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

1532 ET - Lean hog futures on the CME close lower for the sixth consecutive session. The most-active contract settles down 1.9% to 92.05 cents a pound, making it roughly 7% that hogs have shed in that time. Pork cutout prices have been sliding, with average carcass cutout prices also dropping in recent days -- falling yesterday by $1.69 per hundredweight to $93.77/cwt. Cattle close down 0.1% to $2.40775 a pound, with weekly slaughter on pace with where it was at this time last year, says Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1519 ET - Oil futures retreat as the market's perception of risk premium around the U.S.-Iran situation continues to fluctuate from one day to the next. Half of the losses appeared to be the result of geopolitical issues and a bearish IEA report in which the Paris-based agency lowered its oil demand growth forecast for this year, and the rest to a broader risk-off trade across markets, Mizuho's Robert Yawger says in a note. President Trump yesterday told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he prefers a negotiated solution for Iran. "There was a perception that Netanyahu would push for a strong response and a quicker timeline during his visit to the White House, but the President seemingly threw cold water on his concerns," Yawger adds. WTI settles down 2.8% at $62.84 a barrel, and Brent falls 2.7% to $67.52. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1508 ET - U.S. natural gas futures hold out for modest gains after the EIA reports a smaller-than-expected withdrawal from storage for last week, but one big enough to increase the deficit over the five-year average. "Futures pricing was pushing on intraday highs prior to the data release, but the market relaxed after the number came in near the bearish end of analyst expectations," Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in a note. Cold weather that lingered in the Eastern U.S. over the weekend "will keep the next storage draw somewhat elevated," he adds. Nymex gas for March delivery settles up 1.8% at $3.217/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1442 ET - Additional strains to U.S.-China trade relations are being watched by grain traders at a time when they're hoping to see more U.S. soybean shipments going there. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act earlier this week which calls for excluding China from global financial institutions if it attempts to invade Taiwan. If the measure passes the Senate, traders are unsure if it would get President Trump's signature. "China is likely trying to see if it can prod Trump not to sign it," says AgResource in a note, adding that they expect the bill to pass in the Senate. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1415 ET - Gold and silver futures slide in volatile trading. For gold, prices dip back below the $5,000 a troy ounce mark, after rallying back to roughly $5,100/oz this week. Whether or not gold can quickly regain the $5,000/oz-mark may be the biggest indicator of what the near-term trend will look like, says Fawad Razaqzada of Forex.com in a note. "The market has now cleared out a large pocket of downside liquidity, and the next move will depend on how price behaves around key technical levels," says Razaqzada. Front-month gold settles down 2.9% to $4,923.70/oz, while silver sinks 9.8% to $75.546/oz. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1232 ET - McDonald's has argued that its loyalty program is driving sales growth but Stifel analysts aren't so sure. The company has noted a significant increase in visit frequency from U.S. loyalty members, but there is little evidence that the loyalty program is driving these visits. "Customers who are increasing their frequency are likely deciding it's worth their time to sign up; essentially, the program may be tracking momentum rather than creating it," the analysts say. In 2025, loyalty revenue growth largely matched active member growth, "suggesting that average spend per member remained relatively stagnant despite the high-frequency metrics of specific cohorts," the analysts say. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1231 ET - McDonald's needs to find additional ways to drive sales beyond collaborations and special promotions, say Stifel analysts. "Visitation data suggests that while special promotions clearly spike sales, gains tend to moderate between events," the analysts say. The company's new beverage lineup should help but it is unlikely to drive a structural comparable sales spike since product innovation has historically failed to have the same impact as collaborations. "Relying on special promotions remains a volatile strategy," the analysts say. "We believe the beverage expansion, while not a structural "silver bullet," is a necessary defensive maneuver to maintain relevance." (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1225 ET - Gold prices extend losses after strong U.S. jobs data tempered near-term expectations for fresh interest-rate cuts, which typically bolster demand for non-yielding bullion. Futures in New York fall 2.6% to $4,968.50 a troy ounce, following better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls figures and a decline in the unemployment rate. Weekly jobless claims fell. Other metals also plunged, with silver futures down 8.6% to $76.72 an ounce and LME copper sliding 2.8% to $12,880 a metric ton. The decline came as stocks turned lower Thursday as concerns about artificial intelligence came to the surface once again. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

1213 ET - McDonald's posted strong same-restaurant sales growth in 4Q, but that may not continue as 2026 progresses, say Mizuho analysts. The company's 4Q was boosted by its Monopoly and Grinch meal promotions but it is unrealistic for future quarters to have two to three promotions each. The analysts also say they are skeptical about McDonald's McCafe beverage rollout in the second half of the year. Plus, year-over-year comparisons become difficult in the second quarter. We "continue to believe U.S. SSS growth visibility for the remainder of '26 remains limited. We also believe risk to 2026 margin expectations remains elevated," the analysts say. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)

1211 ET - Returns on spring acres may stay unprofitable, says Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture. In an analysis of potential crop budgets for farmers in Indiana, Purdue says that even farmers with "high productivity soil" need higher underlying prices for their row crops in order to turn a profit, and at this juncture are likely to lose money. For average productivity soil, farmers stand to lose over $200 an acre on a continuous corn crop -- crops grown in fields that also grew corn last year. Most farmers use rotations for their fields in order to maximize their crop yields, but losses for corn and soybeans in rotation are expected -- an average loss of $86 an acre for soybeans and $147 for corn. Wheat acres look to lose $183 an acre. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1155 ET - Shippers are pressing ahead with sustainability efforts despite easing regulations, transport technology firm Breakthrough says. In a survey of 500 transport decision-makers, 69% of shippers said they expect to lower their transport-related emissions this year. "In continuously refining their networks to reduce emissions, they're also lowering fuel consumption and limiting exposure to fuel volatility and broader market uncertainty," Breakthrough says. Among measures taken are route optimizing and investment in fuel-efficient vehicles. A soft freight market, meanwhile, led most carriers to reduce, delay or cancel planned equipment upgrades, hiring or other investments in 2025. Almost half expect to delay investments this year, while 36% said they expect to accelerate investments. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1138 ET - CBOT wheat futures are again leading the rise in the row crop complex after trading volume hit a year-high yesterday, according to data from FactSet. Indications of ice damage to wheat in Russia sparked short-covering, says the Hightower Report in a note. Until more information is known about freezing in Russian fields, fundamentals suggest ample supply is available for wheat globally. This suggests that the rush in trading is more based on technical aspects, says the firm. "Funds have been slowly paring down their net short position over the last week but got much more aggressive yesterday, possibly due to the fact shorts are getting weary of ongoing sideways action," says Hightower. CBOT wheat is up 1.7%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 12, 2026 16:15 ET (21:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.