The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0309 GMT - Palm oil rises in early Asian trading, driven by overnight gains in soybean oil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade. Still, sentiment is likely to remain negative unless crude palm oil futures stay above 4,700 ringgit a ton, RHB says in a note. A clear move above that level could shift market sentiment to a more positive bias, it adds. RHB expects prices to face resistance at 4,900 ringgit a ton and find support at 4,390 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for September delivery is 85 ringgit higher at 4,707 ringgit a ton. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
0243 GMT - Copper is higher in early Asian trading. Signs of supply tightness are lending support, say ANZ research analysts in a commentary. The premium paid for copper over local supplies in China has risen to US$100 a ton, up from a low of US$20 a ton in late January, they note. Supply disruption concerns are also being fueled by severe storms in Chile which may result in copper production disruption, they say. The three-month LME copper contract is 0.2% higher at $13,831.00 a ton. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0229 GMT - Iron ore rises in Asian trading, with the most-traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange 1.0% higher at 749.50 yuan a ton. The global surge in iron-ore shipments during the first half of the year has largely run its course, Nanhua Futures analysts say in a commentary. They note that shipments typically ease in July due to seasonal factors. Given shipping lead times, port arrivals are expected to remain relatively weak over the next two weeks, they add. Still, declining profitability at Chinese steel mills continues to weigh on demand, leaving few near-term price catalysts. With prices across the ferrous metals complex remaining relatively low, iron ore is expected to trade in a narrow range near term. (jason.chau@wsj.com)
0009 GMT - Gold is steady in early Asian trade. While a modest dollar pullback has supported gold prices, the broader outlook for the metal remains bearish in the near term due to elevated bond yields across major economies, says Tony Sage of Critical Metals in commentary. Rising oil prices amid escalating tensions in the Middle East have fueled concerns over global inflationary pressures and reinforced hawkish monetary policy expectations, he says. Gold prices are at risk ahead of central bank decisions with the European Central Bank's rate decision this week, and the Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and Bank of England next week. A higher interest-rate environment typically drags down non-interest-yielding assets like gold. Spot gold is flat at $4,133.08 an ounce. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
2330 GMT [Dow Jones]--Wesfarmers's expansion of its Mt Holland lithium project wasn't really in doubt. However, Jefferies suggests the full benefits from doubling capacity of the mine and concentrator remain to be seen. "With significant uncertainty and volatility in lithium prices, it is unclear whether Wesfarmers will generate an acceptable return on its circa A$3 billion total project investment," Jefferies analyst Michael Simotas says. It notes the hydroxide refinery isn't yet proven. "But the expansion plan carries less operating risk given it won't expand refinery capacity and the first concentrator has been successful," Jefferies says. It rates Wesfarmers's stock a hold with a A$73.00/share price target. Wesfarmers ended Wednesday at A$89.90. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
2313 GMT - Westgold Resources could positively surprise with its final dividend for FY26, signals Macquarie. Westgold had cash, bullion and investments of A$939 million at the end of June. That's a strong balance sheet position, Macquarie says. It notes that Westgold didn't pay an interim dividend as the company had only recently started paying tax and wanted to pay a franked dividend. "Heading into the August results we forecast a final FY26 dividend of A$0.09 which is 12.5% above Visible Alpha of A$0.08," Macquarie says. It retains an "outperform" call on Westgold, which ended Wednesday at A$4.85. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1934 GMT - Live cattle futures on the CME settle down 1.5% to $2.2335 a pound, falling ahead of the USDA's next Cattle on Feed report due out Friday. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal anticipate Friday's report to show an uptick in cattle inventories on feedlots, by an average of 2.2%. Fed cattle being marketed or newly placed on lots are expected to drop, according to the surveyed analysts. The report is due out at 3pm ET Friday. Most-active lean hog futures settle up 0.2% to 88.325 cents a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1915 GMT - Continuing strikes by the U.S. and Iran and the threat of further escalation send oil futures higher for a fourth straight session. President Trump said on Truth Social that the U.S. will bomb one bridge or power plant, including in or near Tehran, any time Iran fires as vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. The market is trying to weigh "does Trump really want to do that next level of escalation?" says Rabobank senior energy strategist Joe DeLaura. If the U.S. starts hitting power plants and infrastructure, Iran will start attacking power plants or desalination plants in Saudi Arabia and U.A.E., hitting their critical water supplies, he says. "If we continue to see this kind of escalation then we're going to see a very big hike because we're going to be developing into a much wider and much deeper war." WTI settles up 3% at $86.83 a barrel and Brent rises 3.4% to $94.07.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1908 GMT - U.S. natural gas futures settle higher with the market looking to tomorrow's weekly storage report and keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Bertha as the system moves along the Louisiana coast toward Texas. "Impacts are expected to be minor and mainly through the loss of a little demand due to clouds and showers, along with the potential for minor LNG and U.S. production disruptions along the U.S. Gulf Coast," NatGasWeather.com says in a note. Earth Science Associates estimates lost offshore natural gas production between 2.4 Bcf and 3.2 Bcf due to the storm. Nymex natural gas settles up 2.1% at $2.925/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1823 GMT - The EIA's report of weekly builds in U.S. crude oil, gasoline and diesel stocks was "as good as one could expect in a tightening global market," Mizuho's Robert Yawger says in a note. Crude inventories rose by 2 million barrels, gasoline by 765,000 barrels, and distillates by 1.4 million barrels. Crude imports were up and exports down, while refineries ran slightly slower at 96.1% of capacity. Refineries have been running above 90% since the start of May, and above 96% for five of the past six weeks, Yawger notes. "There was effectively no turnaround season this year," he says. "Right now, the refinery needs a rest, but the global market is thirsting for diesel and gasoline." (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1814 GMT - Precious metals settle higher, with sentiment shifting to a more optimistic outlook. "Prices are in an upswing that could continue until the end of the year," says Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities. Cardillo adds that for gold, central bank buying is starting to return after taking a pause, giving similar support for when gold ran up to record highs last year. Cardillo sets his near-term price target at $4,375 a troy ounce, also noting that next week's Fed meeting may provide more clarity to how interest rate hikes could materialize going forward. Front-month gold closes up 1.9% to $4,146.90/oz. Front-month silver climbs 2% to $60.019/oz today. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1735 GMT - Oxford Economics is the latest forecasting firm to play down the economic impact for Canada from President Trump's plan to impose a 50% tariff on a range of Canadian-made goods. The 50% tariff targets a select group of goods. Should they be implemented as planned on Aug. 19, the impact would shave about 0.2 percentage points from Canada's level of GDP in 2027, Oxford says. Further, the tariff could reduce growth next year by up to 0.2 percentage points, through weaker exports and business investment. "The targeted nature of the tariffs means the biggest impacts would be at the sectoral and regional level," Oxford says. The firm projects Canada-based plastics, electrical machinery, forest products and beverage companies to be most affected. (paul.vieira@wsj.com; @paulvieira)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 23, 2026 00:15 ET (04:15 GMT)
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