The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0904 ET - Silver prices are nearing the $100 mark, bolstered by investor appetite for safe-haven assets, U.S. dollar weakness and robust industrial demand. Futures in New York climb 3.3% to $99.58 a troy ounce in early trade, having touched $99.81 earlier. Prices are on track for a weekly gain of around 12% and have risen more than 40% in the year to date. "Momentum has clearly become part of the story, with FOMO [fear of missing out] playing a visible role as prices push into uncharted territory," Saxo Bank's Ole Hansen says. "Yet it would be a mistake to dismiss the rally as purely speculative." Meanwhile, platinum rises 3.3% to $2,561.80 an ounce. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0851 ET - U.S. natural gas futures rise in volatile early trade, adding to the week's record-setting gains on the winter blast that's pushing up heating demand. "After surpassing the February contract intraday height of $5.02 from December, fewer shorts are left to stop out, dousing a key element of the price surge," Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note. Physical market prices have begun soaring ahead of what's likely to be the coldest storage week of the shale era, he says. The Henry Hub spot price reached $8.14/mmBtu yesterday while hubs serving the Chicago and New England areas rose as high as $23.93 and $30, respectively. "Still higher daily figures lie ahead." The Nymex February contract is up 1.6% at $5.124/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0846 ET - Copper prices rise back above $13,000 over a weakening U.S. dollar, persistent supply disruptions and easing fears over trade frictions between Washington and Europe. Futures on the London Metal Exchange are up 1.6% to $13,044 a metric ton and on track for a weekly gain of more than 1.5%. The U.S. dollar is instead on track for its first weekly decline of the year, making commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies. Meanwhile, Capstone Copper said Thursday that operations at the Mantoverde copper and gold mine in Chile are largely halted amid a three-week labor strike. "Workers have blocked access to the site, which can produce around 106,000 tons per year," analysts at ANZ say. "There are no plans to resume wage talks at this stage."(giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0837 ET - Oil prices extend gains, driven by concerns over Iran and a cold blast in the U.S. threatening oil production. Brent crude rises 1.8% to $65.19 a barrel, while WTI is up 1.7% to $59.96 a barrel. Both benchmarks are set for weekly gains, also supported by supply disruptions, with oil production at Kazakhstan's largest oil field still halted. However, "we do not expect the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil to settle at $65 in the long term," analysts at Commerzbank say. "As soon as the situation on the supply side eases, prices are likely to fall." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0512 ET - Palm oil prices ended lower. Weak overnight performance in rival oils and the prospect of profit-taking after the recent rally led to softer trade, Kenanga Futures analysts say in a note. However, they note that downside pressure is cushioned by seasonally lower production in Indonesia and Malaysia and festive-period buying, while palm oil's price discount to soybean oil continues to support demand. Kenanga Futures sees support for CPO futures at 4,115 ringgit a ton and resistance at 4,225 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for April delivery closed 23 ringgit lower at 4,174 ringgit a ton. (jason.chau@wsj.com)
0336 ET - Gold prices surged to a fresh record, pushing closer to the $5,000-an-ounce milestone on heightened geopolitical risks, economic uncertainty and a weaker U.S. dollar. Futures in New York rise 0.5% to $4,939.20 a troy ounce after hitting $4,970 earlier in the session. Silver futures climb 1.8% to $98.04 an ounce. "The rally is being fueled by FOMO [fear of missing out], alongside continued focus on broader hard-asset-supportive drivers following a slight easing in U.S.-EU tensions," Saxo Bank analysts say. "Central-bank demand remains firm, the dollar continues to weaken, and governments keep issuing debt with little clarity on long-term repayment." Meanwhile, PCE inflation data--the Fed's preferred inflation gauge--came in largely in line with forecasts in November, reinforcing expectations that the U.S. central bank will hold rates steady next week. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0239 ET - Gold increasingly looks like a hedge against President Trump's "unpredictability," says Pepperstone's Chris Weston in a note. While many traders framed gold as a hedge against the risk of a U.S.-Europe tariff war amid Trump's pursuit of Greenland, he notes the yellow metal's gains haven't unwound despite the removal of the tariff threat. Global central banks, particularly those from emerging markets, are finding "almost daily" reasons to rotate reserves out of the U.S. dollar and into gold, the head of research adds. He believes spot gold and gold futures could hit the $5,000 level in a "matter of time," with the target now clearly in sight and pulling in buyers. Spot gold is 0.3% higher at $4,953.57 a troy ounce. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0200 ET - Comex gold futures' bullish momentum remains strong, based on the daily chart, RHB Retail Research's Aiman Kamil Bin Ahmad Shauqi says in a research report. The futures closed near the session's high on Thursday, forming a fresh "higher high" and reinforcing prevailing bullish structure, the analyst says. The relative strength index is now pointing upward, indicating that strong bullish momentum is in play, the analyst says. With the commodity's latest price action decisively pointing toward the $5,000/oz level, the technical setup remains constructive for an extended move toward $5,200/oz, the analyst adds. Spot gold is 0.3% higher at $4,953.27/oz. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)
2221 ET - Iron ore rises in early Asian trading, with the most-traded iron-ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange 1.1% higher at 794.00 yuan a ton. Supply and demand conditions across the ferrous metals supply chain remain relatively healthy, with steel mill margins supported by the limited pace of production restarts, Nanhua Futures analysts say in commentary. Looking ahead, Nanhua says it isn't overly pessimistic about hot metal demand and expect downside risks to be limited, given robust restocking needs. (jason.chau@wsj.com)
2147 ET - TD Securities expects deeper backwardations in LME copper, as incentives to stockpile clash with limited supplies of physical metal, says TD Securities analyst Daniel Ghali. "Amid unprecedented metal scarcity, venues must price each other out from attracting metal, resulting in a cycle favoring higher flat prices, curve dislocations, and rising physical premiums," Ghali says. He says yearslong underinvestment in copper production has left the market vulnerable to a supply crunch. "Global unencumbered copper inventories are now draining into oblivion," says Ghali. Of the roughly 53 days of demand remaining in aboveground inventories, only 11.5 days worth were unrestricted at December-end, he says.(rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)
2143 ET - Palm oil falls in early Asian trade due to weaker crude oil and soybean oil prices, says David Ng, a trader at Kuala Lumpur-based Iceberg X. Prices are unlikely to remain low, given Malaysia's recent strength in palm oil exports, he says. Ng expects crude palm oil futures to find support above 4,100 ringgit a ton and face resistance at 4,250 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for April delivery is 27 ringgit lower at 4,170 ringgit a ton.(amanda.lee@wsj.com)
2043 ET - Copper rises in Asian trade, with the three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange adding 1.0% to $12,887.50 a metric ton. A near three-week strike at a Chilean copper mine has halted production there, which could contribute to fears of supply disruption, say ANZ Research analysts in a note. These concerns could be offset by Freeport-McMoRan's announcement that it is making progress on restarting operations at Indonesia's Grasberg mine, which was largely closed by a deadly landslide last year, ANZ says. The company has already restarted two unaffected areas of the mine, one of the largest in the world, and has laid out a schedule to ramp up production through 2027, they add. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 23, 2026 09:15 ET (14:15 GMT)
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