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

1538 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME turn back from Friday's record high with the most-active contract finishing 1.3% lower to $2.1925 a pound. A factor that bolstered cattle trading on Friday was a spurt in cash cattle activity, says Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note -- something not present to start this week. Restocking of feeder cattle also appeared to jump last week versus the week before, the USDA reports. Last week's receipts totaled 498,400 head, well up from 188,300 head. Lean hog futures close down 1.3% to $1.033 a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1514 ET - Starbucks is tightening its remote-work policy as the coffee chain looks to streamline corporate operations. CEO Brian Niccol says he would offer a payout program to any corporate employees who would rather leave their job than comply with the stricter return-to-office requirements. "If you decide you want to leave Starbucks for any reason, we respect that," he says. The incentives for exiting workers come a few months after Starbucks laid off 1,100 corporate employees and closed hundreds of open roles. The announcement is part of Niccol's Back to Starbucks strategy, which aims to simplify corporate structure and cut costs after a string of quarterly sales declines. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1511 ET - Oil futures fall as the market makes light of President Trump's threat of tariffs on Russia and countries that trade with Russia if a deal with Ukraine isn't reached in 50 days. The negative price reaction could be partly because the 50-day deadline "maintains the possibility that the oil market will avoid any disruption," Kieran Tompkins and Liam Peach of Capital Economics say in a note. The extent to which Trump will follow through on the threat remains a question given his preference for lower oil prices, although "targeting the exports of one of the world's largest energy producers would have important ramifications in energy markets," they say. The impact would probably be greater on natural gas than oil, "depending on to what extent OPEC+ would step in and plug the shortfall in oil supply." WTI settles down2.1% at $66.98 a barrel, and Brent falls 1.6% to 69.21 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1509 ET - Gold snaps a three-day winning streak, with front-month futures falling 0.1% to $3,351.50 a troy ounce. Gold was not the first choice for a safe haven today. Instead, the U.S. dollar is receiving much of those flows, with the WSJ dollar index up 0.2%. One reason that the dollar is faring a bit differently than it had previously was that the index is no longer overvalued like it once was, says Jonas Goltermann of Capital Economics in a note. This is making the risk of a recession ahead less likely, Goltermann says. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1458 ET - U.S. natural gas futures post solid gains after weather forecasts over the weekend called for hotter weather, and flows to LNG export terminals continue to rise. "Despite a messy pattern with numerous areas of showers and thunderstorms the next four days, national demand will be decently strong as highs of upper 80s to 100s rule most of the U.S.," NatGasWeather.com says in a note. Gas storage above 3 trillion cubic feet with several months of the injection season still to go remains a bearish consideration, the forecaster adds. Nymex natural gas settles up 4.6% at $3.466/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1424 ET - Corn futures are higher, but the bounce may be technical. That's because weather for U.S. crops across the Corn Belt continues to be supportive for strong crop growth--so the fundamentals of a bumper crop for corn hasn't much changed heading into this week. "Reduced heat and some showers are expected in the Midwest this week, but temperatures could turn warmer this weekend with more wet weather possible early next week," says Jack Scoville of Price Futures Group in a note. The same thing is the case for soybeans, says Scoville. Most-active corn is up 1.1% and soybeans are flat, while wheat is down 0.6%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1353 ET - CBOT wheat has fallen throughout the day, down 0.9% in afternoon trade. The pressure on comes after President Trump threatened a new 100% tariff on Russia, in hopes of spurring the country to reach a peace agreement with Ukraine within 50 days. But grain traders and analysts are nervous about how or if this may affect U.S. wheat prices. "[We are] unsure how the U.S. can enforce [it]," says AgResource in a note. The firm adds that new tariffs may have other effects that are not directly on wheat. "Sourcing fertilizer from Russia is the concern in the U.S. should issues escalate and retaliation occur in late summer," says AgResource. Corn is up 0.7%, and soybeans drop 0.1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1259 ET - Goldman Sachs raises its crude oil price estimates for the second half of the year as the market shifts focus from recession worries to possible supply disruptions, low OECD stocks, a rapid decline in perceived spare capacity and concerns about Russian production constraints. The firm raises its 2H25 Brent forecast by $5 to $66 a barrel, and for WTI to $63 from $57 a barrel. Goldman analysts keep their 2026 price forecast at $56 a barrel for Brent and $52 for WTI, reflecting "an offset between a boost from higher long-dated prices and a hit from a wider 1.7 million barrels a day surplus," compared with its previous surplus estimate of 1.5 million barrels a day. "Reduced spare capacity increases our confidence that prices will rebound after 2026," they add.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1230 ET - ICE coffee futures are up 4.3% and nearly back over the $3 a pound mark for the first time since late June. Tariff-related concerns continue to be a driver for this uptick, with major coffee supplier Brazil in the crosshairs of President Trump's next round of tariffs. It's not the only thing that may push coffee prices up. "Other major players, such as Vietnam, have high tax rates which could further impact coffee prices and demand in the U.S.," says Hedgepoint Global in a note. "Although changes to Trump's tariff policy are possible, we are likely to see more market volatility in the coming months." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1211 ET - Gold prices retreated in afternoon trade as investors monitor global trade developments, with futures down 0.4% at $3,351.30 a troy ounce. "If trade talks deteriorate before August, we could easily see bullion retest or even breach its former highs," says Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at Forex.com. "On the flip side, should a deal with a major trading partner materialize, appetite for gold could cool. For now, the market seems firmly in 'wait and see' mode." The EU's top trade negotiator said he intended to speak to his U.S. counterparts again after President Trump threatened a 30% tariff on goods from the bloc over the weekend. Trump said in a press conference on Monday that he remains open to trade talks with Europe before the Aug. 1 deadline. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

1152 ET - Managed money traders largely added to their long positions in CBOT wheat futures for the week ended July 8, counter to the trend seen for other contracts like corn and soybeans. In Friday's report, the CFTC said that for soft red winter wheat, hard red winter wheat, and spring wheat, fund traders added a total of 9,200 long contracts. That more than offsets the reduction of 659 short contracts reported by the CFTC for the week. For soybeans and corn, fund traders were net sellers, says Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note. Most-active corn is up 0.7%, soybeans rise 0.1%, and wheat is down 0.7%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1035 ET - The large U.S. crude oil stock builds of recent weeks, coupled with low crude exports, are likely to reverse in coming weeks as WTI prices become relatively cheap compared with international benchmarks, John Coleman of Sparta Commodities says in a note. The last two EIA reports showing around 11 million barrels in stock builds and exports under 3 million barrels a day suggest weak demand for U.S. barrels in the global market, he says. But "our signals dashboard is flashing green across the board for WTI exports, with arbitrage windows opening wide into both European and Asian destinations." WTI for September delivery is down 0.4% at $66.79 a barrel versus Brent off 0.2% at $70.20 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 14, 2025 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.