The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1136 ET - The Suez Canal and Egypt's Sumed pipeline--which transports crude from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea--have enough spare capacity to handle additional Saudi oil exports if disruption at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait forces shipments onto alternative routes, according to HSBC. The bank estimates the combined infrastructure could accommodate nearly 4 million barrels a day of extra crude oil flows. Rerouting cargoes through Suez would lengthen journeys and increase costs, while also requiring large oil tankers to transfer their cargo to smaller vessels or offload part of their crude into the Sumed pipeline and pick it up in the Mediterranean. Still, "it can all be done in our view, and the oil industry is no stranger to ship-to-ship transfers," analysts at HSBC say. "The global shipping industry has proven resilient and able to adapt to disruptions over the past few years." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
1051 ET - Gold prices extend gains, supported by a softer U.S. dollar and technical buying as investors closely watch developments in the Middle East. "We expect markets to remain headline-driven in the near term," analysts at Sucden Financial say. "Any credible de-escalation would ease pressure on yields and the dollar, but as long as oil stays elevated, the market is likely to keep an inflation premium embedded in rates despite the recent softer CPI print." In early U.S. trading, New York gold futures rise 2% to $4,156.10 a troy ounce. Meanwhile, silver is up 2.5% to $60.61 an ounce and platinum gains 1.3% to $1,659.20 an ounce. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
1043 ET - Oil prices slightly trim earlier gains as investors closely watch developments in the Middle East amid escalating attacks between the U.S. and Iran and threats to Red Sea shipping by the Houthi rebels. In early U.S. trading, Brent crude is up 3.4% to $94.11 a barrel after reaching $95, while WTI futures rise 3.2% to $87.01 a barrel. President Trump said on a social-media post on Wednesday that the U.S. would "bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant" any time Iran targets a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the Houthis's announced maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia has already affected commercial behavior in the Red Sea, with several tankers altering course or pausing their voyages as owners assess the security situation, according to Kpler. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
1004 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME are down 0.8% in early trading, after finishing virtually flat in yesterday's session and turning higher Monday. Analysts and traders continue to see cattle futures as oversold, says the Hightower Report in a note, but the sentiment around cattle seems decidedly pessimistic even with this pause after a 14-day losing streak. "We do continue to see open interest decline," says StoneX in a note. Lean hogs are up 0.5% in morning trade. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0956 ET - Cal-Maine Foods CEO Sherman Miller says the industry is taking steps to limit supply, after an overabundance of eggs during the recent quarter weighed on pricing and sales. The American Egg Board and Urner Barry, a price benchmarker, have recently cited slowed breeder activity, increased chick cancellations, softer hatchery demand, and more aggressive flock rotations as evidence that flock growth is moderating, Miller says on a call with analysts. "If accurate, these developments are likely to tighten supply in the near term and suggest supply may continue to moderate over the coming quarters," he adds. Cal-Maine shares are off 6.5% after sales tumbled in the recent quarter. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
0944 ET - A crop tour headed by the Wheat Quality Council is reporting yield projections for North Dakota down 4 bushels an acre from the prior year. At 46 bushels an acre, it's still close to the 5-year average, but giving grain traders reason to believe that worse yields might soon be reported from the tour. "Last week's extreme heat shaved bushels from this year's HRS wheat crop," says AgResource in a note. The tour continues today, concluding on Thursday. CBOT wheat futures are up 2.2% in early trading. Corn rises 1.3% and soybeans are up 0.6%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0928 ET - U.S. natural gas futures gain in early trading, while are still holding in a range under $3 per million British thermal units. "This apparent standoff between the bulls and the bears reflects short-term temperature outlooks that are only slightly skewed in a bullish direction," Ritterbusch & Associates says in a note. The weather-driven cooling demand isn't enough to offset an expected expansion in the storage surplus which could reach 200 Bcf, the firm adds. "But we are also leaving open the possibility of a significant tightening in supply next month if LNG exports can pick up again amid what could still prove to be an exceptionally hot summer." Nymex natural gas is up 1.3% at $2.903/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0924 ET - CBOT wheat futures are 2.9% higher premarket, bringing them up to roughly $6.98 a bushel. If wheat closes above the $7 a bushel mark, it'll be the first time since late 2023 that the contract finishes that high, according to data from FactSet. Increased tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war are the current driver for higher wheat prices, along with hot temperatures in growing areas around the world, like the U.S. Plains and in western Europe. "Recent heat and dryness in the northern Plains is an important issue, and concern will be elevated again next week with more above 100-degree readings expected," says the Hightower Report in a note. Most-active corn rises 1.5%, and soybeans are up 0.7%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0834 ET - Oil futures extend their gains as the U.S. and Iran continue strikes and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran isn't serious about peace talks. His comments come after President Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. isn't interested in a meeting until Iran is ready to meet in a meaningful way. "This, combined with the opening of new fronts, will likely prompt a wave of speculators to chase prices higher, potentially pushing Brent crude above the triple-digit levels," says Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital. WTI is up 3.2% at $87.06 a barrel and Brent is 3.6% higher at $94.29. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
0726 ET - Cal-Maine says it won't pay a cash dividend until it recovers the $35.9 million loss it logged in F4Q. Oversupplies drove egg prices to historically low inflation-adjusted levels during the quarter, Cal-Maine CEO Sherman Miller says. The egg company logged sharply lower sales and swung to a loss. Cal-Maine says that pursuant to its variable dividend policy, it will not pay a cash dividend for the quarter "and will not pay a dividend for a subsequent profitable quarter until the company is profitable on a cumulative basis computed from the date of the last quarter in which a dividend was paid." Cal-Maine is off 5% premarket. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
0637 ET - Palm oil prices closed higher, thanks to recovering sentiment, says Abdul Hameed, director of sales at Pakistan-based Manzoor Trading. The market stabilized after early pressure as buying interest emerged, he says. Firmer energy prices and weaker-than-expected SPPOMA production data eased concerns about near-term supply growth, supporting prices, he adds. Sentiment also received some support from reports of crude palm oil cargo withdrawals from Indonesia, reducing available supply. He says rising open interest and stronger trading volume suggest renewed market participation, not just a technical rebound. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for October delivery rose 11 ringgit to 4,621 ringgit a ton.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)Fresnillo's shares rise 1.2% to 2,597 pence. "Fresnillo on Track to Meet Production Guidance -- Market Talk," at 0804 GMT, incorrectly said shares fell.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 22, 2026 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)
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