The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
2018 ET - Oil prices are higher in early Asian trade, boosted by strong demand. Flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain very low and there are limited signs of progress on a U.S.-Iran deal, says Goldman Sachs analysts in a note. The U.S. gasoline market has become very tight driven by surging net exports demand, resilient domestic demand and price incentives to shift production to distillates, they add. Front-month WTI crude oil futures are up 0.5% at $101.64/bbl, while Brent crude oil futures are also 0.6% higher at $106.33/bbl.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)
1536 ET - U.S. natural gas futures settle higher with a warmer weather outlook for the latter half of May seen lifting power-sector demand and a weekly inventory build landing in line with the norm. The EIA reported an 85 Bcf increase in underground storage for last week to 2,290 Bcf, which was 140 Bcf or 6.5% above the five-year average. If forecasts for above normal temperatures pan out, "look for natural gas to rally towards the $3 level," Robert Yawger of Mizuho says in a note. Nymex natural gas settles up 1% at $2.894/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1511 ET - Oil futures edge up in a sideways trading session with Iran insisting on controlling the Strait of Hormuz while Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping, meeting in Beijing, said the waterway should remain free and that Iran shouldn't be able to charge tolls to cross it. Efforts at talks between the U.S. and Iran have been at a standstill. "If the cease-fire is maintained, prices are not likely to set new highs," says Pavel Molchanov, investment strategy analyst at Raymond James. But for prices to move meaningfully lower, "there needs to be a U.S.-Iran peace deal. At least a partial deal to reopen Hormuz," he adds.WTI and Brent settle up 0.1% at $101.17 and $105.72 a barrel, respectively. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1503 ET - The U.S. is exporting diesel at a rate that would be considered exceptional in normal times, although it won't be able to keep that up indefinitely without forcing a repricing given low inventories, James Noel-Beswick of Sparta Commodities says in a note. "It is a remarkable situation: a country exporting at record or near-record rates from an inventory base that is, by its own historical standards, dangerously thin." U.S. distillate stocks were 102.5 million barrels last week, and haven't fallen below 100 million barrels since 2003. Last week's 190,000 barrel distillate stock build following six straight weekly draws was "small but symbolically meaningful," Noel-Beswick says. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1319 ET - Loss of demand due to $100 a barrel oil and massive supply disruption isn't hurting developed economies as much as low-income countries, says Pavel Molchanov, investment strategy analyst at Raymond James. Two thirds of the IEA's estimated 2Q demand loss is in emerging markets, he notes. "We're not particularly worried about wealthy economies, they're able to pay." For countries like the U.S., most of Europe, Japan and China, demand destruction involves airlines canceling some routes, or consumers forgoing a vacation. In more vulnerable economies such as Egypt, Pakistan or the Philippines, "demand destruction involves real pain" which might mean fuel rationing, mandatory work-from-home reminiscent of Covid, or factories shutting down because they can't afford energy supply, he adds. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1116 ET - The recent rise in long-dated U.K. government bond yields is in line with a global increase in long-term bond yields, Goldman Sachs' George Cole and Loic Mathys say in a note. Markets are pricing inflation risk and the possibility of central banks keeping interest rates higher for longer due to high energy prices, the strategists say. Yields on 30-year Japanese government bonds, German Bunds and U.S. Treasurys are also not far from multi-year highs. U.K. 30-year gilt yields hit a 28-year high of 5.813% this week, but have since retreated to last trade at 5.664%, Tradeweb data show. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
1054 ET - The U.S. saw a near-normal net injection into U.S. natural gas storage facilities last week, leaving the inventory surplus over the five-year average practically unchanged at 140 Bcf, the EIA reports. Natural gas inventories increased by 85 billion cubic feet to 2,290 Bcf for the week ended May 8, compared with an 84 Bcf average build for the week over the 2021-2025 period. The increase was slightly below the 87 Bcf estimate in a WSJ survey of analysts. Nymex natural gas futures are little changed in the wake of the report, trading down 0.3% at $2.855/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0939 ET - The U.S. House passes legislation allowing for year-round sales of E15, moving the bill on to the Senate for a vote. Agricultural groups celebrated the political victory, but traders appear unsure if the bill can pass in the upper chamber. "Even though E15 passed in the House, traders do not feel it will pass in the Senate," says Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note. Corn is down 1.7% pre-market, while soybeans fall 2.5% and wheat is down 1.3%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0904 ET - Oil futures are lower with the market focused on the summit between Presidents Trump and Xi Jinping. The White House says the leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and that Xi opposed the militarization of the strait or the charge of a toll to use it. "Additional Chinese cooperation beyond these comments is unlikely," Ritterbusch & Associates says in a note. "The price pullback of the past couple of days has simply represented a brief technical adjustment." WTI is off0.5% at $100.50 a barrel, and Brent is down 0.7% at $104.89. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0846 ET - Demand for Treasurys picks up overnight, and yields fall, as President Trump meets with China's Xi Jinping amid U.S. inflation jitters. Weekly jobless claims stay with a long-standing range, rising to 211,000 from a downwardly revised 199,000. WSJ consensus was 205,000. April retail sales rise 0.5%, as expected, slowing from March's downwardly revised 1.6%. The Middle East standoff continues and oil prices remain above $100. The WSJ Dollar Index rises slightly. The 10-year yield is at 4.445%, down from yesterday's 4.479% settle. The two-year slips to 3.961% from 3.988%. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)
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)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 14, 2026 20:18 ET (00:18 GMT)
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