The latest Market Talks covering Energy markets. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1249 ET - Crude futures turn higher after testing pre-war levels on optimism about the returning flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. "I think we bounced off a low because we'd been down four days in a row," says Phil Flynn of the Price Futures Group. The trend is still lower and "my base case is that we're going to go down before we start to go back up again." Oil prices could rally after the selloff because of the need to replenish stocks, Flynn adds. "Over the next couple of months I think you'll see a lot of production. And that is raising hopes that our empty strategic inventories and our supplies are going to be filled up pretty nicely." WTI is up 1.7% at $71.57 a barrel after falling as low as $68.90. Most active Brent is up 1.5% at $74.98. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1056 ET - U.S. natural gas inventories posted a close-to-normal build last week, leaving the storage surplus against the five-year average virtually unchanged, according to EIA data. Gas stored in underground facilities increased by 76 billion cubic feet to 2,835 Bcf, which was 152 Bcf or 5.7% above the 2021-2025 average for the time of year. The net injection was smaller than for the same week last year, widening the deficit against the year-earlier level to 49 Bcf from 29 Bcf. Analysts in a Wall Street Journal survey had predicted a 70 Bcf increase in storage for last week. Nymex natural gas sheds gains in the wake of the report and is down 0.5% at $3.205/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0937 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are higher as weather models overnight add a little more heat to the near-term outlook, lifting expected cooling demand. The immediate focus is on the EIA's weekly inventory report due at 10:30 a.m. ET, which is expected to show a 70 Bcf injection into storage, according to a WSJ survey of analysts. That would be below the 75 Bcf average build for the week and trim the surplus over the 2021-2025 average to 146 Bcf from 151 Bcf the previous week. Nymex natural gas is up 2.6% at $3.304/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0908 ET - Treasury yields and the dollar fall as U.S. indicators send mixed signals while oil prices slip below pre-war levels. May PCE inflation meets WSJ consensus, accelerating to 4.1% from 3.8%. Falling energy costs are expected to cool future inflation. May durable goods orders fall 4.5%, versus consensus of a 4% contraction. A third estimate raises 1Q GDP growth to 2.1% from 1.6%, compared to estimates of 1.7%. Weekly jobless claims slip to 215,000 from an upwardly revised 227,000, versus consensus of 223,000. The WSJ Dollar Index drops to 97.69 from 97.83 before the data. The 10-year yield declines to 4.371% from 4.414% earlier. The two-year slips to 4.107% from 4.162%. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)
0855 ET - Oil futures are toying with pre-war levels as the market reacts to the quick movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz under the U.S.-Iran agreement. Brent for September delivery is trading above the August contract--a condition known as contango--which "would be much more typical of a huge supply surplus instead of the exceptionally low global stockpiles that currently exist," Ritterbusch & Associates says in a note. "This seeming anomaly forces a reminder that commodity futures are anticipatory, and it is obvious that the speculative entities are expecting an elimination of the large crude deficit that currently exists." WTI is down 1% at $69.62 a barrel. August Brent falls 1.2% to $72.87 and the most active September contract is off 0.8% at $73.27 a barrel.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0742 ET - The Canadian dollar's losses against the U.S. dollar seem overdone, Commerzbank's Michael Pfister says in a note. The Canadian dollar is hit by lower oil prices as Canada is a major oil exporter. Its weakness also reflects increased bets for interest-rate rises by the Federal Reserve. "We strongly believe that both of these factors are exaggerated," Pfister says. The oil market is reacting too euphorically to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as it will take time before depleted stockpiles are replenished and trading normalizes, he says. The Fed is also unlikely to raise rates, he says. The U.S. dollar rises 0.1% to 1.4248 Canadian dollars, matching the 14-month high reached Wednesday, according to LSEG.(renae.dyer@wsj.com)
0342 ET - European energy stocks open slightly lower as oil prices fall back to prewar levels. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is picking up and boost hopes that supplies from the region will bounce back. Brent crude falls 1% to $73.14 a barrel, while WTI futures are down 0.8% to $69.94 a barrel. Italy's Eni slides 1%. In London, BP drops 0.8% while Shell inches 0.5% lower. France's TotalEnergies is 0.7% lower.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
0322 ET - Oil prices fall back to prewar levels as tanker traffic resumes through the Strait of Hormuz, raising hopes for a relatively quick recovery in Persian Gulf supplies. In early European trading, Brent crude falls 1.1% to $73.10 a barrel, while WTI futures are down 0.9% to $69.70 a barrel. "The market is likely extrapolating the swift, thus far, recovery of Mideast supply and already pricing expected future surpluses," analysts at Goldman Sachs say. "Beyond the spot-price selloff, the market is increasingly challenging its prior assumption that long-dated prices need to incorporate a sticky security premium." According to the bank, total Gulf oil exports have rebounded to 63% of normal levels, supported by increased tanker crossings through the Strait of Hormuz and a higher proportion of "visible" vessels that have resumed using their ship-tracking signals. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
0224 ET - Oil prices fall but rates markets aren't in a hurry to price in lower oil prices, Jefferies' Mohit Kumar says in a note. "We have to admit that oil prices have moved lower than we expected, as the market focuses on the increased traffic through the Strait [of Hormuz]," the global economist says. "Yet the rates market has been reluctant to price in the impact of lower oil prices," he says. Jefferies believes one of the main impact from the U.S.-Iran deal is that central banks wouldn't need to hike rates. "We retain the view of no hikes from the Federal Reserve for this year and the next move from the Fed would be a cut and not a hike." (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 25, 2026 12:49 ET (16:49 GMT)
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