Money managers in the WTI crude futures and options markets maintained their net long positions in the week ended May 22, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's latest Commitments of Traders report released on Friday.
The data showed that money managers reported 202,764 long positions, down 13,650 from May 19, while short positions were up 9,362 to 87,002.
Producers, merchants, processors, and users held 740,442 long positions and 359,922 short positions.
Biofuels feedstock futures closed mixed on Friday, with the soybeans weaker on a reported peace agreement between the US and Iran.The Chicago Board of Trade July soybean futures contract closed 0.65% lower at $11.86 per bushel, while the CBOT July soybean oil futures contract settled 1.33% higher at 77.72 cents per pound.The Nymex July ethanol futures contract settled 1.50% higher on Thursday at $2.03 per gallon.Reports indicate that a memorandum of understanding has been reached with Iran for a 60-day extension of the ceasefire and for nuclear negotiations to continue, but it is awaiting presidential approval.Todd Hultman, a DTN analyst, said Thursday's news of a possible peace deal with Iran eased some concerns about future energy supplies, but so far, demand for biofuels remains strong and profitable for producers."July soybeans closed down on Friday, showing signs of a possible bearish turn in May, while new-crop soybeans hold firm, encouraged by White House promises of new-crop sales to China. November futures ended down 4 cents at $11.90 and were up 17 cents on the month," Hultman said."July soybean oil closed up at its highest July close in over three years," he said.The analyst added that early Friday, the US Department of Agriculture said 11 million bushels of soybeans were sold for export last week, bringing the total sales and shipments to 1.46 billion bushels, down 18% from this time a year ago.
Zelestra said on Friday it has completed the sale of its Latin America business unit to Colombia's Promigas, in a deal valued at about $1.1 billion, including project finance debt.The divestment covers Zelestra's operations in Chile, Peru, and Colombia and includes about 3,500 megawatts of renewable energy assets across projects in operation, under construction, and in development.Zelestra said the deal marks a shift toward its core markets in Europe and the US, including Spain, Germany, and Italy, where it is focusing on growth opportunities in areas such as data center demand.However, despite the divestment, its engineering, procurement and construction division will continue to operate in Peru and Chile, including work on the Babilonia solar project in Peru's Arequipa region.
The EU's industrial sector cut energy use over the past decade, even as its fuel mix continued shifting away from coal and toward electricity and renewables, according to a statement released Friday by the EU's official statistics agency, Eurostat.In 2024, the EU industry consumed 8,835 petajoules of energy, down 8.1% from 2014. The long-term trend has been downward since 1990, reflecting efficiency gains and structural changes in industrial output.Electricity remained the largest energy source at 2,945 PJ, or 33.3% of total industrial consumption, followed closely by natural gas at 2,817 PJ at 31.9%.Renewables and biofuels ranked third at 999 PJ, or 11.3%, overtaking oil and petroleum products, which accounted for 922 PJ, or 10.4%. Other sources included solid fossil fuels at 484 PJ at 5.5%, heat at 483 PJ at 5.5%, and non-renewable waste at 186 PJ, or 2.1%.Compared with 2014, consumption fell across most energy categories. The sharpest declines were recorded in solid fossil fuels, down 34.8%, and heat, down 23.7%. Two categories moved in the opposite direction: non-renewable waste rose 32.1%, and renewables and biofuels increased 24.3%.The food, beverages and tobacco sector diverged from the broader industrial trend, increasing its energy use. It consumed 1,134 PJ in 2024, equal to 12.8% of total industrial energy use, up 4.7% from 2014.That sector relied heavily on natural gas, which made up 525 PJ, or 46.3%, and electricity at 401 PJ, or 35.3%. Smaller shares came from renewables and biofuels at 68 PJ, oil products at 60 PJ, heat 47 PJ, solid fossil fuels 32 PJ, and non-renewable waste 1 PJ.Within food manufacturing, the strongest growth came from renewables and biofuels, up 68.4%, and non-renewable waste, up 47.4%. Electricity use rose 8.1% and natural gas 5.0%. Solid fossil fuel consumption dropped 36.4% over the same period.