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

0914 ET - U.S. natural gas futures hold their ground while oil prices fall on the OPEC+ decision to bring back another 411,000 barrels a day of production in June. "Bullish longs are jumping back into the natural gas market," Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note. The accelerated return of OPEC+ production is a long-term tailwind for natural gas as it will pressure U.S. shale and associated gas production, while the near-term rally may be unsustainable given soft seasonal fundamentals, he says. Nymex natural gas edges up 0.1% at $3.634/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0903 ET - A shortage of cattle in the U.S. continues to be a drag on meat companies' profits. Tyson Foods, the largest American meat supplier, lost $258 million in its beef business for the quarter ending March 29, compared to a $35 million loss a year ago, a wider loss than analysts anticipated. Meatpackers are contending with the lowest cattle supply since 1951, driving up the costs to secure livestock from ranchers. The Arkansas company said cattle costs rose by about $470 million during the period. Tyson said beef prices rose 8% in the quarter, while sales volumes dropped 1%. Overall, the company posted flat sales at $13 billion from a year ago and an adjusted profit above Wall Street expectations. Tyson's shares tick down nearly 2% in premarket trading. (patrick.thomas@wsj.com)

0834 ET - Crude futures are lower after OPEC+ agrees to bring back another 411,000 barrels a day of production in June, further accelerating the unwinding of cuts. The increase "may do little to crimp the actual volumes of chronic overproducers, with non-OPEC impacts rather the ones to watch over the next quarter if WTI is kept at current prices," Neil Crosby of Sparta Commodities says in a note. Meanwhile, refiners are coming out of maintenance with strong margins, while U.S. and global/OECD crude stock patterns "typically move into seasonal draws soon," he adds. "One hope may be to spur oil demand and economic growth during this trade war." WTI is down 2% at $57.10 a barrel and Brent is off 1.8% at $60.16.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0829 ET - Chicken continues to be a bright spot for Tyson Foods. The Arkansas-based meat giant said its chicken profits grew about 66% during its fiscal second quarter to $262 million, ahead of analyst estimates. Tyson spent years trying to improve its poultry business, including by closing plants and laying off workers. It's been helped by declining prices for chicken feed, which were down $110 million for the three months that ended March 29. Tyson's chicken business has helped it weather steeper losses in its beef business, its largest by revenue. Chicken sales volumes rose 3% for the quarter. (patrick.thomas@wsj.com)

0737 ET - Gold futures rise and are set to continue to outperform silver prices on strong central bank demand, Goldman Sachs analysts say. Gold futures are up 2.4% at $3,322.10 a troy ounce, while LBMA silver prices rise 0.75% to $32.37/oz. Gold prices have risen more than 23% year-to-date, compared to gains of just 12% for silver. The gold-silver ratio, historically around the 45-80 range, currently stands around the 102 mark on institutional demand for scarcer and more valuable gold. Concerns around U.S. government policy and institutional credibility, safe-haven demand and sharper interest rate cuts are likely to push gold above Goldman Sachs' base case scenario of $3,700/oz by the end of 2025 in the event of a potential recession, the U.S. bank says. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

0708 ET - Oil prices have fallen so much that U.S. producers are likely to cut back and could turn to layoffs, Apollo Global Management economist Torsten Slok writes. He notes that a May survey by the Dallas Fed found that U.S. producers typically want to see oil selling for $61 to $70 a barrel to ensure profitability on new wells. On the Nymex, crude finished last week at $58.29 a barrel. If oil "were to continue to hover in its recent $60- to $64-per-barrel range, further contraction in payrolls is likely," the Dallas Fed found in its survey. (matt.grossman@wsj.com; @mattgrossman)

0657 ET - Palm oil prices closed lower amid rising output, analysts say. Sathia Varqa, senior analyst at Palm Oil Analytics, points to private estimates from UOB showing that April production of palm oil likely rose 22%-26% on month. Panic selling likely added to the price weakness, he adds. Sunvin Group's Anilkumar Bagani says that sharply lower energy prices and a significant drop in soybean oil futures also weighed on palm oil prices. Crude palm oil futures could find support at 3,750 ringgit a ton and face resistance at 3,930 ringgit a ton, says David Ng, a trader at Kuala Lumpur-based Iceberg X. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for July delivery fell MYR54 to MYR3,827/ton. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0558 ET - Chinese investors have become a dominant force in the gold market, driving the commodity at a resilient performance despite consistent selling pressure by western speculative investors, Saxo Bank's head of commodity strategy Ole Hansen writes in a note. The COMEX gold futures suffered a second consecutive weekly loss, continuing its correction from the all-time high of $3,500 a troy ounce last month. The persistent domestic demand in China of gold, driven largely by retail investors, reflects growing economic concerns within China and uncertainties around long-term U.S.-China relations, he adds. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0403 ET - Gold futures rise on a weaker dollar, recouping some losses from the prior week. Futures are up 1% at $3,274.30 a troy ounce, though they remain down 2.2% on week. The precious metal slid on cooling safe-haven demand and growing risk appetite in the market, ANZ Research analysts say in a note. Economic data on Friday showed buoyant U.S. hiring, suggesting the economy is relatively robust despite trade pressures, ANZ writes. This might keep the Federal Reserve wary of cutting interest rates in the short term, a headwind for noninterest-bearing bullion, analysts say. Early signs of a thawing in U.S.-China trade talks also triggered a rally in the dollar, further curbing appetite for gold from investors, ANZ adds. (joseph.hoppe@wsj.com)

0339 ET - Brent crude could dip below $50 a barrel by the end of the year if OPEC+ continues to accelerate production hikes, DNB Markets analysts say. The cartel and its allies could implement larger supply increases in July, August, September and October as well if compliance among member states doesn't improve, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources. "However, oil prices are required to drop below the long term marginal cost of supply when OPEC+ is quickly returning production capacity to the market," DNB analysts say. "The lower oil price will help re-balancing the oil market, and gradually remove the OPEC induced oversupply, by reducing non-OPEC supply and stimulating oil demand." The long-term marginal cost of supply refers to the price level needed to justify investment in new production capacity, particularly from higher-cost producers. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0327 ET - OPEC+'s accelerated oil-production increases, combined with the impact of global trade tariffs, are expected to tip the market into oversupply from the second half of the year, according to DNB Markets. "Consistent overproduction from primarily Kazakhstan and Iraq, has angered Saudi and pushed OPEC+ into a position where it is using a more volume focused strategy to punish the cheaters," analysts Helge Andre Martinsen and Tobias Ingebrigtsen say. DNB estimates excess supply of around 1.3 million barrels a day in the second half and around 1.7 million barrels a day in 2026. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

2237 ET - Palm oil prices are lower in Asian trade, weighed by weaker soybean oil prices last Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade and softer crude-oil prices, AmInvestment Bank says in a note. Weaker crude oil prices weigh on CPO prices, as it discourage palm oil's appeal as a biofuel alternative. Stronger palm oil production in Malaysia could also add pressure on CPO prices, it adds. AmInvestment Bank sees support at 3,702 ringgit a ton and resistance at 3,969 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for July delivery is lower by 62 ringgit to 3,819 ringgit a ton. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2025 09:15 ET (13:15 GMT)

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