The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
0245 GMT - Palm oil rises in Asian trading, tracking stronger soybean oil on the Chicago Board of Trade overnight. Firmness in global vegetable oil and energy markets is expected to support prices, but ample palm oil supplies and near-term profit-taking could cap further gains, AmInvestment Bank says in a note. It expects CPO futures to find support at 4,782 ringgit a ton and face resistance at 4,835 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for January delivery is 12 ringgit higher at 4,829 ringgit a ton. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)
0220 GMT - Copper is higher in early Asian trading. Prices are supported by tightening supply, as the world's largest copper producer Chile faces its lowest output in 23 years, ANZ research analysts say in a commentary. Chile's finance minister expects copper output to fall 7% this year, with only a minor recovery projected for 2027. Operational issues are also increasing, with at least seven worker fatalities at Chilean mines over the past month, they add. The three-month LME copper contract is 0.2% higher at $14,448.00 a ton. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0034 GMT - Gold declines in early Asian trade. The precious metal is likely to remain weighed down by higher crude oil prices keeping inflationary pressures in place and reinforcing hawkish monetary-policy expectations, says Bas Kooijman of DHF Capital S.A. in a note. Investors are likely to watch October's Federal Reserve meeting for hints on the U.S. interest rate outlook, he says. "Although the Fed is widely expected to leave rates steady, attention will likely remain on clues regarding another possible increase in December," he adds. A higher interest-rate environment typically drags down the non-interest-yielding yellow metal. Spot gold is down 0.2% at $4,117.90 an ounce.(megan.cheah@wsj.com)
2236 GMT - The current strength of U.S. steel spreads are cementing Jefferies's bullish stance toward BlueScope Steel. Jefferies expects Bluescope to achieve 1H Ebit of A$960 million. That's at the top end of BlueScope's A$860 million-A$960 million guidance. "We see further upgrade risk for 2H27 given spot of US$890/ton and consensus assuming US$650/ton," analyst Ramoun Lazar says. Jefferies has penciled in US$700/ton for 2H. "Bluescope remains attractive on 8% FY27 free cash flow yield, supporting more than A$1 billion shareholder returns per annum," Jefferies adds. It retains a buy call and A$40.00/share price target. BlueScope ended Tuesday at A$32.83. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1957 GMT - Oil futures settle lower in a volatile session as the market remains jittery about possible escalation of conflict in the Middle East. WTI for November delivery expires at $101.79 a barrel, down 1.8% on the day, while the most-active December contract falls 0.7% to $97.82 a barrel. December Brent crude settles down 0.7% at $108.79 a barrel. The market will likely pay close attention to U.S. inventory data due Wednesday following the previous week's 8.6 million barrel crude stock draw when production was affected by Hurricane Isaias. Analysts in a WSJ survey expect a 300,000 barrel decline in crude inventories for last week, while gasoline stocks are seen unchanged and diesel stocks down 1.3 million barrels.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1945 GMT - Lean hog futures settled up 0.8% to 69.225 cents a pound. That makes it three out of the past four trading sessions that hogs have finished higher, seemingly snapping an overall downward slide that's swallowed up hog prices since early September, according to data from FactSet. But there's still problems in the hog complex that can pressure prices. "Pork packer margins have been under pressure recently and that is not good news for cash hog values and consequently the CME Index," says Steiner Consulting in a note. Live cattle futures settled the day up 1% to $2.302 a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1923 GMT - U.S. natural gas futures settle lower, testing $3 support on a mild weather outlook. The market "appears almost entirely focused on mild temperature forecasts that are now stretching into next month per the reliable 6-14 day views," Ritterbusch & Associates says in a note. Not much weather premium seems to be embedded in the December and forward gas contracts, and with the storage surplus small enough that it could be erased by a colder than normal November, "we can envision a sharp upside price reversal on the first sniff of renewed below-normal temps," the firm adds. Nymex natural gas for November delivery settles down 3.1% at $2.9630/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1822 GMT - Foreign job seeker interest has fallen to 3% of all clicks in September from almost 8% in July 2023, coinciding with federal efforts to reign in temporary immigration, analysis by Indeed finds. U.S. job seekers represented only 21% of foreign clicks in 3Q compared with 28% in 4Q 2024, it adds. At the same time the occupations seeing the steepest drops in foreign interest, particularly engineering, are also the ones where postings are climbing, Indeed adds. At their peak foreign job seekers accounted for about one-fifth of clicks in several engineering, tech and agriculture-related sectors, but three years later foreign clicks are down in every sector, it says. (robb.stewart@wsj.com; @RobbMStewart)
1759 GMT - The retreat seen in CBOT grain futures is slowing down the amount of harvest farmers are bringing to market. "New sales across the scales are limited, and few farmers are willing to sell a lower-yielding corn crop," says AgResource in a note. "Soybean cash sales are noted, with yields matching last year's record, but cash selling from U.S. farmers will subside after this week." CBOT grain futures are lower, with most-active corn down 0.8%, soybeans off 0.5%, and wheat 1.7% lower. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1759 GMT - Gold futures settle lower for a second straight session as high oil prices continue to fuel inflation risks and interest-rate expectations. The bearish trend may have lost momentum, "but there is no compelling evidence that the metal has bottomed out yet," Fawad Razaqzada of Forex.com says in a note. "Renewed inflation concerns from both hard and soft data, as well as rising oil prices, have raised concerns that central banks will have to tighten their policies further in the coming months," he says. Central bank gold purchases provide some support, cushioning downside risks, but may not be enough to prevent at least a temporary break below $4,000, he adds. Front month gold slips 0.4% in New York to $4,122.40 a troy ounce. Silver gains 1.3% to $57.706 a troy ounce. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1647 GMT - A deepening slump in U.S. home construction is threatening Canadian lumber producers, according to TD Cowen analyst Sean Steuart. U.S. housing starts fell 5.2% in September to an annualized 1.221 million units, missing estimates by 6.4% and hitting near six-year lows, Steuart says. Residential building accounts for 31% of North American lumber volume, according to Steuart who adds that "with rising mortgage rates, we see no obvious near-term catalysts for an affordability reversal." Single-family starts, which consume more lumber, are down 4.0% year-to-date versus last year. Among the most exposed Canadian lumber producers are West Fraser, Canfor, Interfor and Western Forest Products, Steuart says. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1643 GMT - The weekly USDA Crop Progress report shows the U.S. soybean harvest almost catching up with the 5-year average pace for this time of year. The data shows 64% of the soybean harvest is complete, versus the 5-year average of 65%. Corn remains behind the 5-year pace, with 44% of the harvest complete, versus the 5-year average of 52%. "The corn harvest continues to lag expectations but should pick up this week thanks to dry Midwest weather," says Matt Zeller of StoneX in a note. "Yield anecdotes and expectations remain mostly strong here in the heart of the belt." CBOT grain futures are lower midday, with corn down 0.9%, soybeans off 0.4%, and wheat 1.5% lower.
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