The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1857 ET - Infratil's CDC data centers will get a lot of attention when the infrastructure investor reports its FY26 result on Tuesday, but Forsyth Barr says it's important not to forget about the other assets in its portfolio. For example, Longroad Energy's growth path is impressive. Analyst Ben Crozier is seeking updates on the 1.5 gigawatts of projects that Longroad will start building during the next 12 months. "One NZ and Wellington Airport need to generate improved free cash flow to help cover Infratil's fees, dividends, and interest," Forsyth Barr adds. It expects One NZ to report roughly flat FY26 Ebitda, and guide to a similar result in FY27 given the competitive telecoms market in New Zealand. Forsyth Barr has an outperform call and NZ$17.50/share price target on Infratil, which is up 0.1% at NZ$15.31 today. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1809 ET [Dow Jones]--Moody's Ratings cuts Mexico by one notch to its lowest investment grade, citing a weakening fiscal position, slow economic growth and continued financial support for state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos. "Despite efforts to reduce the fiscal deficit, other policy priorities including energy sovereignty and a redistributive spending model, have weakened fiscal policy anchors and policy effectiveness, and contributed to wider deficits and faster deterioration in debt metrics than previously expected," the ratings firm says in lowering Mexico to Baa3 from Baa2. Moody's changed the outlook to stable from negative. Last week, S&P Global Ratings affirmed Mexico's BBB rating but revised the outlook to negative from stable. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1551 ET - Regulatory approval for NextEra Energy's deal to buy Dominion Energy could be challenging, given Dominion's relationships with regulators in Virginia remain shaky, Seaport Research Partners analyst Angie Storozynski says in a note. While all three commissioners from the State Corporation Commission in Virginia are new, the regulator could retaliate against Dominion after what Storozynski calls "more than two decades of legislative abuse of the Commission by the utility." The SCC will likely require upsized customer bill credits, and could also require credit ringfencing of Dominion Energy Virginia, Storozynski says. "The financing benefit of the merger would then disappear, but with few alternatives, NEE would still likely go along with the acquisition," Storozynski says. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1506 ET - Oil futures post back-to-back losses as President Trump says the U.S. is in the final stages of negotiations with Iran, raising hopes of a deal to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Still, Trump adds that failure to reach a deal meant a resumption of military action. "Typical Trump style, but the market is buying into the possibilities," says Mizuho's Robert Yawger in a note. Hopes for an agreement led the market to overlook a bullish EIA inventory report showing U.S. commercial crude stocks down by 7.9 million barrels last week, although distillate stocks rose for a second straight week. WTI settles down 5.7% at $98.26 a barrel and Brent falls 5.6% to $105.02.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1503 ET - U.S. natural gas futures settle lower, snapping a five-session winning streak as the heat wave across the eastern U.S. is set to fade ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend. LNG feedgas flows have increased, offsetting some weather-driven demand loss, while production remains buoyant. Thursday's EIA storage report is expected to show a near-normal 95 Bcf injection for last week, putting inventories 143 Bcf above the five-year average and 27 Bcf above the year-ago level. Nymex natural gas settles down 3.5% at $3.004/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1422 ET - Canada's AI ambitions may be constrained less by talent or research and more by its failure to capitalize on a natural structural advantage, ATB Cormark analyst Martin Toner tells WSJ. He points to the country's "copious amounts of hydroelectric" power, a resource he describes as one of the world's strongest foundations for energy-intensive AI infrastructure, as an underused opportunity. While global investment in data-center capacity accelerates, Toner says Canada has yet to fully leverage its energy profile to attract or scale AI-driven compute. The gap between potential and deployment, he says, is becoming more visible as U.S. and international players move faster to build the next generation of AI-ready infrastructure. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1349 ET - Comments from President Trump that negotiations to reach a peace accord with Iran are in the final stages are weighing on grains. Traders are removing the risk premium and are also responding to lower crude futures--with oil and grains related due to biofuels. Hope for a reopened Strait of Hormuz is triggering some liquidation, says AgResource in a note, even though the prospect of peace remains uncertain. "We have all seen this movie before, but we hope that this time will be different," says AgResource. CBOT corn falls 2.2%, wheat is down 1.5%, and soybeans are off 1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1235 ET - Oil futures extend losses as the market focuses on hopes for a deal to end the U.S.-Iran conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The fact prices could fall further following a bullish U.S. crude stock drawdown for last week "tells me it's more likely than not some kind of negotiation is happening," says BOK Financial's Dennis Kissler. "The market is anticipating some sort of agreement." The EIA reported a 7.9 million barrel decline in commercial crude stocks, along with a 9.9 million barrel release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. WTI is off 5.2% at $98.75 a barrel and Brent falls 5.5% to $105.16 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1222 ET - Canada PM Mark Carney lays out in Vancouver, British Columbia three prerequisites before he agrees to formally back a new crude-carrying pipeline connecting the Alberta energy patch to the Pacific Coast. Missing among the three is the requirement for a private-sector investor to lead the project. The province of Alberta is for now is the project's proponent, on the belief that private investors will jump in once political risk is mitigated. Some energy-industry watchers have warned that private companies are unlikely to emerge unless there is heavy financial backing from both the federal and Alberta governments. The Canadian government already owns the Trans Mountain pipeline, an existing Alberta-to-British Columbia crude corridor. (paul.vieira@wsj.com, @paulvieira)
1115 ET - Treasury yields and the dollar deepen their decline as oil prices fall. Brent and WTI are down about 4%, reflecting hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen soon. Meanwhile, U.S. crude inventories plummeted by 7.9 million barrels last week, compared to WSJ consensus of a 3 million draw, keeping inflation concerns top of mind in Wall Street. Investors are likely to scrutinize Fed minutes this afternoon for clues on potential rate hikes. A 20-year Treasury auction is on tap this afternoon. The 10-year yield is at 4.603%, down from 4.653% earlier. The two-year falls to 4.066% from 4.112%. The WSJ Dollar Index slips 0.3%. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)
1059 ET - Crude futures extend losses, sliding as much as 4% despite a sharp drawdown in U.S. stocks and as traders continue to monitor U.S.-Iran negotiations. In U.S. morning trade, Brent crude declines 3.8% to $107.02 a barrel, while WTI futures fall 3.4% to $100.64 a barrel. The latest EIA data showed commercial crude oil inventories fell by 7.9 million barrels in the week ended May 15, while gasoline stocks declined by 1.55 million barrels. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, rapidly tightening global supplies, and the U.S. and Iran still appear far from reaching an agreement. Still, analysts say several factors could prevent prices from moving significantly higher. "One of the most significant could be a substantial reduction in global demand," says Alex Kuptsikevich from FxPro. "Higher interest rates could push economies closer to recession and reduce demand for energy commodities." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
1058 ET - U.K. inflation data for April represent a significant downside to the Bank of England's expectations, increasing the chance that it will keep interest rates on hold for the remainder of the year, Barclays' Jack Meaning and Cian Hennigan say in a note. Headline and core inflation declined 0.5 points and 0.6 points respectively, to 2.8% and 2.5%. Even as direct energy components strengthen, there's little evidence yet of indirect energy effects in food prices or core goods, they say. "The [BOE] will take some comfort from confirmation that the underlying inflationary picture in the absence of the shock would have been benign." However, focus will remain on forward-looking indicators and geopolitics, which will shape inflation going forward, the economists say. (edward.frankl@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 20, 2026 18:57 ET (22:57 GMT)
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