Friday, February 20, 2026
Market Intelligence for Commodities Professionals
What's happening: Brazil imposes anti‑dumping duties on Chinese steel
Brazil's foreign trade committee approved five‑year anti‑dumping duties on a range of Chinese steel products, with tariffs from $323 to $670 per ton for cold‑rolled coil and $285 to $710 per ton for hot‑dip galvanized coil. In 2025 the country is set to import 202,000 tons of CRC and 1.42 million tons of HDG from China.
Also developing:
China accounted for 64% of rolled steel imports in 2025.
Just Auto

The Trump administration recently issued licenses allowing a handful of Western oil firms to operate in Venezuela.
Rigzone – News
The prompt-month contract hadn't closed below $3 since mid-October.
Energy Intelligence

Goldman sees gold grinding higher to $5,400/oz by end-2026, with upside skew from diversification. Summary: Goldman expects central bank gold buying to re-accelerate in 2026 at the pace seen in 2025. This is in a conservative base case that assumes no additional private-sector diversification beyond current trends. Goldman’s core view: central bank demand plus private investors adding exposure mainly in response to Fed rate cuts supports a steady rise. House forecast: gold to “slowly grind higher” to $5,400/oz by end-2026. Goldman flags significant upside risk if private-sector diversification increases, especially via call-option structures. Medium-term trajectory remains upward, but with potentially elevated volatility Goldman Sachs expects the gold market’s structural bid to remain intact through 2026, driven primarily by central bank demand and a more cyclical pickup in private investor participation tied to the Fed easing cycle. In its 2026 outlook, Goldman says it expects central bank gold buying to re-accelerate at the pace seen in 2025, even under a conservative base case that assumes no additional private-sector diversification beyond what is already embedded in current flows. In other words, the bank’s base case does not rely on a fresh wave of private actors rotating reserves or portfolios into gold; it assumes official-sector demand does most of the heavy lifting. Taken together, Goldman argues that (1) central bank buying and (2) private investors adding exposure largely in response to Fed rate cuts should be sufficient to push prices higher over time. The bank characterises the path as a “slow grind” rather than a straight-line surge, projecting gold to reach $5,400 per troy ounce by end-2026. However, Goldman sees meaningful asymmetry around that forecast. It highlights significant upside risk if private-sector diversification does expand materially, particularly if expressed through call-option structures, which can amplify upside participation and accelerate price moves during momentum phases. Net, Goldman’s medium-term trajectory for gold remains upward, but it explicitly warns that the ride could be choppy: the trend may be higher, yet volatility could stay elevated, especially around Fed policy pivots, risk shocks, and any renewed diversification wave. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.
ForexLive — Feed
CoBank is forecasting a nearly six percent increase in U.S. soybean acres this year. Economist Tanner Ehmke says low crop prices and high production costs leave farmers with few options. “Margins are slim, often negative. So what it comes down to obviously for so many producers is what is the least bad option? Or what […] The post CoBank projects 6% jump in U.S. soybean acres for 2026 appeared first on Brownfield Ag News.
Brownfield Ag News
Expectations of a possible US strike on Iran—currently oscillating between wait-and-see and watchful anticipation—have introduced a risk premium into an otherwise well-supplied oil market. My talk w/ @KellyCNBC @CNBCTheExchange https://t.co/XwyD5XmiRg
Macro: gold up on rate‑cut hopes & geopolitics. Key: Newmont beat as realized $4,216/oz offset 24% output drop. Risk: output erosion, volatility. Trade: buy Newmont on pullbacks. — Viktor Kopylov, PhD, CFA. More insights: t.me/si14Kopylov