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Daily Update — February 3, 2026

Talk With Inlyte Energy CEO; Tightening Dynamic RAM Supply; and Declining Reinsurance Prices

Today is Tuesday, February 3, 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.

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Energy Transition & Sustainability

Listen: Talking long-duration energy storage with the CEO of Inlyte Energy

 

Inlyte Energy, a US-based manufacturer of iron-sodium battery energy storage systems, successfully tested its first field-ready battery in late 2025. The five-year-old company is preparing for a pilot installation in 2026 through a partnership with Southern Co.

 

In this episode of the "EnergyCents" podcast, Inlyte Energy CEO Antonio Baclig joined hosts Hill Vaden and Sam Humphreys to discuss why the manufacturer chose iron-sodium chemistry for long-duration energy storage, and how using abundant raw materials could allow the company to rebrand this type of storage as a low-cost solution.

Artificial Intelligence

AI memory boom squeezes legacy DRAM supply, pushing prices higher

 

The supply of conventional dynamic RAM is tightening, leading to rising prices, as leading memory semiconductor manufacturers Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology shift production toward high-bandwidth memory — a premium form of dynamic RAM used in AI data centers.

 

Demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) has soared due to its critical role in AI model training and inference, making it a highly profitable segment for semiconductor companies. Because HBM and standard dynamic RAM (DRAM) are made on the same production lines, tilting capacity toward the former reduces the availability of traditional DRAM for servers, PCs and consumer electronics.

 

Consensus estimates from Visible Alpha, a part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, indicate that average selling prices for conventional DRAM are set to accelerate sharply in 2026. In contrast, price gains for HBM are expected to be more restrained, reflecting rapid capacity expansion and an already elevated starting point.

Capital Markets

Jan. 1 renewals set stage for lower reinsurance prices in 2026

 

Property-catastrophe reinsurance prices experienced double-digit percentage declines on the Jan. 1 renewal date and are likely to drift lower at remaining renewal dates in 2026. Gallagher Re's global property-catastrophe rate-on-line index — which measures price as a percentage of exposure — fell 15% at the start of the year. Comparable indexes from Howden Re and Guy Carpenter & Co. recorded decreases of 14.7% and 12%, respectively. Brokers attribute these reductions to a surplus of reinsurance capacity relative to demand.

 

"I think that supply-demand imbalance is going to be there for 2026," David Duffy, president of global clients at Guy Carpenter, said in an interview. "You've clearly set the tone for the year."

In case you missed it

  • India plans to commission 100 gigawatts of hydro-pumped storage projects by 2035–36 to meet the growing demand for clean energy storage, according to the Ministry of Power, citing a Central Electricity Authority road map.
  • Ping An Insurance posted a 26.2% gain in market capitalization in the fourth quarter of 2025 — the highest quarterly total return among the top 20 Asia-Pacific insurance companies by market capitalization — according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
  • Asian propylene prices have climbed to their highest levels since April 2025, fueled by rising propane prices, plant shutdowns in Northeast Asia and increased downstream demand ahead of the Lunar New Year, according to market participants.

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