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On-the-ground intel gave Trafigura a banner year in 2020 amid Covid-19

Anita Gabriel
Published Thu, Jan 21, 2021 · 05:50 AM

Singapore

COMMODITIES-trading giant Trafigura's presence in China provided crucial heads-up on the demand and supply oil shocks awaiting the world as the pandemic reared its head last year.

The on-the-ground intel it received enabled the Singapore-headquartered trader to pull off spectacular profits in a year riddled with failures.

The company's chief financial officer Christophe Salmon said in an interview with The Business Times: "We were ahead of our competition and analysis by weeks to a month because we have a strong presence in China and could see the impact of Covid-19 on Chinese demand for oil amid January 2020's strict lockdown.

"And then in March, when China was slowly getting out of the lockdown and Europe and the US were beginning to lock down, we gained some valuable feedback from our colleagues - we have 200 people on the ground in China - on the practical consequences of the virus on the demand and supply dynamics for oil and metals.…

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