The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0241 GMT - Palm oil falls in Asian trading, weighed by overnight declines in soybean oil on the Chicago Board of Trade amid cautious market sentiment, says David Ng, trader at Kuala Lumpur-based Iceberg X. CPO prices are expected to remain rangebound given the lack of a fresh catalyst, he adds. Ng pegs resistance at 4,700 ringgit a ton and support at 4,550 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for December delivery is down 3 ringgit at 4,661 ringgit a ton. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
0217 GMT - Copper prices are higher in early Asian trade, as investors weigh expectations for tighter monetary policy against a still-supportive physical market, Baocheng Futures analysts write in a note. Tight mine supply and widening import losses continue to provide a floor for prices, while low domestic inventories offer some support to spot copper, they say. However, elevated prices have curbed downstream buying, with preholiday restocking largely nearing completion and demand yet to show a meaningful seasonal recovery, they say. Copper prices might remain rangebound at elevated levels in the near term, with traders likely to stay cautious ahead of China's weeklong National Day holiday. The benchmark three-month LME contract is 0.2% higher at $14,444.50 a ton. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)
0208 GMT - Iron ore prices fall in early Asian trade. Iron ore shipments to China rose even as arrivals from Australia and Brazil were slightly slower, Xinhu Futures analysts write in a note. Chinese steel output fell further while steel mills' profits continued to weaken. Investors are watching inventories, they say. The combination of weaker steel production and narrowing mill margins is keeping demand expectations subdued, while relatively firm shipments are adding to near-term supply pressure, they say. The most actively traded January iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is 0.6% lower at 700.5 yuan a ton. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)
0152 GMT - At first glance, Pantoro Gold's FY 2026 fiscal results are better than expected, says MA Moelis Australia. It attributes the beat to significantly lower exploration expenditure and a larger reversal of share-based payments, among other things. The company's annual mineral resource and ore reserve update is positive, with resources and reserves rising after depletion, it says. MA says the annual result "reinforced PNR's cash-generating potential." It says "the early FY27 production update is more encouraging, however, sustained delivery is still required to rebuild credibility." MA has a buy rating and 3.65 Australian dollar target on the stock. Shares are up 2.1% at A$2.91. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)
0147 GMT - Wilmar International should be able to navigate a challenging operating environment, says UOB Kay Hian's Amerul Iqmal in a note. While elevated commodity prices could pressure the agribusiness' margins in the downstream consumer and tropical oils business, its plantation segment could benefit from stronger palm oil and sugar prices, he says. The company is also using cost efficiency and hedging to manage volatile commodity prices, he says. Still, he flags that the company expects the impact of the stronger El Nino weather pattern on its oil palm fresh-fruit-bunch production to emerge next year. UOB Kay Hian raises its target price to 3.80 Singapore dollars from S$3.50 but maintains a hold rating. Shares rise 0.3% to S$3.62. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
0113 GMT - Gold edges higher in early Asian trade but remains below $4,120 at a multiweek low level. A firm U.S. dollar and a renewed rise in bond yields pressured the yellow metal overnight, with higher oil prices and Middle East tensions renewing inflation concerns, Christopher Tahir, senior market strategist at Exness, writes in a note. Markets are expecting further tightening from major central banks, and geopolitical developments will remain crucial for gold, Tahir adds. Spot gold is 0.1% higher at $4,116.42 a troy ounce. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)
0104 GMT - Synlait Milk's latest update contains so many positives that its previous bear at Macquarie is now a bull. Raising the investment bank's recommendation on Sylait's New Zealand-listed stock to outperform from underperform, one of Macquarie's analysts points to recent operational stabilization, new customer contracts, and the prospect of balance-sheet improvement. The analyst tells clients in a note that the new contracts are set to mitigate the impact of insourcing by major customer and shareholder A2 Milk by year three, potentially supplemented by other new customers. The dual-listed dairy product manufacturer's recovery looks solid, they add. Macquarie lifts its target price on the NZX-listed stock 8.7% to 0.50 New Zealand dollar. Shares are up 3.6% at NZ$0.435. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
1951 GMT - CME livestock futures drop as cutout prices stay historically low. On the pork side, cutout prices have given way more than typical for this time of year, according to USDA data. Average afternoon prices for pork cutouts has fallen 11% in September. In recent years, pork cutout prices have been flat to slightly lower in the month of September, after the summer grilling season concludes. Lean hog futures settled trading down 0.8% to 68.5 cents a pound, and live cattle finish down 0.5% to $2.20975 a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1915 GMT [Dow Jones]--Front-month crude-oil futures settled trading up 0.2% to $92.60 a barrel. That's after crude oil jumped to up around 3% in morning trade. This makes it 2 of the past 3 trading sessions that crude oil has finished trading higher. Putting pressure on crude-oil futures was the reopening of the East-West pipeline by Saudi Arabia, bringing on the pipeline for the first time since Sept. 10, when the pipeline suffered damage from drone attacks. Front-month Brent crude oil settled up 0.9% to $105.28 a barrel. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1903 GMT [Dow Jones]--Natural-gas futures finished trading down 6.1% to $3 per mmBtu. It's the largest decline in natural-gas futures since July, the second straight session that natural-gas futures sank, reversing big gains posted last week in response to a disruption of a pipeline in West Virginia. "Today's selling is attributed to profit-taking and several bearish factors in play," says NatGasWeather.com in a note. Mild temperatures in the U.S. are also affecting retail demand for natural gas. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1817 GMT - CBOT grain futures liquidated long holdings throughout the day, trading out of the sizable long positions reported by the CFTC in Friday's Commitment of Traders report. "Chicago corn, soybean, and wheat futures are liquidating into the end of September and the NASS Final Small Grain and Stocks report on Wednesday," said AgResource. The firm adds that "[we look] for a trading bottom in the next 48 hours followed by a rally that does not peak until mid-November." Most-active CBOT corn futures are down 1% late in trading, while soybeans fall 2.3% and wheat slides 2.1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1705 GMT - The strengthening El Niño conditions as winter approaches has analysts expecting mild and wet conditions that can hurt corn being harvested and early winter wheat planting. Combined with ongoing supply chain issues making fertilizer harder to come by for U.S. farmers, grain futures are expected to reflect this with higher prices. "In our view, markets continue to underestimate the cumulative impact of these overlapping supply shocks, leaving stock-to-use ratios vulnerable to further tightening and agricultural prices skewed to the upside," says analysts with Citi Research in a note. CBOT grains are lower to open the week, with most-active corn down 1.2%, soybeans off 2.3%, and wheat falls 1.8%.
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