Europe's gas price hits a four-year high, Bristol Myers Squibb moves buying to employees, and US candy prices rise as cocoa falls

Europe's energy costs climbed as winter nears, a large drugmaker moved everyday purchasing out of its procurement team, and US candy shows how slowly a fall in commodity costs can reach the price a buyer pays.

Europe's gas price hits a four-year high as Brussels meets refiners

European wholesale gas reached €97 ($108) per megawatt-hour on Oct. 26, a level last seen in 2022, SupplyChainBrain reports, citing The Guardian. The outlet ties the jump to colder weather, which raises heating demand, and to fears of further supply disruption in the Middle East. Britain's month-ahead gas contract climbed 4% to 240p ($3.20) a therm, its highest since December 2022. Brent crude slipped to nearly $115 a barrel on Oct. 26, down from $117 on Oct. 23.

In press remarks after a Commission dialogue with European refiners on Wednesday, Commissioner Jørgensen said fuel bills in the EU are soaring. Citing the International Energy Agency, he said the global diesel market is expected to stay tight well into 2027, which would keep prices high. Around a quarter of EU refineries have closed over the past two decades, cutting domestic refining capacity by about 10%, he said. The Commission will continue the work at a technical level, look at industry suggestions for raising refinery output and meet the sector again early next year.

Why it matters: Suppliers of energy-intensive goods, freight and fuel may point to these prices in winter price talks. Buyers can check which index and averaging period each energy or fuel clause uses, and whether it lowers prices when the market eases as well as raising them when it climbs.

Bristol Myers Squibb moves routine buying from procurement to employees

Bristol Myers Squibb is letting employees order directly through Amazon Business rather than sending those purchases through its procurement team, CSCMP's Supply Chain Quarterly reports. Chief procurement officer Paula Glickenhaus said on a panel at Amazon Business's Reshape conference on Tuesday that the goal is to make buying quicker and simpler for staff.

She recalled an executive complaining that procurement took more than eight months to close a contract, and said savings would count for little if slow purchasing held up the company's researchers. In her words, "the actual buying should not be in procurement". Employees place the orders, while procurement writes the purchasing policies and controls that the platform enforces. Winning over her own team took a frank conversation that acknowledged some jobs may be replaced, the outlet adds.

Why it matters: Handing routine orders to requesters can shorten cycle times, but it moves procurement's work into the rules a buying platform enforces. A team weighing a similar change can start by measuring how long low-risk purchases take today and listing the controls the system would need to apply before anyone orders.

US candy prices rise more than 15% although cocoa has fallen by half

Prices for US Halloween candy have risen more than 15% from a year earlier, SupplyChainBrain reports. An analysis by two think tanks, the Groundwork Collaborative and the Century Foundation, found increases across nearly every type of candy, including 19% for chocolate from Hershey and Ferrero.

Cocoa, meanwhile, has fallen by more than half from its 2024 peak as drought in West Africa has eased, supplies have recovered and demand has softened. SupplyChainBrain notes that many chocolate makers fixed their cocoa costs months ahead at higher prices, so the lower market price has not yet fully reached their production costs. Groundwork Collaborative argues that cheaper wholesale sugar, down 10% from a year earlier, and corn syrup, down 4%, should already have helped lower retail prices.

Why it matters: Buying ahead protects against price spikes but also delays relief when a commodity falls. Buyers of products with large commodity inputs can ask suppliers how much of their input cost is already locked in, and when lower prices should show up in contract terms, before accepting the next price list.

The thread

All three items turn on timing: how fast an energy or commodity move reaches a supplier's invoice, and how fast an employee can place an order. Index choice, review dates and approval rules decide how much of that a buyer controls.