Watch: Market Movers Global, June 24-28: EU likely to approve sanctions on Russian LNG; Red Sea tensions affect shipping routes

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This week, EU leaders are expected to approve a new set of Russian sanctions at their upcoming summit starting Thursday.

The sanctions will for the first time include measures targeting Russia's LNG sector, with restrictions on the re-export of Russian LNG that landed at EU ports and on LNG projects under development.

In the Red Sea, a recent wave of attacks on commercial vessels has made Suezmax operators with vessels located west of Suez more hesitant to transit the canal. As a result, these operators are now demanding a premium to take the longer Cape of Good Hope route.

In the US ethanol market, prices have reached year-to-date highs due to improved demand ahead of the peak driving season and tightening stocks in the Midwest and Atlantic Coast.

The completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline is expected to increase natural gas flows, and traders will be watching for any impact on Appalachian Basin gas prices.

In Asia, thermal coal demand is likely to be subdued due to surplus stocks at Chinese ports and lower coal-fired power generation.

However, there may be pockets of demand from India due to prolonged heat wave conditions.

In China, exports of copper cathode are expected to increase as the spread between SHFE and LME prices widens.

Domestically, high copper prices have led to a decrease in downstream consumption, with some fabricators suspending production.

China's domestic steel demand is also expected to remain low due to a slowdown in the property sector and the government’s efforts to reduce leverage.

Lastly, in agriculture, dry weather conditions and heat waves in the US are impacting corn planting, raising concerns about reduced yields, and potentially leading to higher corn prices and increased livestock feed costs. This could have an impact on meat production costs and consumer prices.

I’m Larry Flores, thank you for kicking off your Monday with S&P Global Commodity Insights.