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

0253 GMT - Copper falls in early Asian trading. Signs of weaker demand in China are likely weighing on sentiment, ANZ Research says in a note. Inventories of copper rose in London Metal Exchange warehouses in Asia, while there have been reports of easing Chinese buying as fabricators and manufacturers seem to lack the appetite, ANZ says. The three-month LME copper contract is 0.3% lower at $12,865.00 a ton. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)

0252 GMT - Palm oil prices fall in early Asian trading. Weaker soybean oil prices overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade weighed on sentiment, PhillipCapital says in a note. Softer palm olein on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is also seen pressuring crude palm oil prices. Meanwhile, Malaysia's palm oil inventories are poised to end a 10-month upward trend in January, amid a surge in exports and seasonally lower production, it adds. PhillipCapital sees resistance for CPO futures at 4,350 ringgit a ton and support at 4,090 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for April delivery is 11 ringgit lower at 4,195 ringgit a ton. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0245 GMT - Iron ore falls in early Asian trading, with prices threatening to break below $100.00 a ton for the first time since November 2025. There is a broader selloff across industrial metals, in addition to weak fundamentals, ANZ Research analysts say in a note. Stockpiles at Chinese ports have been rising in recent weeks as the industry enters a seasonal slowdown around lunar new year, while shipments from Australia, including from Port Hedland, have also increased this week, ANZ adds. The most-traded iron-ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is down 0.8% at 764.00 yuan a ton.(jason.chau@wsj.com)

0114 GMT - The failure of deal talks between Rio Tinto and Glencore illustrates the challenges in doing large-scale copper M&A as the market runs red hot, RBC Capital Markets analyst Kaan Peker says. Rio Tinto was unwilling to stretch too far on a premium for long-dated copper options "at cycle-peak prices, while Glencore refused to crystallize its copper growth pipeline upfront," says Peker. "The strategic implication is a shift towards asset-level copper transactions." That means more carve-outs, minority stakes and project partnerships, rather than megamergers, Peker says. Rio Tinto is little changed in Sydney at A$157.11. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0059 GMT - It is disappointing that Rio Tinto and Glencore couldn't get a deal done, Wilson Asset Management portfolio manager Matthew Haupt says after the companies confirmed they have ended merger discussions. "The more work I did on it, the more I thought: Oh, what a great opportunity for the two companies to come together," he says. Yet Haupt says he's happy Rio Tinto was "not willing to do what most mining companies do and just pay up." Haupt holds Rio's Australia-listed shares in one fund, and London-listed stock in another. He considered buying Glencore as a hedge "in case Rio paid up," he says. "I'm glad I didn't." (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0020 GMT - Any deal to marry mining giants Rio Tinto and Glencore was going to be complex. While talks between the companies ended over disagreements on value, "the complexity of integrating Glencore's diverse commodity basket--spanning metals, coal, and a large trading operation--into Rio's streamlining strategy likely contributed to the difficulty in finding mutually acceptable terms," says CRU analyst William Tankard. Shares in Rio Tinto are 0.4% lower in Sydney, at A$156.52/share. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2343 GMT - ​Gold falls in the early Asian session amid spillover from the selloff in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. "The crypto bear market has morphed into a full-on market rout," IG's Chris Beauchamp says in an email. This broad selloff is taking hold across markets, with commodities deep in the red too, the chief market analyst says. "The best selloffs start when no one is really expecting one, but it seems like, as many have feared, the contagion from a crypto selloff has spread to the rest of the financial universe," Beauchamp adds. Spot gold is down 0.6% at $4,747.45/oz, ICE data show. Bitcoin is 13.4% lower at $63,438, FactSet data show. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

2337 GMT - The end of takeover talks with Rio Tinto gives investors a chance to nab Glencore shares "an even more attractive discount," Barclays analysts say in a note. "Meanwhile for RIO the impact is likely to be broadly share price neutral, in our view," say the analysts. Barclays has an overweight rating on both stocks. It has a price target of 525 pence on Glencore, and a sum-of-the-parts valuation of 723p for 2027. Barclays has a 6,885p on Rio Tinto's London shares. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2159 GMT - While it is possible that Rio Tinto and Glencore revisit merger talks again in the future, "that is not our base case," Jefferies analyst Christopher LaFemina says in a note. "Rio likely goes it alone," he says. LaFemina expects the miner to refocus on the strategy it outlined at an investor briefing in December, targeting cost cutting and asset sales. "The question then is what is Glencore's plan B?" he says. "Coal de-merger? Have discussions with another possible merger partner? Focus inward on its own copper portfolio?" LaFemina reckons there are ways for Glencore to unlock shareholder value, but notes that a takeover by Rio Tinto "would have been the simplest and most elegant path." (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2122 GMT - The difficulties laid bare by Synlait Milk in its 1H update were far worse than Forsyth Barr anticipated. Synlait said its 1H underlying Ebtida would be between breakeven and NZ$5 million. It's on track for a statutory net loss of up to NZ$82 million. Synlait pointed to ongoing costs and operational impacts from manufacturing challenges at its Dunsandel plant and lower relative returns from its ingredients portfolio. A lack of detail from Synlait provides little confidence in how these issues will be resolved, says analyst Matt Montgomerie. "While valuation support is evident (share price implied Dunsandel valuation of NZ$190 million versus replacement cost of likely more than NZ$1 billion and asset value of NZ$500 million), confidence in the equity story remains challenging," Forsyth Barr says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

1937 GMT - Oil futures give back gains from the previous session on lower risk premium with talks between the U.S. and Iran set to take place Friday in Oman. The recent renewal of tensions between the U.S. and Iran "remain more of a psychological factor than a tangible supply-side influence so far," Rania Gule of XS.com says in a note. The U.S.-India trade deal has "moderately positive medium-term implications," while the war in Ukraine and Russian attacks keep the shadow of sanctions on Russian crude alive, she adds."I expect oil prices in the near term to remain confined within a volatile sideways range." WTI settles down 2.8% at $63.29 a barrel and Brent falls 2.7% to $67.55. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1923 GMT - Grain futures had a strong showing as commodity traders are seen moving money away from volatile assets like gold and silver and towards less-glamorous choices like agriculture. But livestock didn't seem to benefit from that flow, with lean hog futures managing to settle up only 0.1%, while live cattle futures sank 2.5% to $2.3565 a pound. Higher grain prices typically mean more costly animal feed, but the profit-taking seen in metals could be extending to cattle -- as cattle futures have risen roughly 40% over the past two years, due largely to a historically-small U.S. herd. This makes cattle a less-attractive value choice for traders seeking to park money somewhere new. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2026 00:15 ET (05:15 GMT)

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