The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1044 ET - Nebius says strong demand for its AI infrastructure products is allowing the company to raise prices. Demand is continuing to exceed available capacity, allowing the company to raise prices in the latest quarter, Chief Revenue Officer Marc Boroditsky tells analysts on a call. Nebius is still selling out across all chip types, even at the higher prices, Boroditsky says. Demand is also resulting in longer contract durations, increasing contract values and more prepayments, he says. These factors are improving Nebius's working capital position and giving it more flexibility around external financing needs, he says. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1043 ET - Oil futures haven't risen further despite a deepening supply shock linked to the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, though a prolonged blockade could pave the way for sharper gains, says Alex Kuptsikevich from FxPro. "The price of a barrel of Brent at around $105 seems too low," the chief market analyst says. "Moreover, there is now almost no difference between futures and spot prices, whereas at the start of April the spread exceeded $30." Kuptsikevich says the market has so far relied on several buffers, including large global stockpiles--particularly in China--alongside stronger U.S. exports and alternative shipping arrangements by Gulf producers. "Nevertheless, the oil shortage created by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is laying the foundations for future price growth," he says. "Time is on the side of the Brent bulls." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
1030 ET - Crude futures return to positive territory after the International Energy Agency said the oil market is set to remain in deficit until the final quarter of the year. Brent is up 0.1% to $107.93 a barrel, while WTI futures gain 0.4% to $98.91 a barrel. The Paris-based agency now forecasts global oil demand to contract by 420,000 barrels a day this year, from previous expectations of an 80,000-barrel-a-day decline. OPEC cut its demand growth forecast to 1.17 million barrels a day from 1.38 million previously. "Oil is in a race against time," says Alex Kuptsikevich from FxPro. "The longer the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, the greater the chances of higher Brent and WTI prices in the longer term." Meanwhile, traders await a high-stakes summit between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0951 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are higher, fluctuating from one day to the next as the market weighs fading heating demand against a gradual pickup in cooling needs. "The lower price environment in 2026 is leading to higher utilization of gas-fired generation assets across the country, increasing gas consumption on a weather-normalized basis," Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in a note. "Demand from this sector looks poised to continue outpacing year-ago levels, which could limit storage growth into the peak summer months." Nymex natural gas is up 2.5% at $2.914/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0934 ET - The summit between President Trump and Chinese president Xi is not expected to create any sort of breakthrough in the U.S.-Iran stalemate, says Citi Research in a note. It expects "intermittent disruptions" to continue for shipping on the Strait of Hormuz for the next 4-8 weeks. "There is the potential for Iran to prolong disruption for revenue and leverage, and we do not anticipate the Trump-Xi summit to alter this trajectory," says the firm. Citi is keeping its outlook for oil prices elevated, with physical supply struggles expected to be a factor in negotiations. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0920 ET - Oil futures are little changed in early U.S. trading as President Trump arrives in China for a summit with leader Xi Jinping. On the oil front, the IEA says it expects global oil demand to fall by 420,000 barrels a day this year, including a 2.45 million b/d drop in 2Q. OPEC cut its 2026 demand growth estimate to 1.17 million b/d from 1.38 million b/d, while the U.S. EIA sees demand growth of 200,000 b/d. The IEA's expected demand contraction "offsets only about half of the anticipated loss of supply in suggesting a massive drain on global oil inventories," Ritterbusch & Associates says in a note. WTI is off 0.1% at $102.05 a barrel and Brent is down 0.3% at $107.47. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0851 ET - Bitcoin turns marginally lower, remaining in a relatively tight range, as investors await news from high-stakes talks between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Trump has landed in China for the meeting with the Iran war expected to feature high on the agenda. Ahead of the talks, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said China has "a lot of leverage" over Iran. Bitcoin falls 0.2% to $80,555 after earlier modest gains, LSEG data. It is "becoming increasingly apparent that $80,000 is developing into a key area, previously resistance but now support," Trade Nation's David Morrison says in a note. A significant break below $80,000 could trigger a bought of profit taking from recent buyers, he says. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0849 ET - Rising inflation due to the Iran war is being amplified by a highly-sensitive corporate and consumer landscape, Daniel Harenberg at Oxford Economics says in a note. Following years of economic shocks, business and households are reacting quicker to inflationary news, raising the risk of knock-on price effects. "When inflation attention is high, firms react more sharply to inflationary news and adjust prices faster. Households revise their inflation expectations more readily, fuelling stronger wage demands," he says. Oxford Economics estimates that the oil supply shock could push up inflation across major economies in 2026 by about 0.6 to 0.7 percentage points. This means central banks may need more of a pivot towards tighter monetary policies than markets currently anticipate, Harenberg says. (don.forbes@wsj.com)
0846 ET - The Bank of England could keep interest rates on hold at 3.75% in the coming months, enabling short-term gilt yields to fall, Aberdeen Investments' Matthew Amis says in a note. "If the Strait of Hormuz opens in the coming weeks, then the BOE will not hike rates and the short-maturity gilt yields will have to remove the hikes priced, therefore [meaning] lower yields," he says. Investors hope for a near-term resolution to the Middle East conflict. Markets fully price in two quarter-point BOE rate rises and a 64% chance of a third BOE rate hike by year-end, LSEG data show. Two-year gilt yields are last down 0.6 basis points at 4.516%, Tradeweb data show. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0758 ET - The dollar could rise further along with Treasury yields in coming days and weeks if there is no resolution to the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, MUFG Bank analysts say in a note. The euphoria surrounding artificial intelligence is a key counter to the risk of an equity market correction that would benefit the dollar, they say. However, the more yields rise on inflation concerns, the AI-related momentum could fade, they say. "So increased volatility on higher yields in the U.S. is a key risk that would likely propel the dollar stronger." The DXY dollar index rises 0.2% to 98.467 after earlier reaching a near two-week high of 98.588. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0657 ET - Intertek shareholders could cash in rather than wait for a breakup of the business, AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth writes. The U.K. testing specialist said it would be prepared to recommend EQT's improved 9.4 billion-pound offer to shareholders if a formal deal was made. The company also paused its review to separate its energy-and-infrastructure business from the group. "Shareholders might feel it is better to take the cash now as there is no guarantee that a breakup of Intertek via a demerger would lead to a quick value uplift," Coatsworth says. Shares are up 6.6% at 56.50 pounds. EQT offered to buy Intertek for 61.077 pounds a share, including a dividend. (ian.walker@wsj.com)
0646 ET - Palm oil prices fell in the Asian session. Upside momentum in prices may be restrained by concerns over rising Malaysian stockpiles and an uncertain demand outlook, despite continued tensions in the Middle East supporting crude oil prices, Kenanga Futures says in a note. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for July delivery fell 41 ringgit to 4,440 ringgit a ton. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 13, 2026 10:45 ET (14:45 GMT)
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