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

0913 ET - Starbucks is expanding further in the Middle East even as sales in the region have suffered following a boycott in response to the war between Israel and Hamas. The coffee chain plans to open about 500 new stores in the next five years in the Middle East, according to an interview that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol gave to Bloomberg TV. Niccol said information around the boycott was false and that Starbucks has never supported any militaries. "We're focused on what we know to be true. We're focused on growing our brand around our mission," Niccol said. (denny.jacob@wsj.com; @pennedbyden)

0800 ET - Agricultural commodity prices rise, with Chicago wheat futures up 2.3% at $5.91 a bushel and corn futures up 0.9% at $4.98 a bushel. Wheat is trading at its highest price since late October, after the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture report confirmed global wheat and corn estimates for 2025, Commerzbank says. Wheat consumption forecasts in the world's biggest consumer China has been raised slightly, meaning a fall in expectations for stock levels by year end, Commerzbank says. However, outside of China, wheat stocks in major exporting countries have ticked up. For corn, there has been a cut to expectations for global stock levels for the end of the year, with lower-than-expected production and current stock levels, Commerzbank says. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

0658 ET - Gold futures rise to near-record levels, though the high price is starting to look overdone, Commerzbank says. Futures are up 0.4% at $2,957.80 a troy ounce, just below the record $2,968.50 an ounce set on Tuesday. The market is reacting asymmetrically to the fresh records, as current developments in the war in Ukraine and lower U.S. interest rate cut expectations--which should be reasonable headwinds--failed to slow gold's rise, Commerzbank's Carsten Fritsch says. President Trump's tariff announcements, however, provided immediate price boost, Fritsch says in a note. Other important influences like the U.S. dollar and bond yields play only minor roles, Fritsch adds. It is difficult to say how long the unusual situation will last. In the short-term, gold could reach $3,000, but this will increase correction potential, Fritsch adds. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

0547 ET - Base metal prices rise, with LME three-month copper up 1.6% at $9,626 a metric ton and LME three-month aluminum up 1.1% at $2,637 a ton. President Trump has set out plans for so-called reciprocal tariffs on a country-by-country basis, with additional levies on top of aluminum and steel tariffs. The administration hasn't set out plans on when copper levies could be defined or implemented, says Britannia Global Markets' Neil Welsh. The move is seen as a potential opening bid for negotiation, Welsh writes, as Trump believes the trading environment is imbalanced. The tariff risk is disrupting the global copper market with copper spreads under threat, Welsh says in a note. Copper on U.S. commodities exchange Comex is up around 19% since the start of the year, compared with around 9.5% on the LME. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

0514 ET - Palm oil prices closed higher, tracking overnight gains in soybean oil on the Chicago Board of Trade. Strength in the rival soy oil market, as well as positive sentiment surrounding Malaysia's declining palm oil stocks, likely supported prices, analysts at Kenanga Futures write in a note. The recent rally has also been driven by tighter inventories, and markets expect an upcoming seasonal rise in export demand, they add. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for April delivery rose MYR41 to MYR4,595/ton. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)

0445 ET - European natural-gas prices extend losses in early trade, dropping below the 50-euros-a-megawatt-hour mark amid talks to end the war in Ukraine and discussions to ease EU storage targets. The benchmark Dutch TTF contract is down 4.1% to 49.30 euros a megawatt hour and on track to end the week 11% lower. A peace deal between Russia and Ukraine would ease fears of supply disruptions and potentially allow the resumption of Russian flows, further pushing down prices. Meanwhile, some EU countries expressed concerns about EU gas-refilling rules and rising prices, with Germany calling for exemptions from the targets this year, according to a Bloomberg report. Cold weather and low wind-power generation have pushed the EU to dip into its storage faster than expected in recent weeks, raising concerns over refilling requirements over the summer. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0431 ET - Gold futures rise to near record highs as the market searches for safe-haven assets. Futures are up 0.5% at $2,961 a troy ounce, close to the record $2,968.50 an ounce set in Tuesday's session. The precious metal will outperform most commodities in 2025, as concerns around President Trump's new trade tariffs drive safe-haven demand, BMI analysts say in a note. Gold is benefiting from, U.S. policy uncertainty, trade tensions, military conflicts around the globe and general macroeconomic uncertainty, BMI says. However, the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to take a more cautious approach to interest-rate cuts, particularly given the higher-than-expected January inflation print, which will cap price strength, BMI adds. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

0414 ET - Umicore's 2024 results and guidance for the year ahead are in line with expectations, but this came alongside a cut and reset to its dividend, ING's Stijn Demeester says in a note. The Belgian chemicals company lowered its dividend for 2024 to 0.50 euro a share from 0.80 euro a year before and reset its policy. This means the company's policy of paying stable to rising dividends has been reset to a lower level and Umicore will stop interim payouts, the analyst says. Umicore's results benefited from higher-than-expected cost savings that helped the company offset severe headwinds in its battery-materials division, ING says. Shares fall 7.8%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0127 ET - Comex gold futures have returned to the bullish trajectory, based on daily the chart, RHB Retail Research's Joseph Chai says in a research report. Thursday's price movements show the precious metal underwent strong buying pressure, with the potential to maintain the uptrend toward the $3,000/oz level, the analyst says. The relative strength index is also pointing upward, supporting positive price movements with an acceleration in bullish momentum, Chai says. Should the commodity breach $3,000/oz, it will probably trend higher toward the $3,100/oz level, the analyst adds. Spot gold is 0.2% higher at $2,932.93/oz. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

2246 ET - Iron ore futures are higher in Asian trade. While fundamentals of the black metal are solid, market sentiment is weak due to a lack of strong demand, Nanhua Futures analysts write in a note. Analysts at Everbright Futures note that current inventory levels of iron ore remain high and additional tariffs on steel and aluminum from the U.S. are weighing on sentiment in the short term. Investors should keep an eye on geopolitical tensions and macro news, they say. The most-traded iron-ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is up 0.6% at CNY810.5/ton.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

2157 ET - Palm oil prices rise in early Asian trading, tracking overnight gains in soybean oil on the Chicago Board of Trade. The Malaysian Palm Oil Council expects the country's palm oil inventory to remain tight in February due to weak production, stable consumption ahead of Ramadan, and potential demand recovery from India. The MPOC expects palm oil prices to rise to 4,850/ton ringgit in the coming weeks, supported by higher Indian imports and strengthening rival soybean and sunflower oil prices. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for April delivery is higher by 33 ringgit to 4,587 ringgit/ton. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

2054 ET - Copper edges higher in early Asian trade. Prices rose recently due to risk-on sentiment on the back of the prospect of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, ANZ Research analysts say in a note. Copper is widely used in the manufacturing and construction sectors. The red metal also continues to shrug off an uncertain economic backdrop dominated by U.S. tariff news and continued sluggishness in China's property sector, they write. The three-month LME copper contract is 0.2% higher at $9,501.00/ton.(amanda.lee@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 14, 2025 09:15 ET (14:15 GMT)

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