Syz the moment

The American Farm Bureau Federation reported 315 Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings in 2025, up from 216 in 2024 and the third consecutive annual increase. The Midwest got hit hardest with 121 filings, a +70% jump. The Southeast followed with 105, up +69%. Together, those two regions accounted for more than two-thirds of every farm bankruptcy in the country. Fertilizer prices are pouring gasoline on the fire. Urea, the most widely used nitrogen fertilizer on the planet, has ripped +87% year-to-date and trades near $720 a tonne. For corn growers who depend on nitrogen, this is a dire situation. Many farmers are reporting they will cut the amount of fertilizer they use, shift from corn toward less nitrogen-dependent soybeans, or just take the yield loss. Farms are under pressure. Source: Hedgeye

AI demand for silver is still small, likely only a low single-digit % of total demand. But it’s the fastest-growing piece, with AI servers using significantly more silver than traditional hardware. And importantly, cost isn’t a constraint. Silver is a tiny part of system spend, making AI a strong marginal buyer. As shown on the hashtag#chart below, the SOX vs silver gap is huge. Is chasing silver upside convexity instead of SOX at 60x P/E a more attractive bet? Source: TME

"Estimated oil flows from the Gulf (including pipeline redirections) increased to 10.4mb/d or 45% of normal on higher Yanbu exports as Saudi East-West pipeline full pumping capacity was restored within 4 days after the damage." Source: Goldman, zerohedge

Source: Bloomberg

Source: BofA

While headlines focus on futures, the real stress is building in the physical market. North Sea crude for immediate delivery is surging as European and Asian refiners scramble to replace barrels lost during the month-long Strait of Hormuz blockade. And the key signal? Dated Brent—the benchmark for physical cargoes—is telling a very different story than futures. Dated Brent jumped 7% to $132 June Brent futures are still sitting around $95 That’s not just a gap. That’s a massive dislocation between real supply and paper pricing. Meanwhile, the squeeze is getting worse: Forties Blend—another spot market indicator—traded near $147/barrel Translation: The barrels you can get today are becoming dramatically more expensive than what the market thinks oil should cost tomorrow. Why this matters: When physical markets decouple from futures like this, it often signals: Immediate supply shortages Panic buying from refiners And potential repricing across the entire energy complex Bottom line: Are Physical prices already telling us what futures haven’t caught up to yet??? Source: Ole S Hansen, Saxo Bank

$21 gone. In hours. Here’s what the market is pricing in right now: → Hormuz reopening. Supply returns. → Strategic reserves stop draining. Pressure eases. → Saudi premium collapses. Asian refiners breathe. → LNG reroutes. Freight costs drop. Every trade that worked during the war just flipped overnight. But let’s keep in mind the full story: - The “ceasefire” is 2 weeks old. Not a peace deal. - Hormuz has real technical limitations. It doesn’t reopen like a faucet. - 11 million barrels/day of infrastructure is damaged. - Qatar LNG takes years to rebuild. Peace is harder to price than war. War gives you a narrative. Peace gives you uncertainty. The most volatile oil trade in a generation just entered its most dangerous phase — and most traders are celebrating. That’s usually when you should be careful. What’s your read? Are you buying the dip or watching from the sidelines? Source: CNBC, Jack Pradelli

Just before Trump sent oil prices surging higher... Oil traders made a big leveraged bet that prices would fall from war-driven highs — but many are losing badly. Investors poured $977M into the inverse oil ETF (SCO) in March, its biggest monthly inflow ever. The fund aims to profit when oil drops, but instead plunged 41% as crude surged. The bet hinges on a quick end to conflict. While the fund briefly jumped 8% after signals of de-escalation, oil prices remain elevated — rising as high as $119 and still around $102, well above February levels. Ongoing supply disruptions, especially around the Strait of Hormuz, could keep prices high for months. Even a ceasefire may not be enough for short traders to recover. Bottom line: this is a high-risk “war ends soon” trade — and so far, it’s backfiring. Source: Markets & Mayhem, *Walter Bloomberg @DeItaone