The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1602 ET - A procedural vote required to allow a vote on H.R. 1346, a bill that would allow for E15--gasoline blended with 15% ethanol-- to be sold nationwide year-round has passed, by a slim margin of 213-208 in the House of Representatives. The procedural measure allows for the E15 legislation to be detached from the 2026 Farm Bill and voted on separately. H.R. 1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025, is scheduled to be voted on by the House later today, with last votes expected at 5:30 p.m. ET, according to a daily schedule on House Majority Leader Steve Scalise's website. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1532 ET - Lean hog futures on the CME settle up 2.5% to $1.00875 a pound Wednesday, posting a big gain after settling lower in four out of the past five trading sessions. The uptick comes as the USDA reports an uptick in average carcass cutout at midday today -- rising $1.40 per hundredweight to $96.92 per cwt. The uptick at midday breaks a three-day losing streak for pork cutouts. Live cattle climbs 2% to $2.52725 a pound, rising as President Trump commences his summit with Chinese leader Xi. Beef is expected to be a topic discussed during the summit, potentially locking in more demand for U.S. exports. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1530 ET - Winter wheat crops in Texas and Oklahoma look poor, according to a report from the U.S. Wheat Associates. In a weekly report, the agency reports that harvesting of winter wheat has started in these states, and isn't looking good. A slow start is expected to harvesting in Texas due to "persistent drought, recent temperature swings and freeze damage." In Oklahoma, wheat crops are seen having "thin stands and low yield potential." CBOT wheat futures close down 0.6% to roughly $6.75 a bushel, still near highs last seen in June 2024. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1503 ET - Oil futures settle lower in a choppy session with no change seen in the situation around the Strait of Hormuz. The continued closure is pushing the market toward a tipping point, Hamad Hussain of Capital Economics says in a note. "The fact that oil inventories are still being drawn down shows that demand for oil is still outstripping supply," he says. If flows through the strait resume this month it could limit withdrawals and lead prices to fall back by year-end, but if the strait remains closed and stocks decline at the pace seen in April, oil stocks could reach critically low levels by the end of June. "That would be consistent with Brent crude prices reaching an all-time nominal peak, and could require more disorderly and economically damaging cuts to oil demand," Hussain adds. WTI settles down 1.1% at $101.02 a barrel and Brent falls 2% to $105.63. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1500 ET - U.S. natural gas futures inch higher ahead of weekly storage data that are expected to leave the surplus against the five-year average little changed. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect an 87 Bcf injection for last week, putting inventories 142 Bcf above the 2021-2025 average, versus the previous week's 139 Bcf surplus. "Two more supportive EIA storage reports are likely before triple-digit injections return in the end of May," Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note. "Seasonal upside is more likely in early summer than during the next 7-10 days leading into the typical physical market weakness of Memorial Day weekend." Nymex natural gas settles up 0.7% at $2.864/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1425 ET - Front-month silver futures finish up 4.4% to $88.89 a troy ounce, making it 8 sessions out of the past 10 they've gained. Today's close is the highest settle value in over 2 months. "The rally in AI stocks--and silver's growing use within the sector--is one reason investors are likely to continue supporting the move higher," says Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities. He thinks silver could soon test $100 an ounce or more. Front-month gold closes up 0.4% to $4,697.70/oz. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1415 ET - Corn and soybean futures on the CBOT are higher as traders murmur about a $30 billion-to-$50 billion trade package between the U.S. and China that might coincide with lowered import tariffs. The package would be part of a so called "Board of Trade" plan that came from the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Such an agreement would benefit U.S. ag, says AgResource in a note. "The Board of Trade proposal could return U.S. ag trade with China to commercial terms," says the firm. Corn is up 0.5%, and soybeans rise 0.5%, while wheat falls 0.1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1327 ET - Recent data show the U.S. economy gaining strength despite oil around $100 a barrel and gasoline averaging near $4.50 a gallon, Arlan Suderman of StoneX says in a note. Gasoline prices are in the middle of the historical range when adjusted for inflation reflecting today's buying power, he says. "The two things that consumers notice and complain about first and foremost are rises in food and fuel prices. Yet, in this case, they continue to spend because they have the money to do so." The U.S. consumer still has buying power, and "the economy continues for now to show impressive strength amid the stresses of the Iran war," Suderman says. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1301 ET - Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week are expecting that soybean export sales may find another marketing-year low when the USDA reports Thursday morning. Surveyed analysts forecast sales to land anywhere from 135,000 metric tons to 600,000 tons for the week ended May 7. If sales land on the low-end of this range, then it could potentially be a new marketing-year low -- coming after sales were logged at 141,900 tons for 2025/26 in last week's report. CBOT soybean futures are up 0.5% in afternoon trading, with traders watching for headlines to come out of the U.S.-China summit. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1214 ET - Agnico Eagle is adding another C$2 billion to its planned investment in Ontario to develop two mining projects in the Northern part of the province, says the Ontario provincial government. The province says the money will go toward the Detour Lake Underground project and the Upper Beaver gold-copper project, two major Ontario growth projects to expand the existing Detour Lake mine into a hybrid open-pit and underground operation, and the other developing a new gold-copper mine near Kirkland Lake. Ontario says Agnico's total planned spending and investment in the province is now at C$14 billion by the end of 2030. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1158 ET - Inflation fears put bond markets in selling mode, sending Treasury yields to monthslong highs. Global X's Scott Helfstein sees some attempts to hedge against inflation through real assets. Money "seems to be moving into commodities, specifically areas like industrial metals, copper, agricultural items, and natural gas," he says. "Buying goods and industries that are facing shortages, even if temporary, seems to be a bit of a perceived refuge." Defensive equity also seem to draw investors, "with mega-caps holding up relatively well," Helfstein says. "Investors may be looking for deep pockets, strong cash flow, and competitive moats as a hedge against the higher input costs." (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)
1142 ET - The bar for Agnico Eagle to chase dealmaking is high, and any capital for M&A would need to complete with the gold miner's pipeline of high-return growth projects, Chief Financial Officer Jamie Porter says. "We'll look for opportunities to add value. But the reality is we're in a very fortunate position of not having to do anything because we have that growth." Speaking at a mining conference, Porter says Agnico Eagle's balance sheet is in the strongest position in the company's history, with virtually no debt and almost $3 billion of net cash and growing. The development pipeline includes five projects that collectively represent 1.5 million troy ounces of potential annual production growth, which are low risk and include the expansion of existing mines or new construction in regions where the company has previously built. (robb.stewart@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 13, 2026 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments