Daily Update — April 22, 2026
EU Renewable Projects Stall; Inside the Digital Euro; and 2025 Private Credit Fundraising
Today is Wednesday, April 22, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Energy Transition & Sustainability
EU eSAF projects stall as price forecasts fall and rules in question
High capital expenditure, a falling cost curve, and uncertainty over EU mandates and offtake terms are delaying investment decisions, leaving dozens of synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF) projects without final approval. Although the eSAF or power-to-liquid cost curve sits high today, it has one of the steepest downward cost trajectories over time, Rahul Malik, a consultant at S&P Global Energy, said April 16. The challenge this creates for investors is timing risk; early, first-of-a-kind projects enter the market with high production costs, while later projects benefit from rapid cost reductions driven by technology learning, scaling up, and declining renewable power and electrolyzer costs, Malik said.
"This means early movers are structurally exposed to higher costs and the risk that their production becomes uncompetitive relatively quickly," Malik said. That, in turn, makes long-term price formation difficult and creates uncertainty around future margins, he added.
Digital Assets
Digital Euro: Strategic Autonomy, Bank Deposit Risk, and What a Retail CBDC Really Means
The European Central Bank has entered the preparation phase for a digital euro, with political momentum building toward a potential launch before 2030.
In this episode of the “Look Forward” podcast, S&P Global Ratings’ Cihan Duran and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Shuchita Shukla joined host Aries Poon to break down what the digital euro is (and isn’t), why EU policymakers are prioritizing it now, and what it could mean for payments, consumers, banks and financial stability.
Private Markets
Private Credit Fundraising Report 2025
Private credit fundraising held firm in 2025 despite a tough environment in private equity. With Intelligence, a part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, tracked $240 billion of final closes last year from 115 funds, an increase of about 10% on 2024’s total of $217 billion, and 19% above 2023’s $198 billion. However, 2025’s fundraising landscape differed from previous years, with direct lending fundraising falling and specialty finance and secondaries funds posting record years.
Similarly, European and multiregional funds captured their highest-ever market share as allocators looked to diversify after years of overweight US allocations. Evergreen funds continued their rapid growth, surpassing $700 billion in assets under management, as private debt managers continued to court retail clients. However, redemption requests from some of these funds have since increased markedly amid growing concerns over high-profile bankruptcies and business development companies’ heavy exposure to the software sector.
In case you missed it
- Nigeria's Dangote Group has achieved first oil from its upstream assets and aims to start pumping marketable crude in the coming weeks.
- Escalating tensions in the Middle East have injected fresh uncertainty into the global soybean market. Participants are questioning whether China will step up purchases of US origin amid fears of disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, even with potential US-Iran negotiations emerging as a possible circuit breaker.
- Chinese refiners are reoffering West African cargoes, with high differentials for the region's grades eating into their margins, according to market participants and ship-tracking data, dashing hopes of sustained heightened demand.
Upcoming events
- Dips, ships and chips: Supply chain outlook for Q2 2026 and beyond | April 24 (Webinar)
- Rethinking Investment Research Funding for the Buy Side | April 28 (Webinar)
- Taking Private Markets Performance Insights to the Next Level | April 29 (Webinar)