The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0840 ET - U.S. natural gas futures trade sideways with the market watching for the EIA's weekly storage report due at 10:30 a.m. ET. Natural gas is trapped between support at $2.82 and resistance at $2.88, "but look for a break out of the range if storage surprises later this morning," Gary Cunningham of Tradition Energy says in a note. "A storage number in the low 80s could give the bulls a reason to push back towards $3, but without some help from the weather maps or a quick return to service from all trains in the LNG fleet we aren't likely to go that high." Analysts in a WSJ survey predict a storage injection of 87 Bcf. Nymex natural gas is off 0.7% at $2.843/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0748 ET - Bitcoin turns slightly lower in the wake of Tuesday's higher-than-expected U.S. wholesale inflation data and the ongoing stalemate between the U.S. and Iran. However, falls are limited as bitcoin is supported by institutional demand, Block Scholes crypto analysts say in a note. Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds are seeing just over $1 billion in net flows in the month to date, showing investor appetite remains strong in the face of macroeconomic headwinds, they say. Meanwhile, there is no obvious event risk priced in by bitcoin or altcoin options ahead of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday considering legislation that aims to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets, they say. Bitcoin falls 0.2% to $79,543, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0648 ET - Palm oil ended lower on weaker soybean oil prices and expectation of rising stockpiles, which are likely to weigh on price sentiment, says David Ng, a trader at Kuala Lumpur-based Iceberg X. Ng sees crude palm oil prices finding support above 4,350 ringgit a ton and resistance at 4,500 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for July delivery fell 42 ringgit to 4,396 ringgit a ton. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0544 ET - Elevated yields on U.K. government bonds, or gilts, could lead to weaker public finances, Nomura analysts say in a note. Yields on U.K. government bonds have surged in recent months due to high oil prices and inflation concerns caused by the Middle East conflict that have coincided with political uncertainty domestically. Ten-year gilt yields hit a near 18-year high of 5.135% this week, while 30-year gilt yields climbed to 5.813%, a 28-year high, Tradeweb and LSEG data show. High gilt yields will raise government debt repayment costs and erode the fiscal headroom of 24 billion pounds ($32.4 billion) announced in March, the analysts say. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0416 ET - Yields on eurozone government bonds fall, tracking moves in U.S. Treasurys. Trade is quiet, with many European investors away due to the Ascension Day holiday. Focus is on a meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping amid tentative optimism that this could lead to progress on trade and the Iran war. U.S. Treasury yields reverse a hefty rise on Wednesday after strong U.S. producer prices data, with attention now turning to U.S. retail sales and jobless claims figures. The 10-year German Bund yield falls 1.7 basis points to 3.087%, Tradeweb data show. Ten-year Italian government-bond yields are 2.2 basis points lower at 3.829%. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)
0427 ET - Resilience in global equities is helping keep the euro above the key $1.17 level, ING's Francesco Pesole says in a note. This resilience is offsetting higher oil prices and tighter short-term swap rate differentials after higher-than-expected U.S. wholesale inflation data Wednesday supported expectations for the Federal Reserve to pivot towards rate rises. For the euro to break below $1.17 sustainably there needs to be softer global risk sentiment, not just higher oil prices, Pesole says. If the "thrust from artificial intelligence enthusiasm in equities comes to a sudden halt (Nvidia's earnings next week are an event risk), the downside for euro-dollar could become significant." The euro trades flat at $1.1708. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0425 ET - RWE is set to benefit from Germany's spending on new gas-fired power plants, RBC Capital Markets analysts write. The coalition government approved the Electricity Supply Security and Capacity Act, which will allow spending on the plants. RWE is well-placed to benefit given its has around 3 gigawatts of ready-to-build gas projects, the analysts say. "New gas tenders in Germany have been a long time coming but there is now a clear pathway to these tenders and bringing the required additional baseload capacity online," they add. Shares fall 0.5% to 56.70 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0410 ET - National Grid's net debt comes in higher than consensus expectations but overall its results are in line, RBC Capital Markets analyst Alexander Wheeler writes. Net debt of 44.2 billion pounds compares with consensus views at 43.3 billion pounds due to the dollar strengthening at the end of the year and timing effects from commodity costs in the U.S., he says. Shares rise 1.65% to 12.97 pounds. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0338 ET - National Grid is relatively immune to knock-on effects stemming from the conflict in the Middle East, Hargreaves Lansdown's Aarin Chiekrie writes. He cites its limited exposure to wholesale energy prices and the fact that its revenues are positively linked to inflation. This provides a natural hedge to otherwise challenging dynamics, Chiekrie says. Even higher interest rates shouldn't pose too much of a worry, he adds. Roughly 80% of the U.K. utility company's debt is locked in at fixed rates, he explains. The scale of its investment plan poses some risks but so far it has made good progress, he says. Shares rise 1.2% to 1,291.50 pence.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0336 ET - Oil prices edge higher, with traders in wait-and-see mode ahead of the outcome of President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's high-stakes meeting. In early European trading, Brent crude rises 0.2% to $105.80 a barrel, while WTI futures are up 0.1% to $96.90 a barrel. "The market could be pinning too much hope on the US-China talks yielding some positive results on Iran," analysts at ING say. Meanwhile, investors are also monitoring the expiry of a U.S. sanctions waiver allowing purchases of Russian oil cargoes through May 16, which could further tighten supply conditions, according to market watchers. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0317 ET - U.K. economic growth is expected to slow in the coming months after the latest GDP data showed growth was solid in the first quarter, Aberdeen Investments' Luke Bartholomew says in a note. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and political turmoil in the U.K. are expected to dampen economic growth, he says. Higher energy prices and political uncertainty "will weigh on growth, stunting any recovery that might otherwise have been occurring", Bartholomew says. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0244 ET - Korea Electric Power is likely to see the full impact of the Middle East conflict from 2Q, LS Securities' Sung Jong-hwa says. The war that began in late February is lasting longer than expected, while the impact of fluctuating energy prices on earnings is typically reflected after a lag of four to five months, the analyst writes in a note. Higher prices for raw materials such as oil, coal and liquefied natural gas are expected to raise the state utility's fuel purchase costs and reduce its operating profit, he adds. LS lowers its forecast for company's 2026 operating profit by 30%. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 14, 2026 08:40 ET (12:40 GMT)
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