The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

1207 ET - Oil prices surged in evening trade amid supply concerns and uncertainties over tariffs, with the U.S. gauge WTI back above $70 a barrel. Futures are supported by U.S. President Trump's decision to revoke Chevron's license to operate in Venezuela and mounting worries over Iranian oil exports. Meanwhile, Trump announced plans to impose an additional 10% levy on imports from China and reinforced his threat to impose 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico. "Markets like clarity as opposed to uncertainty and unless a clear path is presented on tariffs and Eastern European peace it will remain on the defensive with the sporadic and spontaneous headline-based rallies," according to oil brokerage PVM. Brent crude trades 1.7% higher at $73.31 a barrel after falling sharply earlier in the session, while WTI is up 2% at $70.03 a barrel. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

1204 ET - Base metal prices are mixed, with LME three-month copper down 0.2% at $9,405.50 a metric ton and LME three-month aluminum up 0.3% at $2,637.0 a ton. President Trump's 25% steel and aluminum tariffs should be largely passed onto U.S. domestic prices, assuming no significant exemptions for certain countries or products are granted, Goldman Sachs analysts say in a note. Goldman estimates the U.S. Midwest aluminum premium--the delivery premium paid on top of the LME price--will rise to $1,036 a ton, from an average of $529 a ton in January of this year. The steel and aluminum tariffs won't provide a huge boost to U.S. production, Goldman says. The difficulty in securing long-term competitive power contracts will likely keep the two idle U.S. aluminum smelters offline, analysts add. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

1158 ET - Beacon Roofing Supply sees the often forgotten components that make up construction projects being most impacted by tariffs. Screws, nails and fasteners - the components that hold buildings together -- are cheap and in abundance but also directly in the crosshairs of any duties placed on critical construction components such as steel, aluminum and lumber, says CEO Julian Francis. "Obviously, it'll be a bit of a pass-through for us, but it does mean that inflation is likely to impact the construction industry in a meaningful way, but mostly on the new construction side," Francis says. (denny.jacob@wsj.com; @pennedbyden)

1140 ET - Corn and wheat futures fall further as President Trump confirms in a social media post that tariffs on Mexico and Canada are set to take effect next week, pushing up the dollar, and the USDA raises its estimates for plantings. The USDA's expected 94 million acres for corn is half a million acres above trade expectations, and wheat is also a bit higher with heavy stocks, says Terry Reilly of Marex. "It's kind of a barrage of bearish sentiment coming in, or bearish news," he says. Wheat is technically weaker having broken through several moving averages and contributing to the downside in corn, he adds. Corn is off 1.9% and wheat is down 2.9%. Soybeans are up 0.3%. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1056 ET - U.S. natural gas inventories fell by 261 billion cubic feet last week to 1,840 Bcf, widening the storage deficit to 238 Bcf below the five-year average and 561 Bcf below the year earlier level, the EIA reports. The seventh consecutive triple-digit weekly draw is roughly in line with the 265 Bcf drawdown estimated in a Wall Street Journal survey of analysts. Natural gas futures have been limited by a recent warmup in March weather forecasts, while tight inventories provide support. The Nymex front month is up 2.1% at $4.043/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1036 ET - Lean hogs are down after President Trump says in a social media post that 25% import tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada will start March 4, clarifying yesterday's comments that led to expectations they could be postponed another month. Mexico is a leading buyer of U.S. pork, and in the past Mexico has placed duties on porkin retaliation against U.S. tariffs. Lean hogs are down 2.6% at 86.05 cents a pound. Live cattle are up 0.3% at $1.9515 a pound. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1030 ET - Fresh cases of New World screwworm in Mexico this month still pose a threat to the U.S. beef industry, says Gregg Doud, head of the National Milk Producers Federation. Speaking at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, Va., Doud says that the Mexican government's ability to enforce regulations make keeping screwworm away from U.S. borders an open question. "I can't imagine how upset Mexican ranchers are," says Doud. "Mexico, you need to do better." The disease is spread by the New World screwworm fly -- which implants its larvae into the flesh of animals, creating potentially fatal wounds. Confirmation of infections late last year caused the U.S. to temporarily close the border to Mexican cattle imports, with that restriction lifted at the top of this month. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1020 ET - Gold futures fall, continuing to bounce off recent highs. Futures are down 1.4% at $2,889.50 a troy ounce, after hitting a record $2,974 an ounce on Monday's session. The precious metal is under pressure on profit-taking, SP Angel analysts say in a note. Gold has still gained around 8.4% in the year to date on safe-haven demand amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Exchange-traded funds have been trimming their holdings following a recent jump in inflows, SP Angel says. Around 4,639 ounces were sold on Wednesday, though ETF holdings remain up 2.9% in the year to date, SP Angel writes. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

1013 ET - Officials with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City are pondering the possibility of adding food inflation readings to the basket of core inflation when assessing the movement of consumer prices. "This is a bit of a new concept that we at the 10th District have been mulling over for the past year," KC Fed President Jeffrey Schmid says. Food and energy prices have traditionally been considered as too volatile for inclusion in a core reading, but growing volatility in many other areas of the economy are making that less of an issue. "I would argue that the American public may appreciate moving food back in," says Schmid, speaking at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, Virginia. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

0940 ET - President Trump uses Truth Social to clarify that 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, plus 10% additional levy on China, are on track to go into effect next week. In today's post, Trump says reciprocal tariffs will come April 2. The comments give extra support to Treasury yields and the dollar, both of which were already strengthening since U.S. indicators showed earlier that the economy remains on good footing. The 10-year yield is at 4.298% and the WSJ Dollar Index rises 0.5%. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

0934 ET - Oil futures are higher on Trump administration's plans to revoke a license under which Chevron is producing oil in Venezuela. "While the Chevron/Venezuela halt to business may pull barrels away from U.S. imports in the near term, the bigger question on traders' mind will be if a peace deal is cut in Russia along with OPEC still possibly raising production in April," Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial says in a note. WTI is up 1.9% at $69.95 a barrel, and Brent gains 1.8% to $73.82 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0920 ET - Grain futures are mostly lower as the USDA's weekly export sales numbers show sharp drops in wheat and corn, while soybean sales were down moderately. "Overall disappointing export sales report with beans the only one coming in within the range of expectations and that range was low," Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives says in a note. Soybean sales were down 14% from the previous week but up 10% from the previous 4-week average. Wheat and corn sales fell 50% and 45% on the week, respectively. Soybeans are up 0.6% at $10.47 a bushel. Wheat is off 1.3% and corn is down 0.6%. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2025 12:15 ET (17:15 GMT)

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