Why the Black Sea Matters to Commodity Markets

The black sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia. Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine share the Black Sea coast. The Black Sea is an essential year-round transportation artery for the trade of energy, steel, and agricultural products at the crossroads of Europe and Asia is suddenly drawing the world's attention as the conflict in Ukraine unfolds.

And, this conflict is impacting two of the world's largest economies which are deeply interconnected with the rest of the world for energy, for raw materials like wheat, crude and the steel industry. And so, these vessels being blocked, not only the numbers, but also the type of goods that they were supposed to carry means the impact on consumers in Europe and the US is almost direct.

So, how much wheat, crude oil, and steel are being held up in the Black Sea? And how will it impact the commonality market around the globe?