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

0332 GMT - Promising drilling results from FireFly Metals' Green Bay copper-gold project seem to be having a diminishing impact on the company's share price, as investors move their focus from exploration to the potential development of a mine, say analysts at MA Moelis Australia. "Stocks can't trade on exploration excitement forever," they say. "When the market is wholly convinced there is a real project, eyeballs start to turn towards the detail around delivery." MA thinks there's a risk the market will be underwhelmed by a maiden study on the project, which is likely to be limited by an initial 1.8-million-metric-ton processing rate. It downgrades its rating on the stock to hold from buy and cuts its share-price target to A$1.90 a share from A$2.30. Shares are down 7.0% at A$1.73. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0304 GMT - Iron ore prices are volatile early Tuesday while analysts are expecting further downside pressure from weak fundamentals. Global iron-ore shipments remain elevated, leading to a continued buildup in port inventories, Everbright Futures say in a note. On the demand side, hot metal output has declined for consecutive weeks, while steelmakers' profitability has deteriorated, prompting mills to take a cautious approach to raw material purchases, they add. The combination of rising supply and weaker demand has kept port inventories high and weakened cost support for prices, they say. The most actively traded September iron-ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is flat at CNY702.5 a ton.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0242 GMT - Palm oil rises in early Asian trade, driven by stronger soybean oil prices overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. However, CPO futures could trade rangebound with a downside bias after President Trump urged Iran to sign a peace agreement, PhillipCapital says in a note. Easing geopolitical risks reduces the risk premium in crude oil, a key driver of palm oil prices, as biofuel demand tends to weaken when energy prices decline. PhillipCapital expects prices to face resistance at 4,780 ringgit a ton and find support at 4,433 ringgit a ton. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for October delivery is up 28 ringgit at 4,657 ringgit a ton. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0142 GMT - Press Metal Aluminium's acquisition of a controlling stake in PMB Technology could strengthen its downstream business by leveraging sustainable energy supply, RHB IB analyst Iftaar Hakim Rusli says in a note. The 465 million ringgit stake acquisition will raise Press Metal's stake in PMB Technology to 58.8%, making it a subsidiary. The deal will allow Press Metal to pivot PMB Technology's operations toward higher-margin silicon-aluminum alloy products used in electric vehicles and industrial applications, he says. While RHB is positive on the deal's near-to-medium-term strategy, it cautions that future losses at PMB Technology will be consolidated into Press Metal's earnings, although the impact will likely be less than 2% of 2026-2028 earnings. RHB maintains its buy rating on Press Metal, keeps target price at 9.80 ringgit. Shares are 0.1% lower at 7.94 ringgit. (yingxian.wong@wsj.com)

0130 GMT - Copper rises in early Asian trade, with the three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange 0.2% higher at $13,893.50 a metric ton. Signs of supply tightness are supporting prices across the base metal sector, ANZ Research analysts say in a report. U.S. copper imports have surged in July, limiting the availability of copper in the international market, they add.(amanda.lee@wsj.com)

0025 GMT - Gold rises in early Asian trade. The precious metal has been trading in a range over several weeks as the market contends between the rapidly changing Middle East situation and shifting U.S. monetary policy expectations, says Bas Kooijman, chief executive and asset manager of DHF Capital S.A. in a note. Progress in U.S.-Iran talks could push oil prices down, limiting inflation concerns and driving bond yields lower, reducing downward pressure on gold, Kooijman says. Markets will be keeping an eye on U.S. labor data for any signals on the Fed's monetary policy expectations, Kooijman adds. Spot gold is 0.2% higher at $4,063.40 an ounce. (kimberley.kao@wsj.com)

2331 GMT - West African Resources is the cheapest ASX-listed gold stock when measured by its cash flow yield, says Euroz Hartleys. It estimates a cash flow yield of 28.5% for FY26. This is after West African Resources banked A$830 million during the year, as a result of the steady ramp up of its Kiaka mine in Burkina Faso. "Question now is whether they can return this to shareholders," says analyst Michael Scantlebury. West African Resources ended Monday at A$2.88. Its stock is down some 26% since its peak in January, amid a broad pullback in the gold price. Euroz Hartleys notes 2Q gold prices denominated in U.S. dollars and Australian dollars dropped on-quarter by the largest amount since 1Q of 2021. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

Ramelius Resources looks very cheap for a company that's going to generate A$1 billion of operating cash flow annually from FY28, says Euroz Hartleys. Investors have been leery about Ramelius's near-term capex, likely totaling some A$400 million in FY27. Output is forecast at 215,000 oz in FY27, up from 192,000 oz in FY26. Analyst Michael Scantlebury thinks the market should start to focus on Ramelius's cash flow from FY28. Ramelius forecasts A$410 million in dividends in FY29, representing a dividend yield of 6.7%. That's more than double the highest average yield of a gold stock. "We believe that the company will look to increase their share buyback by at least A$100 million (in the short term)," Ord Minnett says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2319 GMT [Dow Jones]--Key cost support for the iron-ore industry is around $85/metric ton, according to Citi. At that price, roughly 6% of seaborne supply would be either at risk of curtailment or generating low single-digit margins, says the bank. Citi says breakeven prices for iron-ore producers continue to climb. It estimates an industry breakeven price of $66/ton, up 7% since its last update in May 2025. "The curve implies that, while margins remain healthy for the major Australian and Brazilian producers, profitability is coming under increasing pressure for higher-cost producers," the bank says. Citi says it is neutral on iron ore in the near term, with a 0-3 month forecast of $100/ton. Spot iron ore fell 1.7% to $93.70 Monday, according to S&P Global. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

1947 GMT - Lean hog futures on the CME settle down 1.4% to 83.65 cents a pound. The slide comes after the USDA reported a drop-off in the end-of-day average pork cutout prices, with the carcass cutout down $1.63 per hundredweight to $100.01 per cwt. The approaching Labor Day holiday seemed to do little to perk up pork demand.Last Friday's CFTC Commitment of Traders report showed a slight uptick in managed money funds holding long positions while cutting short position exposure, while cattle futures saw a net outflow on the long side. Cattle finished down 0.1% to $2.2705 a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1917 GMT - U.S. natural gas futures make a modest advance with temperatures expected to heat up into next week, favoring power-sector demand. "Although heat has intensified across Texas and overall gas demand is approaching its strongest levels of the season, the market remains focused on healthy storage inventories, softer summer LNG feedgas, and power generation demand that continues to trail recent years," Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in anote. At the same time, "the approaching shoulder season is increasingly coming into focus," he adds. Nymex natural gas settles up 1.2% at $2.781/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1910 GMT - Oil futures fall after the U.S. suspended plans for major attacks against Iran, while expectations of a negotiated solution to the conflict remain in question. "Previous negotiations have failed to produce a comprehensive agreement, and any diplomatic setback could reignite hostilities and the geopolitical risk premium," says Nikos Tzabouras of Tradu. A deal to restore traffic through the strait could lead to deeper declines, while continued shipping disruptions and new risks in Red Sea leave the door open to further gains, he adds. WTI settles down 5.1% at $80.34 a barrel and Brent falls 4.7% to $83.77.