The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1535 ET - The most-active contract for lean hogs has switched to October delivery, but that contract closed up 0.5% to 88.2 cents a pound. That's well below the $1.01 a pound that August futures closed at today, but gives the October contract a lot of room to move higher to meet August's level. "The daily chart uptrend remains intact, supported by rising cash hog prices," says Joe Davis of Futures International in a note. Average carcass cutout prices gained $2 per hundredweight through midday today, to $105.10 per cwt, according to USDA data. Live cattle futures close virtually unchanged at $2.2645 a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1505 ET - Oil futures rise for a third straight session as the U.S. and Iran continue strikes, while President Trump says the U.S. isn't interested in a meeting until Iran is ready to meet in what he called "a meaningful way." His comments dampen expectations for a quick return to the negotiating table. "The market remains supported by elevated geopolitical risk, but any meaningful diplomatic breakthrough could quickly remove part of the current risk premium," analysts at Kotak Neo say in a note.WTI for August delivery goes off the board at $84.91 a barrel, up 2%, while the September contract rises 2.3% to $84.34. Brent settles up 2% at $91.01 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1503 ET - U.S. natural gas futures end a rangebound session near flat as cooling demand in the south and central U.S. is tempered by milder temperatures in the east and prospects that Tropical Storm Bertha could interrupt LNG exports in the Gulf and bring cooling rains to parts of Louisiana and Texas. The August contract remains "stuck between support near the upper $2.70s and resistance around the $3.00 level," Gelber & Associates says in a note. "The broader balance still leaves sellers with room to defend resistance." Nymex natural gas settles up 0.2% at $2.865/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1412 ET - Trump's new 50% tariffs should only affect a narrow slice of Canadian forest-product exports, says TD Cowen's Sean Steuart. He says in a report that major Canadian forest products are "seemingly exempted from the annex list provided by the U.S. government," and that only a few equities will likely be exposed to potential Section 338 tariffs. Steuart says the tariffs apply mainly to paper packaging, tissue, and certain specialty engineered wood products, while major Canadian exports like softwood lumber, OSB, and market pulp are excluded. He notes that KP Tissue is the most exposed, while Cascades and West Fraser Timber are only marginally exposed to the tariffs. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1408 ET - Front-month gold and silver settle higher, getting a boost as equities also rise on strength in technology shares as earnings season heats up. Silver rose for the third consecutive day, climbing 3.6% to $58.835 a troy ounce. Analysts have pointed to silver's usage in tech as a factor supporting the white metal. Front-month gold finishes 1.5% higher to $4,071.10/oz, making it two out of the past three sessions that gold has closed higher. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1350 ET - Movement in energy prices is supporting the turnaround seen in grain futures this afternoon, says Oliver Sloup of Blue Line Futures. "I think you see strength in the energy complex; oil, heating oil, RBOB also offering support," says Sloup. Light crude is up 2.5%, to $85.28 a barrel, according to LSEG data, with Brent crude oil up 2.2%, to $91.19 a barrel. Grains like corn have been riding waves with energy prices, due to the usage of it in renewable fuels like ethanol. Most-active CBOT corn is up 0.6%, while wheat rises 0.5% and soybeans fall 0.3%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1308 ET--CBOT grain futures have gradually turned the corner toward trading higher Tuesday afternoon, with corn and wheat both managing to turn higher for the day. For wheat, the turnaround is part of the judgment on how long or meaningful the disruption in the Black Sea due to escalated fighting in the Ukraine-Russia conflict will be. "Wheat traders are trying to decide how much Black Sea premium they want to build into prices," says Brian Grete of Commstock Investments. Wheat is now up 0.3%, while corn rises 0.6% and soybeans are down 0.3%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1252 ET - Demand for restaurants is resilient even as customers face various pressures, D.A. Davidson analysts Matt Curtis and Andrew Tompkins said in a research note. A survey conducted by the analysts found that convenience and speed of service helped attract customers, while higher menu prices and personal financial pressures were the main headwinds. The firm says Texas Roadhouse, Chili's and The Cheesecake Factory are the best bang for your buck while Kura Sushi, Portillo's and Sweetgreen were perceived as more expensive. (grace.yoon@wsj.com)
1235 ET - Yesterday's adjustments to the Section 232 aluminum tariffs, which add an "incentive program" for companies to invest in U.S. aluminum smelters, is not seen as moving the needle for U.S. aluminum, which remains reliant on foreign producers despite 8 years of the tariff. "U.S. primary aluminium production has continued to decline over the years despite years of tariff protection," says ING Economics in a note. Not only does the building of an aluminum smelter require years of work, but access to "reliable, competitively priced electricity" is a bigger barrier for the building of new aluminum smelting. As a result, aluminum prices and regional premiums are expected to remain elevated, says the firm. 3-Month LME aluminum prices are up 0.9% to $3,169.50/mt. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1211 ET - The push of prediction market Kalshi to move into perpetual futures -- contracts with no expiration dates that are easily tradable -- looks to be extending past cryptocurrencies. The firm says that it now plans to add perps for more-traditional assets including gold, silver, and platinum. The firm says in filings with the CFTC today that such offerings have never been "offered before at this scale for retail investors," and that precious metal perps lend themselves to Kalshi's platform. "Perpetual futures have become the dominant form of derivative and a principal locus of price discovery in the markets in which they have emerged, yet that activity has historically occurred almost entirely on offshore, unregulated venues," Kalshi says in the filings. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1145 ET - A severe winter storm in Chile has temporarily disrupted Lundin Mining's operations, but TD Cowen's Craig Hutchison thinks the impact should be short-lived and doesn't threaten full-year guidance. At Caserones, mining is suspended due to heavy snowfall and power issues, and Hutchison estimates roughly $12 million in Ebitda lost per week of downtime, though management had already factored weather risks into its 130,000 to 140,000 metric-ton forecast. At Candelaria, mining paused but the mill continues to run on stockpiled ore, keeping its outlook intact as well. Depending on how long access restoration takes, Hutchison thinks the storm's effects will be a neutral to slightly negative impact. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1108 ET - Black Sea agricultural research firm SovEcon says that it has reduced its outlook for Russia's wheat output, cutting it down to 88.3 million metric tons from a previous forecast of 88.9 million tons. Driving the reduction is a weaker outlook for wheat coming out of Russia's southern growing areas - specifically around the city of Krasnodar, says Andrey Sizov in a note. "Krasnodar has become the main uncertainty," says Sizov. "Yields there could still improve as better fields are harvested, but for now the region is holding back an otherwise strong crop in the South." SovEcon also made cuts to planted area for Russian wheat. CBOT wheat futures are down 0.6% in morning trade, while corn is flat and soybeans fall 0.6%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 21, 2026 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)
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