Commodities Blogs and Articles
Commodities Blogs and Articles
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EMAIL DIGESTS
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Tuesday recap
EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
Tomorrow the 32 International Energy Agency members will vote on a proposal to tap up to 400 million barrels from their strategic petroleum reserves, a release larger than the 240‑million‑barrel drawdown after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The IEA holds 1.8 billion barrels overall, including 600 million in commercial inventories, which could offset roughly 124 days of supply stuck beyond the Strait of Hormuz. Prices have held steady because the move was anticipated after a G7 emergency meeting signaled readiness for coordinated action. Meanwhile, Oracle’s after‑hours surge, driven by a 44 % jump in cloud revenue and a 325 % rise in performance obligations from AI contracts, adds a bullish note to the market outlook.
Australia’s diesel imports remain strong, with about 5.8 million tonnes expected by the end of March 2026 – the second‑largest first‑quarter volume on record. Real‑time tanker tracking from LSEG Vessel Explorer captures roughly 90 % of these shipments, confirming that physical supply...
The G‑7 is debating a coordinated release of 300‑400 million barrels from IEA strategic petroleum reserves to mitigate the Hormuz supply crisis. Historical draw‑down rates have never exceeded about 2 million barrels per day, meaning the release would cover only a fraction...
Diesel prices jumped nearly a dollar, with the EIA reporting a national average of $4.86 per gallon for the week ending March 9, the highest level since December 2022 and approaching the $5 mark. California remained the costliest market at $6.10 per...
After a weaker overnight session, the market opened mixed with grains under pressure and soybeans gaining. Soy products rallied, driven by speculation that soybean balance sheets may tighten enough to trigger rationing. Grain prices were weighed down by divergent global...
An analyst cited by the Wall Street Journal estimates that if the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran ended today, shipping traffic in the Persian Gulf would normalize in about two weeks and oil production would return to pre‑war levels within two...
Gasoline prices jumped 25% since the January low, reaching $3.63 per gallon—the highest level since June 2024, while diesel surged 40% to $4.86, its highest since October 2022. The spike is driven largely by station profit‑margin adjustments rather than a supply crunch,...
Geopolitical tension in the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a dramatic spike in spot LNG charter rates, soaring 600% to about $300,000 per day, the highest since the 2022 gas crisis. Analysts estimate a potential 20% reduction in global LNG...
President Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S.–Israel‑Iran war will end soon helped reverse a sharp oil rally, pulling Brent crude down more than 7% to around $92 a barrel. Iran vowed to halt all Gulf oil exports, while attacks on...
Oil markets saw a dramatic intraday swing, spiking to nearly $120 per barrel before plunging over 30% to the low $80s as fears of an Iran‑related supply shock receded. The Department of Justice charged two Pennsylvania men with an ISIS‑inspired...
Futures across several markets, including agriculture, opened weaker as energy prices corrected following President Trump’s remarks that the Iran conflict may be winding down. Crude fell nearly $8 per barrel amid expectations of strategic reserve releases and possible easing of...
Oil is trading at just 26% of its 1950 post‑war real value, making it exceptionally cheap despite a nominal price that has multiplied 38 times since then. The only period it was cheaper in real terms was during the Covid‑19...
ICE May cocoa futures surged nearly 12% this week, climbing from $2,888 to $3,230 per tonne, marking one of the sharpest recoveries after a prolonged liquidation phase. The rally was driven primarily by short‑covering and logistical disruptions rather than fundamental...
The piece highlights a shift from a tranquil 2025 wheat market to renewed volatility driven by the Middle Eastern conflict. It outlines how weather, geopolitics, trade policy and speculative capital historically cause rapid price swings in grain markets. Seasonal harvest...
Australian Q2 electricity contract prices surged this week, with the New South Wales (NSW) market showing the sharpest increase. The rise follows the onset of the Middle East conflict, which analysts say is filtering through to Australian energy pricing. ez2view...
Cattle yarding and processing indices rebounded sharply in February 2026 after the typical January lull, but the recovery was uneven across regions. New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania returned to near‑full capacity, while Queensland’s yardings lagged despite a...
The March 2026 global cattle price review shows the United States firmly ahead, with heavy‑steer values at 761¢/kg live weight. Australia’s prices have surged 30% year‑on‑year to 443¢/kg, while Argentina has climbed to 468¢/kg, now slightly above Australian levels. Brazil remains...
U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks that the conflict with Iran is “very complete” sent oil markets tumbling. Crude futures dropped about 6.9%, settling at $84.62 a barrel, the steepest decline in weeks. Trump claimed U.S. forces had neutralized Iranian naval...
Allied Critical Metals released a Preliminary Economic Assessment for its Borralha tungsten project in northern Portugal, estimating an after‑tax NPV of $706.4 million at a $1,500 per metric tonne WO₃ price and $91 million initial capital for an 11‑year mine life. CEO...
Oil prices surged above $100 per barrel as the Iran‑US‑Israel conflict intensifies, leaving the Strait of Hormuz gridlocked. G7 finance ministers are meeting to discuss a coordinated release of strategic oil reserves, while the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank...
G7 finance ministers said they will keep monitoring oil markets and stand ready to release strategic petroleum reserves if needed. Crude oil peaked at $119.48, fell to $96.24, and now trades near $100. The price is 16% lower than its...
The Middle East conflict triggered the biggest one‑week jump in oil prices on record, pushing WTI crude above $92 a barrel. At the same time, U.S. economic data revealed the worst monthly job loss since the pandemic, with 92,000 positions...
Oil futures surged nearly 20% on Monday, with Brent touching $111 and WTI $106, the highest levels since 2022. The spike follows the abrupt closure of the Strait of Hormuz, cutting roughly 20% of global oil and gas shipments. Asian...
South Korean President Lee Jae‑Myung announced the first fuel‑price cap in three decades as Brent crude breached $100 a barrel amid the Middle East conflict. Taiwan’s government simultaneously introduced a weekly cap limiting gasoline price hikes to roughly 5%, far...
A review of CBOT wheat futures from 1990‑2022 shows that the price at seeding is a weak guide to harvest price, with an average swing of $42 per tonne in either direction. Harvest prices exceeded seeding prices in 20 of...
Brent prompt futures opened above $108 per barrel on NYMEX, marking a notable price surge. The rally is driven by OPEC+ output cuts, lingering Middle East tensions, and a weakening dollar that favors commodities. Analysts warn the $108 level could...
Anas Alhajji warns that the escalating Iran war could push oil prices to unprecedented levels, potentially driving Brent above $120 per barrel. He cites a likely sharp reduction in Iranian output and limited OPEC spare capacity as key supply constraints....
A recent video analysis highlights a sharp oil price shock, driven by escalating Middle‑East tensions, that pushed crude above 10% in a single week. Simultaneously, the market for exchange‑grade silver bars is tightening, with inventories down roughly 15% as industrial...
The sudden closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted roughly 700 oil cargoes, representing about $40 billion in trade, and exposed the vulnerability of Europe’s post‑2022 energy strategy. Simultaneously, Russia warned it could exit the European market before any formal ban,...
The sudden closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered a rapid surge in urea prices, prompting sell‑side analysts to recommend buying North American nitrogen producers such as CF Industries, Nutrien and Mosaic. The logic hinged on the fact that roughly...
Angie Setzer, a grain‑market analyst, pivots her column to assess how the latest war could reshape global wheat dynamics. She highlights blind spots in the traditional wheat balance sheet, noting that disrupted Black Sea routes and export restrictions are tightening...
Alaska’s mining sector posted a record $6.5 billion production value in 2025, a 38% jump from the previous year. The increase was driven primarily by soaring precious‑metal prices, even as zinc output at Red Dog fell and gold production missed the...
The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, choking a key route for Middle‑East gas shipments, while Qatar has temporarily halted its LNG production, tightening global supply. Spot LNG prices have spiked above $30 per million British thermal units, prompting buyers to...
Markets reacted to the US‑Israel strike on Iran by pushing the dollar higher, which pulled gold and silver lower. In European trading, gold slipped to $5,090 per ounce, down $230, while silver fell to $82.70, down $11. Shanghai silver premiums...
On March 1, Germany’s balancing market recorded an extreme negative imbalance price of ‑1474 €/MWh for a single 15‑minute interval. The price plunge was driven by an unexpected supply shortfall that outpaced intraday trading activity, leaving the system operator to procure balancing energy...
Fidelity Gold Refinery (FGR) published its official gold buying rates for Zimbabwe on 6 March 2026. The fire‑assay cash price tops the table at $155.94 per gram ($4,850.28 per ounce) for gold above 100 g, while SG 90 %+ gold is priced at $155.12 per...
The article explains that grain basis is the difference between local spot prices and futures contracts, serving as the local market adjustment on top of global pricing. In Australia, wheat basis is measured against CBOT wheat futures in Australian dollars...
Indonesia has signed a memorandum of understanding to import roughly 2 million tonnes of wheat annually from the United States, representing about 17% of its total wheat demand. The deal effectively earmarks a fifth of the market for U.S. exporters, removing...
ASX Energy introduced Morning Peak and Evening Peak electricity futures eight months ago to address peak‑demand hedging needs in the NEM. Trading activity has been minimal, with only 58 Evening Peak contracts and zero Morning Peak contracts exchanged across NSW,...
Oil prices spiked above $80 a barrel after Iran‑related tensions, prompting the White House Treasury to signal possible futures market intervention. The announcement eased oil back below $80, allowing equities to recover modestly, with the S&P 500 down 0.6% and...
Diesel prices surged nearly 54¢ per gallon over three days in early March, driven by Middle‑East tensions and volatile wholesale racks. The National Association of Small Trucking Companies (NASTC) Daily Fuel Hedge warned members of an additional 28¢/gal increase slated...
Futures opened strongly on Thursday, driven by robust corn export data and concerns over dry soils across the U.S. Plains, before turning mixed by mid‑day. Grain contracts gained further support from a firm global market and speculation that planting delays...
Trader Ashraf Laidi posted intraday gold analysis to a WhatsApp group on March 4, 2026, highlighting the GoldBugs Ratio (GBR) as a contrarian indicator for XAUUSD. The GBR chart showed a trend‑line resistance at 6.0, implying that as long as the level...
Indonesia’s 2020 ban on raw‑nickel exports sparked a surge in domestic smelting and processing, positioning the country as a textbook case of resource‑based industrialisation. Yet its clean‑technology ambitions remain modest: EV exports totaled only US$12 million in 2024, dwarfed by Thailand’s...
Alasdair Macleod warns that an escalating conflict with Iran could ignite a global financial crisis, driving energy prices higher and pushing bond yields sharply upward. He argues that U.S. equities are perched in a dangerous bubble vulnerable to rapid correction....
The Daily Mineral Prices report for March 5 2026 highlights notable movements across several key commodities. Lithium carbonate and hydroxide prices range from $12,000 to $27,000 per tonne, reflecting heightened volatility linked to electric‑vehicle battery demand. Spodumene concentrate surged to $2,190‑$2,260 per...
Gold and silver rallied sharply before a 7.7% correction, while the HUI miner index fell from a record 978 to 902. The S&P 500 stayed within a hundred points of its all‑time high, showing little reaction to the Middle East conflict....
Gold and silver prices rebounded on Wednesday as the market digested escalating tensions in Iran. Gold futures rose $28 to $5,152 per ounce while silver futures gained 29 cents to $83.77. The conflict has revived fears of commodity force‑majeure events,...
U.S. ethanol producers posted a sixth consecutive year of profitability in 2025, with a representative Iowa dry‑mill plant earning an average of $0.21 per gallon. Net nominal profit reached $23.2 million, well above the long‑run average. The rise was driven by...
The latest Energy Information Administration data show U.S. crude inventories increasing by 3.2 million barrels in March, while exports rose to 5.1 million barrels, approaching record levels. Imports declined by 1.8 million barrels, indicating stronger domestic demand. Refinery utilization climbed...
