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

1520 ET - Crude oil futures give up early gains and fall for a fourth straight session as continuing trade wars add to concerns about loss of demand. "Unfortunately for crude oil, tariff demand destruction is only half of the problem," Mizuho's Robert Yawger says in a note, pointing the OPEC+ decision to add more than 400,000 barrels a day to output next month on top of this month's 138,000 barrels a day increase. OPEC and the IEA are likely to cut their demand estimates in next week's monthly reports, he adds. "It will be interesting to see how OPEC justifies increasing May production by a total of 538,000 barrels a day." WTI settles down 1.8% at $59.58 a barrel, and Brent falls 2.2% to $62.82 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1459 ET - The global sukuk market is expected to continue growing this year, driven by rising funding needs, diversification goals, Islamic investor demand, and regulatory reforms, Fitch Ratings says. The first quarter saw global sukuk volumes grew 10.8% year-on-year, reaching $961 billion, with 26.4% in U.S. dollars. Excluding China, sukuk accounted 12% of emerging market U.S. dollar debt in the first quarter. Bashar Al Natoor, Global Head of Islamic Finance at Fitch Ratings, said while growth is expected, "it is not insulated from global fluctuations, additional sharia-compliance requirements, and challenges in emerging markets and OIC countries." While the sukuk market is not immune from global volatilities, including those caused by the US government's tariff campaign, the market's credit profile is broadly stable, Fitch says. (stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com)

1454 ET - U.S. natural gas futures fall for a third straight session, giving up opening gains as trade battles between the U.S. and China continue to roil markets, with the U.S. planning to impose an additional 50% tariff on China after midnight. "As an industrial commodity, the gas market is subject to the negative influence of the tariffs," Ritterbusch says in a note. Adding to the bearish mood could be this week's natural gas inventory report which is likely to show a further reduction in the storage deficit, the firm says. Nymex natural gas settles down 5.2% at $3.465/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1346 ET - Oil futures give up early gains and are lower for a fourth straight session as the U.S. trade dispute with China shows no sign of easing, with the U.S. intending to impose an additional 50% tariff on China at midnight. "China has said they will continue the fight against tariffs and some traders fear they could slow or halt U.S. crude purchases altogether," Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial says in a note. "Add in the raising of production by OPEC+ and crude still has some major headwinds." WTI is off 1.6% at $59.74 and Brent is down 1.8% at $63.02 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1317 ET - A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators sent a letter to EPA head Lee Zeldin advocating for higher blending volumes of biofuels with other motor fuels. "We ask that the EPA raise RFS volumes for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels to levels that are consistent with production and availability," the Senators say in the letter, which is signed by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Min.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) among others. "Biofuels are a large economic driver for rural America as farmers' crops are used for feedstocks and many production facilities are located in small communities," the letter reads. "That is at risk if RVO standards are set too low." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1309 ET - Caterpillar likely has more earnings downside because of macro headwinds that isn't priced into the stock, according to UBS in a note. The analysts say recent underperformance reflects a modestly more challenged demand and pricing environment than was reflected in company expectations. But now, UBS thinks tariffs and continued uncertainty will weigh on the more economically sensitive parts of Caterpillar's business, including some construction verticals, oil and gas, and mining. UBS cuts Caterpillar to a sell rating from neutral and lowers the target price to $243 from $385. Caterpillar is down 0.8% to $277.83, and off 23% year-to-date. (sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix)

1128 ET - European corporate bonds within the utilities sector will likely perform better than other sectors during the current period of heightened uncertainty surrounding trade tariffs, analysts at J.P. Morgan Securities say in a note. Investors are likely to invest in low-risk sectors such as utilities. The sector provides essential services that have inelastic demand, meaning earnings volatility is low, the analysts says. "Strong capital flows have helped utilities outperform in most historic periods of market stress (e.g. 2020, 2008, 2009)." (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

0949 ET - U.S. natural gas futures pick up after two days of losses, recovering some lost ground along with oil and other markets. Macroeconomic uncertainty, risk-off across markets and the unwinding of large speculator net long positions are driving prices, Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note. "While near-term natural gas supply and demand may be less affected by tariffs, the deleveraging in Nymex futures realigns prices with soft seasonal fundamentals." Natural gas is up 2% at $3.728/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0911 ET - Treasury yields keep rising and the dollar falls as markets seem to take a break from the tariffs panic of the past few days. Stock futures are rising while oil prices recover a bit from very low levels. Trump leaves the door open for negotiations with various countries, partially offsetting rising trade tensions with China. The WSJ Dollar Index is down 0.5% as the greenback weakens 0.5% against the euro and 0.7% versus the yen. The 10-year yield is at 4.230%, the highest so far this month. The two-year is at 3.793%. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

0856 ET - Oil futures are higher after three days of losses in a cautious rebound as the combination of tariff-driven demand loss and higher OPEC+ supply keep downside risk in the market. "Both the supply and demand side of the global oil equation has seen a major shift in less than a week in the direction of much looser petroleum balances going forward than had been anticipated at the beginning of this month," Ritterbusch says in a note. "We view it as premature to suggest that a price bottom has been seen when looking across the rest of this month." WTI is up 0.9% at $61.24 a barrel, and Brent is up 0.8% at $64.71 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0643 ET - European natural-gas prices have regained some ground from the previous trading session but remain under pressure amid risk-off sentiment across markets. In midday trade, the benchmark Dutch TTF contract falls 2.8% to 35.95 euros a megawatt hour, and is down 15% on the week. "Gas benchmark futures have breached oversold territory, triggering some buying as traders look to secure supply as the refilling season commences," analysts at ANZ Research say. However, fears that escalating global trade tensions could damp energy demand continue to weigh on the broader commodity complex. According to analysts, the trade war between the U.S. and China could lead to higher LNG imports to Europe, helping the bloc to replenish its depleted reserves ahead of the winter and pushing down prices. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0557 ET - OPEC+ could decide to pause or even reverse its planned output hikes if oil prices continue to decline, according to ING analysts. "The broader move lower we've seen in crude oil since April 2 suggests the market is pricing in bigger odds of a recession," Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey say. The cartel and its allies surprised the market last week by announcing a supply hike of 411,000 barrels a day for May, further dragging on tariff-hit prices. On Tuesday, Brent crude and WTI regained some ground and are now up 0.2% to $64.32 and $60.82 a barrel, respectively, after plunging to a four-year low in the previous trading session. "If downward pressure continues, the OPEC+ move could be very short-lived," the analysts say. "The Saudis probably don't want to see an even wider gap between their fiscal breakeven level and current prices." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 08, 2025 15:20 ET (19:20 GMT)

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