The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1530 ET - Crude futures pull up from Friday's prewar levels following weekend exchanges between the U.S. and Iran, although tension eased with the planned resumption of talks. "The risk premium in oil has come down quite a bit," says Tortoise Capital senior portfolio manager Rob Thummel. While conditions are subject to change any time, the market is currently perceiving that flows through the Strait of Hormuz will continue for an extended period, he adds. Even when flows normalize, prices are likely to see support as depleted reserves need replenishing. "We'll need to have an oversupply in the oil market just to build back inventories, for a while," Thummel adds. WTI settles up 2.2% at $70.75 a barrel and front month Brent rises 1.6% to $73.15 ahead of tomorrow's expiry. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1521 ET - Market participants have been digesting last week's Hogs and Pigs report, with the USDA forecasting the potential for a lesser hog supply in the second half of the year. Also providing support for hog futures is a slower-than-expected slaughter rate last week, according to ADM Investor Services in a note. "Last week's weekly slaughter was 1% lower than a year ago, a shift from higher slaughter rates recently," says analysts with the firm. Lean hog futures are up 0.7% to 97.725 cents a pound, according CFTC data. Live cattle futures settled down 0.9% to $2.4355 a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1436 ET - Selling appears to be the prevailing move ahead of both the last day of June and the end of the quarter tomorrow. "All the fund buying last week, is giving way to fund selling today," says Brian Hoops of Midwest Market Solutions. "The selling is pressuring futures and breaking key technical support." Corn, soybeans, and wheat are all up year-to-date, according to FactSet data, but prices have eased as the risk premium added in the wake of the Iran war has somewhat subsided. Today, most-active CBOT corn is down 2.9% to $4.095 a bushel, while soybeans fall 1.5% to just under $11.40 a bushel and wheat drops 1.7% to below $5.80 a bushel. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1414 ET - Oil futures extend gains with the market apprehensive after the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend, although an agreement to resume talks helps contain the rise. "The main concern is that the shipping will lose momentum as insurers pull back from green-lighting a virtual drag race to get as many barrels as possible out of the Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz," Mizuho's Robert Yawger says in a note. "Traffic in the strait was already operating at reduced levels because of the precarious nature of the routes available to shipping." WTI is up 2.4% at $70.86 a barrel and Brent gains 1.9% to $73.99.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1406 ET - Gold futures break a two session winning streak, finishing down 1.4% to $4,022.30 a troy ounce. Investors seemed to react to weekend clashes hampering traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and wondered is multiple interest rate hikes are more likely to emerge this year. "Gold prices are remaining under pressure as traders remain uncertain over the outlook of progress in U.S.-Iran talks, while the recent flare up in strikes has renewed the risks that energy prices could rise again," says ADM Investor Services in a note. Silver settles down 1.8% to $58.175/oz. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1337 ET - Trader short-covering before the end of the month is competing with disappointment around an easing weather outlook for crop-growing areas. "The need to liquidate remaining July contracts has collided with eroding medium-term Central U.S. weather threats," says AgResource in a note. The firm adds that tomorrow's reports from the USDA are not expected to move the needle regarding supply-and-demand fundamentals. Most-active corn futures are down 3.4%, while soybeans sink 1.6% and wheat falls 1.6%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1055 ET - The count for cases of New World screwworm found in the U.S. is now up to 27, according to data from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Cases remain concentrated in Texas, particularly in the southern part of the state by the U.S./Mexico border, but an increasing amount of Texas counties have reported issues -- up to 10 counties, according to APHIS data. What's also weakening cattle futures is the approaching July 4th holiday, with most consumer buying to prepare for it already done. Live cattle is down 1.1% to $2.432 a pound, while hogs fall 0.3% to 96.3 cents a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1050 ET - The National Weather Service's latest 6-10 day weather forecast shows above-average rainfall for much of the Corn Belt, which is likely to give crops growing in these states ample precipitation even as hot weather drapes the area. Looking out further, that rainfall is expected to move through the Corn Belt and into the East Coast. "The 6-10 day outlook remains active across the heart of the country before the 11-15 day period turns drier overall," says Joe Davis of Futures International in a note. CBOT corn falls 2.4%, soybeans are down 1.3%, and wheat slides 1.1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1041 ET - Tomorrow's yearly acreage report from the USDA is expected to show higher soybean and wheat acreage versus March's Prospective Planting report, according to Hedgepoint Global in a note. The firm projects soybeans at 85.4 million acres and wheat at 43.9 million acres. Corn acreage is expected to fall by 300,000 acres to 95 million acres, the firm says. A lack of planting delays this spring bodes well for the accuracy of March's acreage report, according to Hedgepoint Global. "Given this, we are likely to see few changes in the soybean and corn figures, although surprises cannot be ruled out due to the issue of production costs, which rose this season as a result of the war between the U.S. and Iran," says the firm. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1030 ET - CBOT grain futures are down to open trading, with most-active corn down 2.4%, soybeans down 1.3%, and wheat down 0.9%. The early weakness comes as traders watch how the weather situation develops into July. "The bullish reversals from last week are on the verge of being 'taken out' with prices potentially grinding lower," says Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note. "While weather is hot - there are chances for rain." Traders are also moving cautiously ahead of tomorrow's acreage report from the USDA, along with the quarterly stocks report. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0936 ET - U.S. natural gas futures retreat as the August contract debuts at the front of the curve with the market looking beyond the current heat wave that's driving demand. "The market may return from the 4th of July holiday weekend with the hottest weather of the summer over, storage surplus vs. five-year normal at a shoulder-season high and record production," Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note. Decelerating LNG infrastructure growth could also limit room for bullishness in Nymex futures, he adds. Nymex natural gas is off 3.1% at $3.179/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0858 ET - Oil futures are higher but appear steady as the U.S. and Iran plan to resume talks after exchanging strikes over the weekend. The market is trying to clear crude that was trapped behind the Strait of Hormuz, "hitting the global market just as we had covered crude needs with other sources (e.g. SPR)," Neil Crosby of Sparta Commodities says in a note. But "it is still fairly obvious to us that until more vessels sustainably head into the Strait than come out of it, we won't get anywhere near a normal Arabian Gulf supply chain," he adds. WTI is up 0.9% at $69.88 a barrel and most active Brent gains 0.7% to $73.10.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 29, 2026 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)
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