The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1549 ET - The minutes from the Fed's April meeting arrive Wednesday afternoon. But perhaps just interesting to some Fed watchers will be two public appearances by Fed governor Christopher Waller. He is speaking on a panel Tuesday morning and delivering an economic-outlook speech on Friday morning, both while traveling in Germany. Up until the spring, Waller was one of the Fed officials who most favored further interest-rate cuts, although the Iran conflict has tempered his stance amid new inflation concerns. If Waller further distances himself from 2026 rate cuts, or even suggests he thinks the Fed may need to raise rates this year, it would be a stark sign of how much the Middle East energy-market shock has altered the Fed's balance of risks, Brent Donnelly of Spectra Markets writes. (matt.grossman@wsj.com; @mattgrossman)
1510 ET - Crude futures rise amid market concerns that the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz is draining global stocks, while the U.S. and Iran appear no closer to a deal to settle the conflict. Prices rose on "the perception the war in Iran is turning into yet another forever war, with as many as 14 million barrels a day of Middle East oil production shut in," Mizuho's Robert Yawger says in a note.He sees the market "perpetually ticking higher as supply drains out across the globe." WTIfor June delivery settles up3.1% at $108.66 a barrel ahead of tomorrow's expiration. Brent rises 2.6% to $112.10 a barrel.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1452 ET - U.S. natural gas futures extend gains to four straight sessions as power-sector use rises to meet cooling demand in the southern U.S. and on the East Coast, although some cooler weather is expected later in the week. "The immediate power burn impulse may be difficult to carry straight through Memorial Day," Gelber & Associates says in a note. Still, "if heat reloads quickly, the market can keep defending a higher range because power burn is finally absorbing molecules at a summer-like pace." Nymex natural gas settles up 2.2% at $3.024/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1417 ET - NextEra Energy's acquisition of Dominion Energy highlights the long-term growth potential of the U.S. electrification infrastructure sector, but is unlikely to trigger a broad wave of utility consolidation given regulatory hurdles and the localized nature of utility oversight, says Tortoise Capital senior portfolio manager Rob Thummel. The greater scale from the deal could provide more financial flexibility and additional opportunities for future growth, he says, noting that Dominion's generation assets are "strategically located in the heart of 'Data Center Alley,' where electricity demand from AI and cloud infrastructure is accelerating." The deal likely faces a "lengthy and complex regulatory approval process," he adds. Dominion rises 7.8% and NextEra falls 7%.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1322 ET - Tokenization, the process of putting real-world assets onto the blockchain, is growing exponentially in 2026 but may expand into a market worth over $1 trillion by 2030, according to Moulik Nagesh of Binance Research in a note. Nagesh says that currently, these tokenized assets account for $31.4 billion of value. That's already up 46% from the start of the year, and more than five times what they were worth in 2025, he says. But there is much more growth potential for tokens representing commodities like gold and oil ahead. "The long-term opportunity is large because current penetration remains extremely low," says Nagesh, assessing that penetration at 0.01%. Tokenization of 1% of the markets they represent would result in values over $1 trillion, Nagesh says. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1257 ET - Demand for commodities is being seen in energy, agriculture, and industrial metals. Part of this uptick comes from returning focus on the "scarcity premium" -- the potential that the world is short on some materials it needs to keep running. "Investors are positioning for a world where physical assets matter again: power, grids, data centres, defence, reshoring and electrification all need more energy and materials," says analysts with eToro in a note. But behind this is the industrial health of China -- in that any sign of flagging activity in the country's industrial segment could reverse the scarcity sentiment. "If Chinese demand softens, metals may lose their growth signal," says eToro. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1200 ET - Oil futures are higher following a brief dip as the longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the tighter global oil supplies will become."We believe that current WTI and Brent prices are discounting only a limited portion of the ultimate supply loss," Ritterbusch & Associates says in a note. "A re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz anytime soon remains highly uncertain." And with the likelihood it will take several months to restore the flow of oil through the strait and revive shut-in production, "it appears that a return to prewar oil prices by the end of this year is highly unlikely."Most active WTI is up 1.7% at $102.76 a barrel and Brent is up 1.5% at $110.89.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1159 ET - The showdown with the U.S. and Iran on the Strait of Hormuz continues, and both sides are keeping so-called "no-go" demands in their pitches to end the war and reopen trade fully. As a result, traders are pricing what a lingering war will mean for oil prices -- with the expectation that a lack of access to Middle Eastern oil will raise prices across the world and stress sectors like agriculture. "The markets are starting to deal with some longer-term realities, such that the real impact of the rising energy deficits will likely start being felt in June and July, and the longer-term realities of the fertilizer story will likely be felt with the global 2027 crops," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX in a note. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1105 ET - Stocks in the U.A.E. and other Gulf Cooperation Council markets slip after a drone strike on Sunday set off a fire near the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant located about 175 miles west of Abu Dhabi. Elevated geopolitical concerns, particularly following the reported attack on the nuclear facility, continue to weigh on the region's trade, says Chiro Ghosh of Bahrain-based SICO Bank. The Dubai Financial Market benchmark index is down 1.7% Monday and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index slips 1.2%. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)
1105 ET - NextEra Energy's roughly $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy is the clearest possible confirmation that the AI-driven power demand supercycle is not a cyclical trade, Wedbush analysts say in a research note. Rather, the AI-driven power demand supercycle represents a decades-long infrastructure build. "This transaction validates it at the largest possible scale," the analysts write. They note that the combined company would be the world's largest regulated electric utility business. It would additionally be the largest in the world in renewables and battery storage and the largest in the U.S. in total and gas generation, as well as the second largest in the U.S. in nuclear generation. Dominion shares rise 11%, while NextEra Energy is down 4.6%. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1040 ET - The dollar could advance further over the short term as high energy prices make U.S. interest-rate cuts look increasingly unlikely while rate-hike prospects grow, MUFG analysts say in a note. Federal Reserve minutes Wednesday "will likely reveal a growing opposition to rate cuts." Additionally, with Kevin Warsh due to take over the role as Fed Chair, his first public comments will be crucial, they say. U.S. money markets currently price a 71% chance of a rate hike in January 2027, LSEG data show. Any hint that Warsh is concerned about inflation risks could increase rate-hike expectations and lift the dollar, the analysts say. The DXY dollar index falls 0.2% to 99.083, having risen to a near six-week high of 99.409 overnight. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)
0937 ET - Yields on U.K. government bonds, or gilts, fall after the International Monetary Fund indicated that the Bank of England does not have to raise interest rates as they are sufficiently restrictive. "Under the current energy price outlook, holding rates for the remainder of the year should be sufficient to bring inflation back to target by end-2027," the IMF said on its website. However, given the highly uncertain political and geopolitical environment, BOE rate decisions should remain data dependent, IMF said. Two-year gilt yields fall 6 basis points to last trade at 4.485%, having hit a one-week high of 4.573% in morning trade, Tradeweb data show. Ten-year gilt yields fall 6 basis points to 5.100%. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 18, 2026 15:49 ET (19:49 GMT)
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