The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1535 ET - Oil futures post back-to-back gains as the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz starts to raise concerns about falling global inventories. "While strategic releases and demand reduction have prevented immediate chaos, the margin for error is shrinking rapidly," Phil Flynn of the Price Futures Group says in a note. A continued closure of the strait points to tighter physical markets, potential product shortages, and upward pressure on prices in coming weeks and months. On the other hand, prices further out on the curve may be suggesting that demand destruction, strategic releases, and non-Gulf supply responses "are proving more effective and elastic than the bullish narrative suggests." WTI settles up 4.2% at $105.42 a barrel for a 10% weekly gain. Brent rises 3.3% to $109.26, up 7.9% on the week. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1423 ET - Soybeans crushed to make soymeal and soyoil came in at 211.9 million bushels for the month of April, says the National Oilseed Processors Association. The rate of crush came in slightly lower than analyst estimates, while stocks of 1.95 billion bushels was slightly less than anticipated. Grain traders saw the report as neutral for trading, says AgResource in a note. Soybean futures are down 1.1% in late trading, while corn is down 2.5% and wheat falls 3.3%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1328 ET - The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. rose by five this week to 415, oil services company Baker Hughes reports. It was the highest oil rig count since November, and up by eight since the start of the U.S.-Iran conflict that closed the Strait of Hormuz and sent oil prices into triple digits. Still, producers have proceeded with caution. With $100 a barrel oil it's profitable to drill anywhere, but producers know that isn't going to last forever, says Gary Cunningham of Tradition Energy. "People know that eventually there will be some type of a resolution with Iran and some type of reopening of the strait." Rigs directed at natural gas slipped by one this week to 128. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
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)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 15, 2026 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)
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