Commodities News and Headlines
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Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
On February 20, 2026, U.S. grain and livestock futures showed mixed movement. Corn edged higher to $4.27, while soybeans slipped to $11.37 and soybean meal rose to $309.80. Livestock prices fell, with live cattle at $242 and feeder cattle at $368.02, whereas lean hogs rose to $93.67. The broader market saw the Dow Jones climb to 49,626 and gold gain $121.50 to $5,118.90.
Venezuela has begun its first asphalt export since the U.S. revoked sanctions waivers in May 2025, with the 36,681‑dwt vessel The Judge loading at Amuay Bay. The shipment follows new OFAC general licenses issued on Jan 29 that lifted restrictions on...
Permian’s Waha hub price plunged more than 50 cents per MMBtu, pushing the natural‑gas forward curve into negative territory through mid‑2026. At the same time, Northeast gas premiums retreated despite forecasts of a cold weekend, narrowing the regional price spread. Western...
Dutch tulip nursery Rainbow Colors has become the first agricultural firm to commission a 1 MW solid‑oxide electrolyzer for on‑site hydrogen generation, integrated with a solar array and battery storage. The system, built with Denmark’s Dynelectro and Ekinetix, can produce hydrogen...
Ganfeng Lithium, the world’s largest lithium‑metal producer, has begun mass‑producing semi‑solid‑state batteries with energy densities ranging from 400 to 650 Wh/kg. The company secured supply agreements with major OEMs including Tesla, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and BMW for lithium hydroxide and other battery...
First Quantum Minerals announced that its Taca Taca copper‑gold project in northwest Argentina now carries an after‑tax net present value of $5.92 billion and a 19.3% internal rate of return, more than double the 2021 estimate. Updated reserves rose 13%, adding...
Oil supertanker charter rates have surged, with VLCC earnings on the Middle East‑to‑China lane reaching $151,208 per day, the highest since 2020. The spike is driven by heightened geopolitical risk from a potential US‑Iran conflict and a tightening supply of available...
U.S. commercial crude inventories fell 9 million barrels in the week to Feb 13, leaving stocks at 419.8 million barrels—about five percent below the five‑year average. Total petroleum stocks also dropped 18.9 million barrels week‑on‑week, though they remain 62.9 million barrels above a year ago....
AngloGold Ashanti reported record free cash flow of $2.9 billion for 2025, driven by a 16% rise in gold production to 3.1 million ounces and a 45% increase in average gold price to $3,468 per ounce. The company declared an interim dividend...
Fastmarkets announced that the bauxite CIF China price assessment published on February 20 was invalidated due to a procedural error. The pricing database has been corrected, and the next release will occur on February 27, following the Chinese holiday calendar....
The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced a proposed notice for Lease Sale Big Beautiful Gulf 3 (BBG3), slated for August 12, 2026. The sale would put roughly 15,066 offshore blocks covering 80.4 million acres on the market, with a...
South Africa’s commodity surge—gold up 65% and platinum 125%—is fueling a boom on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with mining firms delivering double‑digit returns. The JSE’s recent rule changes, cutting shareholder approval thresholds from 75% to 50% and aligning disclosure standards,...
Brazil’s foreign trade committee approved five‑year anti‑dumping duties on a wide range of Chinese steel products after a 2024 investigation revealed pricing below market levels. The duties range from US$323 to US$670 per ton for cold‑rolled coil and US$285 to...
Navios Maritime Partners announced two long‑term bareboat‑in contracts for Japanese‑built capesize vessels, with purchase options valued at roughly $134.3 million and an effective 6% interest rate. The ships, fitted with scrubbers, are slated to join the fleet in late 2028 and...
GLD remains a buy as its fundamentals stay strong despite recent price swings. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF has generated nearly a ten‑fold return since inception and now manages over $174 billion backed by 1,080 tonnes of gold. Retail physical‑gold sales are...
Goldman Sachs projects gold prices to climb to $5,400 per ounce by the end of 2026, driven primarily by renewed central‑bank buying and modest private‑investor inflows linked to Federal Reserve rate cuts. The forecast assumes a conservative base case with...
India produces roughly 23 million tonnes of mangoes annually, yet climate‑driven season shifts and rising input costs are eroding yields. Researchers at ICAR have sequenced the mango genome, accelerating breeding of temperature‑resilient and pest‑tolerant varieties. Farmers like Upendra Singh and Neeti...
Centerra Gold reported nearly $100 million of free cash flow in the quarter, driven by strong production at Öksüt and elevated metal prices. Gold output reached almost 82,000 ounces and copper 13.4 million pounds, while all‑in sustaining costs rose to $1,652 per...
Sudan, despite a civil war that began in 2023, is courting foreign investors to develop its largely untapped mineral portfolio that includes gold, copper, uranium and rare‑earth elements. Gold production set a new record of 70 tonnes in 2025, generating...
Nymex natural gas futures for March slipped 1.5 cents to $2.996 per MMBtu on Thursday. This marks the first time the prompt‑month contract has settled below the $3 threshold since mid‑October. Despite short‑term expectations of cooler weather early next week, analysts...
On February 19, 2026, the U.S. spot cash electricity market posted a 3.2% increase in average price, reaching $58.4 per megawatt‑hour. The rise reflected higher natural‑gas forward curves and a dip in wind generation across the Midwest. Day‑ahead trading volumes...
Tongaat Hulett, South Africa's leading sugar producer, is heading for provisional liquidation after its business rescue plan collapsed. The Vision Group's acquisition of lender claims and a debt‑to‑equity swap failed, leaving the rescue unimplementable. Cosatu warns the collapse will trigger...
The Trump administration announced that SoftBank’s U.S. affiliate SB Energy will develop a proposed 9.2‑GW, $33 billion natural‑gas power complex near Portsmouth, Ohio. The project is the flagship of a $36 billion first tranche of a $550 billion U.S.–Japan strategic investment framework that...
Rupert Resources has engaged Auscenco Engineering to head the feasibility study for the Ikkari gold project in northern Finland, a multi‑million‑ounce development slated for completion by mid‑2027. The study builds on recent optimisation work that delivered over 95% gold recoveries...
Rare earth prices have surged about 42% year‑to‑date, yet most junior stocks remain flat, creating a valuation disconnect. Acorn Capital’s Rick Squire sees this inefficiency as a buying opportunity for ASX‑listed explorers focused on low‑capex, fast‑track projects. He highlights ionic‑clay...
Fastmarkets announced a delayed release of the MB-STE-0464 price for HMS 1&2 steel scrap (80:20 mix) imported to Taiwan. The price reflects US material imports, CFR main port Taiwan, and is part of Fastmarkets' scrap package. The notice invites market participants...
The Canadian Steel Producers Association (CSPA) argues that the U.S. Section 232 steel tariffs are unjustified, noting Canada is not a dumping ground or transshipment hub. Since the tariffs took effect, Canada has lost roughly 2 million metric tons of steel...
Kazakhstan’s thermal coal production slipped 1.7% YoY to 9.92 million tonnes in January, while total coal output fell 0.7% to 10.31 million tonnes. Despite the dip, the government is rolling out a national project to add about 7.6 GW of coal‑fired capacity by...
The Spanish electricity spot index plunged to an average €12.66/MWh for 1‑20 February, far below the €50.55/MWh forward contract and last year’s €116.88/MWh level. Wind generation surged 123% year‑on‑year to 11.2 GW, while gas‑fired output fell 25% to 3.6 GW, driving the price...
Fastmarkets announced a proposal to discontinue two Category 3 animal‑fat price assessments – AG‑TLW‑0028 (high‑grade bone fat) and AG‑TLW‑0029 (pure beef tallow) – for DDP Northwest Europe. The move is attributed to insufficient market liquidity for these contracts. A public consultation...
The Democratic Republic of Congo has placed the rebel‑held Rubaya coltan mine on a shortlist of strategic assets offered to the United States under a new minerals‑cooperation framework. Rubaya, which supplies roughly 15% of the world’s coltan, requires between $50 million...
Brazos Midstream commissioned its largest cryogenic plant, Sundance II, adding 300 MMcfd of processing capacity in the Midland Basin and joining the 200 MMcfd Sundance I that began operations in 2024. The company also broke ground on Cassidy I, another 300 MMcfd cryogenic facility in Glasscock...
Orsted’s Hornsea 3 chief announced the collapse of a major monopile contract, forcing the 2.9 GW offshore wind project to pause its foundation procurement. The decision highlights the difficulty of securing large‑scale steel structures for the UK’s expanding offshore wind fleet....
The Trump administration has issued new licenses permitting several Western oil companies to operate in Venezuela, potentially boosting the country's output by 30‑40 percent—roughly 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day—this year. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the increase would represent...
Equinor has scrapped its Dutch H2M Eemshaven CCS‑hydrogen project, citing policy uncertainty and insufficient funding, while the Belgian H2BE plant remains on schedule. Both plants were designed to produce 210,000 t/yr of low‑carbon hydrogen using autothermal reforming and each received roughly €160 million...
The U.S. Energy Information Administration trimmed its gasoline price outlook, now projecting an average of $2.91 per gallon in 2026 and $2.93 in 2027, down slightly from the January forecast of $2.92 and $2.95. The agency’s short‑term energy outlook still...
The European Commission has granted strategic status to four African mineral projects—two in South Africa and Zambia, plus sites in Malawi and Madagascar—under the Critical Raw Materials Act, with decisions due in Q2 2026. The Zandkopsdrift rare‑earth operation in South Africa...
Shell has launched a multi‑well offshore drilling campaign off Egypt using Stena Drilling’s sixth‑generation IceMax drillship. The first wells, Mina West development followed by Sirius and Velox exploration, are located in the Northeast El Amriya concession where Shell holds a...
Martin Midstream Partners reported a $14.7 million net loss for 2025, widening from a $5.2 million loss in 2024. The loss was driven primarily by $57.8 million in interest expense and higher SG&A costs, while adjusted EBITDA fell to $99 million for the year....
South African phosphate rock producer Kropz has lifted monthly output to roughly 40,000 tonnes, a 33% increase over last year. The company now ships rock averaging 30% P₂O₅, but recently exported a 31.1% P₂O₅ cargo to South Korea, its highest‑grade...
Saudi Maaden announced the sale of 45,000‑50,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) at $715‑720 per tonne FOB, with loading slated for early March. The cargo is destined for Latin America, with Argentina emerging as the most probable off‑take market. Net...
A new UCL Shipping and Oceans Research Group report evaluates three IMO Net Zero Framework (NZF) scenarios and finds that only the framework "as‑is" delivers a credible, stable demand signal for scalable zero‑emission fuels. The analysis warns that removing the...
Vedanta Ltd. is trading at a discount to its aluminium peers, and Kotak Securities believes the company is well positioned to benefit from a strong aluminium price environment. Aluminium prices slipped to $3,030 per tonne, pressured by a firmer US...
Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) secured tank‑design contracts for six new LNG carriers, four for Shandong Marine Energy via Jiangnan shipyard and two for Samsung Heavy Industries. Each vessel will carry roughly 174‑175,000 cubic metres of LNG using GTT’s Mark III Flex membrane...
Russia performed its first triple LNG ship‑to‑ship (STS) transfer in Arctic waters, linking two Arctic LNG 2 cargos and one Yamal LNG cargo to conventional tankers. The operation took place in the Murmansk region, using the Saam floating storage unit for two...
Germany’s passenger‑vehicle manufacturing sector is set to see a drop in electricity consumption as overall car output declines, VDA chief economist Manuel Kallweit warned. Power use fell to 12.86 TWh in 2024, about 2.8% of national electricity, and is projected to...
Mubadala and Kimmeridge’s joint venture Caturus will buy SM Energy’s Galvan Ranch for $950 million, adding 250 MMcfed production from 260 wells. Post‑deal, pro‑forma net output rises to about 950 MMcfed. The acquisition gives Caturus over 275,000 net acres across the Gulf Coast...
Borr Drilling now has 25 of its 29 jack‑up rigs either under bareboat charter or with confirmed jobs, covering regions from Southeast Asia to the Americas. The firm’s day‑rate equivalent backlog grew to $1.2 billion, reflecting more than 1,150 contracted days....
Gary Mar argues that Canada’s $150 billion agriculture sector, responsible for $92 billion in exports and roughly one‑in‑nine jobs, is hampered by fragmented infrastructure and the absence of a coordinated national strategy. He highlights bottlenecks such as rail bridges and interprovincial trade...
Kumba Iron Ore says it will wrap up contract negotiations with Chinese steelmakers this year, despite the ongoing dispute between China Minerals Resources Group and major miners. China now represents 56% of Kumba’s 2025 export sales, up from 54% in...
