited President Donald Trump as saying U.S. forces had delivered a “powerful…

Santa runs on diesel. Every year, the global holiday economy depends on a short, unforgiving surge in distillate consumption that powers trucks, ports, warehouses, refrigeration, and backup generation, all under winter operating conditions. That commercially driven holiday cheer strains logistics and exposes how thin the margin has become in some already-tight diesel markets, particularly in Europe.  After crude, diesel is the most economically important fuel in the system, and Christmas is when that reality asserts itself. In the U.S., distillate…

When we talk about energy storage today, lithium-ion batteries tend to dominate the conversation. They are sleek, compact, and have become the default image of the clean energy revolution. Yet behind the headlines, a quieter cast of characters has been doing the heavy lifting. Some of the most effective ways to store energy are not based on exotic chemistry at all, but on gravity, heat, air, and even sand. They are often strange, wonderfully simple, and surprisingly effective. If the world’s energy transition were a movie, lithium-ion batteries…

The digital economy’s favorite gimmick...the subscription...has finally arrived for the world of physical steel and copper. Data from the latest sector forecasts indicates the commercial Energy as a Service (EaaS) market is set to double, ballooning from $28.79 billion in 2024 to over $55 billion by 2030.  On paper, it is a clean, easyu narrative: commercial landlords and data center operators trade their volatile utility bills and aging HVAC units for a smooth, predictable monthly fee. But when you audit the reality of a 11.4% compound…

The headlines from the London Metal Exchange tell a story of a world on the brink of a copper famine.  2025 is closing out with prices up nearly 40%...the most violent annual move since the post-crisis bounce of 2009.  We’ve watched prices breach $12,000 a tonne, a level that would usually imply the world’s electrical grids were physically melting. But if you look at the actual hardware...the physical metal sitting in sheds...the story isn't one of scarcity, but of a massive, expensive game of logistical hide-and-seek. The…

Santa runs on diesel. Every year, the global holiday economy depends on a short, unforgiving surge in distillate consumption that powers trucks, ports, warehouses, refrigeration, and backup generation, all under winter operating conditions. That commercially driven holiday cheer strains logistics and exposes how thin the margin has become in some already-tight diesel markets, particularly in Europe.  After crude, diesel is the most economically important fuel in the system, and Christmas is when that reality asserts itself. In the U.S., distillate…