The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1514 ET - Oil futures add to yesterday's gains as the longer the U.S. and Iran take to reach agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the tighter the physical market becomes. President Trump posted that talks have been going on continuously the past five days, including today, and again called on Iran to make a deal. The supply situation is manageable for now, but higher summer demand in July and August is likely to lead to rationing, says Baron Lamarre, former head of trading at Petronas. "The cry is that they want a deal right now because if they don't have it three months from now, there will be a disaster." he says. WTI settles up 1.7% at $93.76 a barrel. Brent rises 1.1% to $96.00.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1506 ET - Front-month gold futures have now finished higher for three out of the past four trading sessions, with the contract rising 0.3% to $4,489.10 a troy ounce. But that momentum isn't expected to continue, as the inflation environment isn't supportive for assets like gold. "The macro environment stays challenging with money markets biased toward a Fed rate hike by the end of the year," says ADM Investor Services in a note. Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today showed U.S. unemployment at its highest level since May 2024. Front-month silver finished the day up 0.4% to $75.311 a troy ounce. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1443 ET - U.S. natural gas futures slip in a rangebound session, held up by the seasonal shift to warmer weather that drives power-sector demand. The market is balancing "a tightening summer demand setup against a near-term physical market that still has enough supply and storage cushion to resist a cleaner rally," Gelber & Associates says in a note. Fundamentals were mixed with lower production, higher imports from Canada, rising power-sector demand but lower LNG feedgas flows, the firm adds. Natural gas for July delivery settles down 0.4% at $3.167/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1414 ET - Canadian grocer Metro's CEO transition is orderly and well-prepared, says National Bank of Canada's Vishal Shreedhar, who describes incoming chief executive, Marc Giroux, as a continuity leader with deep operational roots. In a report, the analyst says the move follows a "multi-year process," with Giroux bringing experience across marketing, merchandising, operations, digital and ecommerce. "Giroux is a proven leader with knowledge of operations, culture, strategic priorities and vision," says Shreedhar. While the analyst says there is "significant investor expectations," Giroux is also inheriting a strong foundation built under Eric La Fleche's long and successful tenure. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1405 ET - The USDA says in a press conference Tuesday that a case of screwworm was found in a goat 25 miles from the Texas-Mexico border. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters that the USDA is now treating it as if parasites will make it over the border eventually, and will continue its measures to release sterilized fly populations while advising ranchers and producers to "use their eyes" to try and discover infections on any of their animals early. Most-active live cattle futures are down 0.3% Tuesday, while lean hogs are up 1.9%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1336 ET - Selling of grains by U.S. farmers appears to be strong as the growing season sets in for the new crop - with many farmers hoping to lock in money as prices seem to pull back from recent highs. "I think the recent slide has likely sparked additional producer selling pressure as battle scars from the prior two years serve as a recent reminder to manage risk when you can, not when you have to," says Oliver Sloup of Blue Line Futures. Basis prices are mixed, according to data from StoneX group, with soybeans seeing lower basis prices more than they did at this time last year. Most-active corn is down 0.7%, soybeans fall 1%, and wheat drops 1.1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1328 ET - White House confirmation of a reduction in the tariff on agricultural equipment like combines and harvesters is giving Deere stock a boost, up 5.1% to $570.03. U.S. farmers have been bogged down with higher input costs, with machinery being a key driver of that in addition to other categories like more expensive fertilizer and fuel. Deere stock surged in February and March this year, according to FactSet data - but has since given back much of those gains. Net sales were higher in the first three months of 2026, Deere says. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1321 ET [Dow Jones]--The men's World Cup should provide a revenue surge for the restaurant industry across the board, Deutsche Bank analysts say in a research note. Eateries in host cities will certainly attract fans, though in other regions of the country, sports bars will reel in match viewers while outfits that provide delivery will pick up demand from watch parties, the analysts say. Food service industry data provider Technomic is projecting that the World Cup will drive $1.9 billion in incremental sales, a 2% to 3% jump for just June and July, according to the note. Food distributors including Sysco and U.S. Foods are poised to benefit from the surge of traffic too, the analysts say. (dean.seal@wsj.com)
1325 ET - Driscoll's Chief Executive Soren Bjorn says spending on berries has increased since GLP-1s became regulated. People on the weight-loss drugs are buying more berries to make sure they get enough nutrients, Bjorn says. "Categories like ours will benefit" from GLP-1s becoming more widespread and affordable, he says. Bjorn himself is pushing for Driscoll's to cover more of GLP-1s for its employees. He says GLP-1s will be free for employees next year because he thinks that will bring down overall healthcare costs for the company. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
1256 ET - Oil futures move higher and add to the previous day's gains with the market still cautiously awaiting progress in U.S.-Iran talks and signs that the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened in the near term. "Traders remain focused on the Strait of Hormuz ship traffic, and lightened traffic will continue to equate to higher crude prices," Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial says in a note.WTI is up 1.1% at $93.19 a barrel and Brent is gaining 0.9% at $95.81. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1251 ET - Black Sea agricultural consultancy SovEcon says that it has cut its outlook for Russian wheat exports by 600,000 metric tons, to 46.8M tons. In turn, the firm raises its forecast for Russian wheat stocks in the 2026/27 marketing year by 1.1M tons 46.3M tons. Strong buying in March has slowed down, says the firm, and the stronger ruble makes Russian wheat less competitive. "This slowdown should leave Russia with larger carry-in stocks," says Andrey Sizov of SovEcon. "Ample Russian supply and unusually high Ukrainian carry-in stocks are likely to be major bearish factors for the new season." Most-active CBOT wheat futures are down 1% to $6.03 a bushel Tuesday - close to dipping below the $6/bushel mark for the first time since April 17. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1246 ET - Growing areas in the U.S. Plains are getting rainstorms, with a system traveling through Kansas and Nebraska -- two states beset with advanced drought conditions. It's too late to really help winter wheat, the USDA says in its daily agricultural weather forecast. But freshly planted crops stand to benefit from this precipitation. "Active weather continues to provide limited drought relief," says the USDA. "Rain is benefiting rangeland, pastures, and summer crops." Spotty thunderstorms are also seen in the eastern Corn Belt, and the deep south is also getting new rain. Most-active corn on the CBOT falls 0.6%, while soybeans shed 1.1% and wheat falls 1.1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 02, 2026 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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