IEA
4 articles
- The Prompt-Delivery Premium: Why Physical Crude in Asia Trades $50 Above Brent
The $45–50 gap between Brent and prompt-delivered Asian crude reflects scarcity in transit capacity, delivery timing, crude quality, and product value. This article decomposes the premium and quantifies its working-capital consequences.
- Rare-Earth Traceability Creates a Provenance Basis
Traceability separates physically equivalent magnets into distinct procurement markets based on verified eligibility and mine-to-magnet evidence.
- Rare Earths: The Real Margin Is Scarcity Insurance
Rare earths are increasingly an insurance market rather than a commodity market. As China's export-control suspension approaches its November 10, 2026 expiry, the highest-margin business is selling supply certainty through price floors, offtake guarantees, and future scarcity derivatives.
- The Rare Earth Bottleneck Is Processing, Not Mining
China controls 91% of rare earth refining and 98% of heavy rare earth separation. Western mining is expanding, but separation, magnet manufacturing, and process expertise remain the binding constraints.