The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
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)
1049 ET - Jeff Bezos is bullish on space, but not so bullish that he sees space-based artificial-intelligence data centers being built within three years, as Elon Musk has suggested. Space-based innovation is happening quicker than many realize, but the three-year horizon is "a little ambitious," he says in a CNBC interview. "The question, 'Are data centers in space realistic?' The answer is, 'Yes,'" Bezos says. "The timeline is harder to answer. Some of the timelines you hear are very short. They're probably not right." Musk would probably respond that an ambitious, aspirational timeline is important, Bezos says, but launch costs first need to fall and the proportion of data-center spending on energy needs to rise for the investment to make sense. "Exactly how long it will take, I don't think anyone knows, but it is real, it will happen," Bezos says. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
0943 ET - The EU faces a significant skills gap in the raw-materials sector, Ekaterina Zaharieva, the bloc's commissioner for startups, research and innovation, says at a summit. "Public and private investment, together with programs like Horizon Europe, are helping accelerate innovation across the raw materials value chain, but innovation alone is not enough," she says, referring to the bloc's funding program for research and innovation. "Europe must become better and faster at scaling ideas into industrial success," she says. (edith.hancock@wsj.com)
0919 ET - U.S. natural gas futures pull back from five straight sessions of gains as the heat wave across the eastern U.S. is set to ease and near-term weather forecasts shed some demand. National demand is seen easing Thursday-Saturday as a cool shot over the Midwest spreads across the Great Lakes and into the East, NatGasWeather.com says in a note. Still, "much of the long-range weather data maintains a relatively hot June U.S. pattern," the forecaster adds. Nymex natural gas is down 1.8% at $3.057/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0910 ET - Crude futures lose ground with the market holding out hope for an end to the U.S.-Iran conflict, while reports of some tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz and the UK's easing of restrictions on Russian diesel and jet fuel offer some relief. Oil prices will likely continue to zig-zag as the continued blockage of the strait contains downward corrections, while "creative methods" for skirting the strait to get oil out limits upside, Ritterbusch & Associates says in a note. "But our stance remains bullish as we still see a big gap between the U.S. and Iran regarding the nuclear issue." WTI is down 2.3% at $101.80 a barrel as the July contract moves to the front of the curve. Brent is down 2.4% at $108.58.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0844 ET - Bitcoin rises slightly along with U.S. stock futures as the recent selloff in global bonds takes a pause due to an easing of oil prices. The recent bond market turmoil is driven by fears that higher oil prices due to the Iran war will push up inflation and prompt central banks to raise interest rates. Brent crude is last down 2% at $109 per barrel after three oil tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz overnight, according to LSEG data. President Trump suggested the Iran war could end soon but warned of fresh military strikes if a peace deal isn't agreed in coming days, keeping risk sentiment cautious. Bitcoin rises 0.6% to $77,466, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 20, 2026 14:22 ET (18:22 GMT)
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