The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1552 ET - Cattle futures pick up after four sessions of losses fueled by government plans to allow imports free of out-of-quota tariffs and the partial reopening of the border to Mexican cattle. Pork export sales for the week ended Aug. 20 rose 42% from the previous week to 38,700 metric tons and beef export sales slipped 1% to 9,200 metrics tons, the USDA reported. Live cattle rise 1% on CME to $2.12925 a pound. Lean hogs slip 0.3% to 80.625 cents a pound.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1532 ET - U.S. natural gas futures settle higher as the EIA reports a smaller-than-usual storage injection for last week that reduced the inventory surplus over the five-year average by 18 billion cubic feet to 167 Bcf. Underground storage rose by 15 Bcf to 3,184 Bcf, the EIA said. "The past two reports likely represent the tightest conditions of the peak summer season, with just 31 Bcf added to inventories since August 7," Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in a note. "The recent heat wave should keep the next two reported injections relatively modest, but inventories are expected to remain on a generally healthy trajectory." The Nymex September contract goes off the board at $2.907/mmBtu, up 2.3%.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1526 ET - Oil futures snap a three-session losing streak and settle higher as the market turns its attention away from the Middle East to the Russia-Ukraine war that's heating up. "The bearish mood changed when reports emerged that Vladimir Putin had allegedly said talks with Ukraine were fruitless and that Russia was preparing to ramp up the war," Phil Flynn of the Price Futures Group says in a note. "The market is already pricing in victory on the Iranian front. The wild card now is what is happening on the Russian front." WTI settles up 1.6% at $83.53 a barrel, and Brent rises 2.1% to $89.70.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1417 ET - Gold futures edge up in a steady session with the market awaiting tomorrow's comments by Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh at Jackson Hole. "A balanced tone could support gold, while hawkish remarks may lift yields and pressure the metal," Konstantinos Chrysikos of Kudo.com says in a note. "Markets will also watch any shifts in geopolitical developments in the Middle East and their impact on oil prices and inflation expectations." Front month gold settles up 0.25% at $4,609.70 a troy ounce. Silver rises 2.1% to $69.429 a troy ounce. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1347 ET - Last week's 91.1 million bushels of 2026/27 soybean export sales were the largest next marketing year sales in two years, and brings cumulative new crop sales to around double what they were at this time last year, Mike Castle of StoneX says in a note. With 2026/27 U.S. soybean crush demand pegged at 2.78 billion bushels, "the U.S. has inherently less excess supply for the export market," he adds. The USDA expects a record soybean crop, but reductions in the forecast could further tighten the balance sheet, especially if China continues its purchasing pace, Castle adds. Soybeans are up 0.5% on CBOT. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1239 ET - Oil futures pick up after three sessions of losses that followed the U.S. tightening of sanctions on Iran and talks between Iran and Oman on opening a corridor through the Strait of Hormuz. Sanctions "tend to be rather leaky" and increasing them doesn't have much of an impact, says Christian Lawrence, head of Americas and energy market strategy at Rabobank. Sanctions against secondary countries could be more effective but in the case of Iran they would need to target China, which seems unlikely, he adds. The oil price decline is still well within recent ranges, with short-term pricing driven by headline noise, Lawrence says. "We have seen a lot more oil getting through the strait recently, but not distillates." WTI is up 0.6% at $82.69 a barrel and Brent is up 1.1% at $88.81. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1216 ET - Wheat futures are adding to yesterday's sharp gains as escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict looks to further disrupt Black Sea exports. AgResource fears the war will continue at least until the end of the year, "shifting 15 million metric tons of wheat and 7-8 million metric tons of corn to other world exporters." The EU would be the first choice, as it's close to the Black Sea, but drought limits its ability to supply the needed wheat, the firm says. Argentina awaits its new harvest in November, and Australia will have new crop cargoes in late October/November, AgResource adds. CBOT wheat is up 1.8%at a more than 3-year high $7.62 a bushel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1133 ET - U.S. natural gas inventories posted their smallest build so far of the current injection season, reducing the surplus over the five-year average to its lowest level in two months. Gas in underground storage increased by 15 billion cubic feet last week to 3,184 Bcf, the EIA reports. The storage build was below the five-year average for the week of 33 Bcf, and smaller than the 21 Bcf estimate in a WSJ survey of analysts. Stocks were 167 Bcf above the 2012-2025 average, compared with a surplus of 185 Bcf the previous week. Nymex natural gas is up 2% at $2.898/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1111 ET -- U.S. natural gas inventories posted their smallest build so far in the current injection season, reducing the surplus over the five-year average to its lowest level in two months. Gas in underground storage increased by 15 billion cubic feet last week to 3,184 Bcf, the EIA reports. The storage build was below the five-year average for the week of 33 Bcf, and smaller than the 21 Bcf estimate in a WSJ survey of analysts. Stocks were 167 Bcf above the 2012-2025 average, compared with a surplus of 185 Bcf the previous week. Nymex natural gas is up 2% at $2.898/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1028 ET - The global pork trade has become more fragmented and competitive since top importer China recovered from the African swine fever supply shock between 2018 and 2021 and reduced its share of global imports, Eva Gocsik, Rabobank's global head of animal protein says in a note. "Trade volumes have stabilized at lower levels since 2024," she says, and "export competition has intensified as suppliers compete across a broader range of destination markets." The EU is likely to gradually lose its leading position in pork exports with the U.S. emerging as the largest global exporter over time, Gocsik adds, although trade tensions between the U.S. and China have temporarily slowed the shift. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1023 ET - Corn futures are lower are rising six straight sessions to three-year highs. "With U.S. production prospects dropping and exports out of the Black Sea essentially shut off, corn is expected to trade higher over time," Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives says in a note. But near term, "the market is very overbought so anyone buying right now needs to be prepared to ride out a potential large correction that could come at any time." Corn is down 1% at $5.31 1/4 a bushel on CBOT. Soybeans are down 1.1% while wheat gains 0.4% on concerns about Russia-Ukraine escalation.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1002 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are higher with the market looking to weekly storage data due at 10:30 a.m. ET. Analysts in a WSJ survey predict a 21 Bcf storage injection, which would put stocks 173 Bcf above the five-year average, down from a 185 Bcf surplus the previous week. Meanwhile, hotter weather into early September and LNG feedgas demand reaching a two-month high as Freeport and Corpus Christi return to full strength "offer a bullish bias into today's September contract final settlement," Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note. Nymex natural gas is up 2.4% at $2.911/mmBtu.
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