Daily Update — September 03, 2025
Talking Offshore Wind; Indian Oil’s Crude Import Strategy; and New Vehicle Inventory
Today is Wednesday, September 3, 2025, 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
Listen: Talking offshore wind: Communication in a polarized world | Energy Evolution
Seen by hundreds of thousands, Swedish utility Vattenfall's expletive-laden campaign with Hollywood icon Samuel L. Jackson asks the question: Offshore wind farms, yes or no?
On this week's episode of the “Energy Evolution” podcast, Vattenfall's head of brand, Monica Holmvik Persdotter, explained the process behind the campaign and how the utility thinks about public discourse regarding the technology. Effective communication and local engagement have a tangible impact on getting new offshore wind projects approved, David Bidwell, professor at the University of Rhode Island’s department of marine affairs, told reporter Camilla Naschert.
Global Trade
Indian Oil eyes flexible crude buying strategy amid shifting trade flows
Indian Oil Corp. is adopting a strategy for importing crude oil that emphasizes a higher proportion of spot contracts and a more diverse supplier base. The company aims to leverage changing geopolitics and supply flows to optimize purchases for its expanded refinery and petrochemical operations, Chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney said in an exclusive interview with Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Sahney said while Middle Eastern term contracts would continue to form a significant portion of the company’s crude import basket, the emergence of new suppliers and availability of opportunity crudes have made flexibility necessary in its buying strategy.
Automotives
New vehicle inventory sees notable decline in July
US auto inventory levels declined in July, according to S&P Global Mobility’s Retail Advertised Inventory data. Total available new vehicle inventory in the US decreased 6.1% month over month and 4.4% year over year to about 2.65 million units.
Since November 2024, there has been a clear downward trend in new vehicle inventory levels, suggesting a tightening US auto market. Despite this, several brands gained momentum: Volkswagen's new vehicle inventory rose 9.5% month over month and BMW’s increased 5.4% month over month.
In case you missed it
- Most major European chemical companies revised their guidance for 2025 downward amid persistent demand weakness, pricing pressure, and intensifying trade and currency headwinds.
- The expansion of US community banks' net interest margins has bolstered first-half earnings, but the delayed impact of tariffs will surface in the coming quarters, slowing loan growth and pushing credit costs higher.
- Yemen-based Houthi militants attacked a tanker managed by Israeli shipping magnate Idan Ofer in the northern Red Sea, the Iran-backed group recently said, while reaffirming they would continue targeting Israeli maritime traffic in the region.
Upcoming events
- Data-Driven Debt: Unlocking Insights in Primary Market Issuance | September 4 (Webinar)
- Get To Know: How AI is Optimizing Data Ingestion and Search in iLEVEL | September 5 (Webinar)
- Climate Factors in Global Mining - A Comprehensive Outlook | September 9 (Webinar)