The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1137 ET - The U.S.-China summit in Beijing ending without concrete agreements for new export sales is pressuring CBOT grain futures. Even with the disappointing outcome, some analysts caution that potential agreements may actually be around the corner, and just need to navigate some red tape. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China and the U.S. agreed to expand bilateral trade under a reciprocal tariff-reduction framework. He also mentioned concerns about agricultural market access, giving analysts hope that something is in the works. "The comments add to growing signals from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Trump administration officials that agriculture could become one of the earliest areas for tangible trade deliverables following the summit," says Jim Wiesemeyer of Ag Bull Trading. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1120 ET - Most-active silver futures are down 9.5%, erasing the gains seen in recent days. Behind the sell-off is the increasing strength of the U.S. dollar as higher energy costs from the war in Iran feeds inflation and the prospect of rate hikes by the Fed. The world macro environment is "reinforcing demand for yield-bearing assets while reducing the appeal of non-yielding precious metals," says Razan Hilal of Forex.com in a note. "Traders are reassessing whether the strong rallies seen earlier this year can withstand tightening financial conditions," Hilal says. Gold is down 2.7%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1025 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME are up 0.5% to $2.533 a pound after yesterday's slight drop-off. Warm weather in the Midwest and drought conditions in many parts of the U.S. Plains are impacting pasture health and in turn impacting cattle feeding. "Hot temperatures across the southern Plains are expected to add stress to livestock in the near term," says Joe Davis of Futures International in a note. Lean hog futures are down 0.7%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1006 ET - Oil prices are little changed, with Brent headed for a weekly loss of more than 7% as hopes for a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz have faded. Brent crude is up 2.7% to $108.56 a barrel, while WTI futures rise 2.9% to $99.71 a barrel. At the end of a two-day summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump said China agreed that the war in Iran should end and ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz be free. Still, a lack of progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations is making markets nervous. "The longer the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, the more attention is focused on inventory levels," analysts at Commerzbank say. "If the U.S. Department of Energy's weekly inventory report shows another significant drawdown in U.S. oil stocks, this is likely to support oil prices." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0954 ET - Precious metals extend losses as a war-driven surge in oil prices and U.S. inflation fuels expectations for higher interest rates. Gold futures in New York are down 3.1% to $4,543.90 a troy ounce and headed for a weekly loss of more than 4%. Meanwhile, silver slumped 9.7% to $77.08 an ounce. "Traders continue to reprice Fed rate expectations higher following another round of hawkish U.S. data this week," says Fawad Razaqzada from Forex.com. "Consequently, bond yields have continued to march higher." Two-year Treasury yields climbed to multimonth highs, pressuring non-yielding assets, while the DXY dollar index is up 0.4% to 99.23, making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for overseas buyers. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0937 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are higher and on track to post weekly gains, supported in part by a warmer weather outlook and a close-to-normal storage report for last week. Nymex natural gas is up 2% at $2.953/mmBtu. "There isn't a lot of fundamental support for a move to $3," says Gary Cunningham of Tradition Energy in a note. "LNG export numbers continue to be limited by maintenance across multiple facilities, but we have seen pipeline exports to Mexico increase to levels slightly higher than normal for this time of year." (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0934 ET - A political scandal meets economic concerns in Brazil. Opposition's leading presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro faces accusations of involvement with a banker at the center of sprawling financial fraud allegations. That leaves incumbent left-wing Lula more likely to be re-elected in October. The winner will face "a restrictive central bank...serious wage inflation, stalled stocks, and external shocks," Piper Sander's Nancy Lazar and Karina Mayer write. They say fast-rising labor costs are weighing on profits and President Trump's tariffs threaten the economy. A budget deficit limits what the government can do to ease the pain on consumers. The BRL weakens 1.5% against the dollar. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)
0913 ET - With the U.S.-China summit ending with no specific agreements to increase Chinese purchases of U.S. agriculture, CBOT grain futures are lower premarket. "Ag markets are seeing follow-through selling with speculative buyers caught on the wrong side of the market as they were aggressive buyers ahead of the Trump/Xi summit and the market was disappointed with the results that didn't really show any new meaningful demand," says Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note. Bergman adds that weakness in prices is typically seen at this time of the crop season, when planting is over halfway complete. Corn falls 1.2%, soybeans are down 1%, and wheat slides 1.4%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0908 ET - Oil futures look set to end the week with gains as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and little progress is seen toward an agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end the conflict, despite Presidents Trump and Xi agreeing the strait should remain a free, open waterway. Prices are gaining "on what we believe is the realization that, while the Chinese leader agreed that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon and is likely to buy American oil, the broader geopolitical situation remains unresolved," Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital says in a note. WTI is up 3.1% at $104.34 a barrel and Brent gains 2.4% at $108.29 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0623 ET - Crude palm oil ended higher, driven by stronger crude oil and soybean oil prices, according to David Ng, a trader at Kuala Lumpur-based Iceberg X. Ng sees support for palm oil at 4,300 ringgit a ton and resistance at 4,500 ringgit a ton. The U.S. stock market's solid performance is also supporting sentiment, he says. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for July delivery rose 24 ringgit to 4,417 ringgit a ton.(tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0355 ET - Gold prices drop below $4,600 a troy ounce, pressured by a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields as a surge in U.S. inflation fuels fears of higher interest rates. In early trading, gold futures in New York fall 2.2% to $4,580.80 a troy ounce, while silver plunges 7% to $79.33 an ounce. "The stronger-than-expected rise in consumer and producer prices raised concerns that the Fed may need to increase interest rates in the short term," analysts at ANZ say. Meanwhile, U.S. two-year and 10-year Treasury yields climbed to their highest levels since February and July 2025, respectively, reducing demand for non-yielding assets like gold and silver. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0332 ET - London's miners slide in opening trade as silver and gold prices fall. The share slide is most pronounced among the precious metal miners, with Fresnillo and Hochschild Mining both trading down around 5.6%. Peer Endeavour Mining falls 3.4%. Silver futures are down nearly 8% to $78.66 an ounce while gold falls 2.3% to $4,573.8 a troy ounce. This comes as traders bet U.S. interest rates will stay higher for longer after strong U.S. inflation data. Higher rates typically hurt non-yielding assets like silver and gold. Diversified miner Anglo American slides 3.9%. Commodities major Glencore is down 2.4%. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2026 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments