MARKET MOVEMENTS:
–Brent crude oil rises 1.1% to $64.54 a barrel.
–European benchmark gas is up 0.6% to 31.67 euros a megawatt-hour.
–Gold futures are up 1% to $4,021.80 a troy ounce.
–LME three-month copper futures are up 1.3% to $11,173.50 a metric ton.
TOP STORY:
Copper Prices in London Hit Record High on Supply Fears
Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange climbed to a record high Wednesday, driven by concerns over global supply after a series of disruptions at major mines and weaker forecasts from leading producers.
In early European trading, three-month copper futures rose 0.6% to $11,097 a metric ton after touching a high of $11,146 a ton earlier in the session. The previous record of $11,104.50 a ton was set in May 2024.
Miner Glencore on Wednesday trimmed the upper range of its full-year copper output guidance after reporting a decline in production in the first nine months of the year. A day earlier, Anglo American warned that copper production from its flagship Collahuasi plant in Chile will likely be lower than anticipated next year.
OTHER STORIES:
U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles Fall More Than Expected
U.S. crude oil inventories posted a bigger-than-expected decline last week as imports fell and exports rose, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 6.9 million barrels to 416 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 24 and were about 6% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said. Analysts in a Wall Street Journal survey had expected a 200,000 barrel withdrawal.
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U.S. Weekly Ethanol Production Lands Below Expectations
U.S. ethanol production came in below analyst expectations last week, while stocks of the biofuel rose from the week before, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Ethanol production averaged 1.091 million barrels a day in the week ended Oct. 24, down by 21,000 barrels a day from the previous week. Ethanol production was a record 1.12 million barrels a day in the first week of June.
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Naturgy Earnings Rise on Higher Energy Prices
Naturgy said earnings rose in the first nine months of the year, when macroeconomic uncertainty, geopolitical developments and lower temperatures drove gas and electricity prices higher.
The Spanish energy company said Wednesday that net profit climbed to 1.67 billion euros ($1.95 billion) from 1.58 billion euros in the equivalent period of last year on revenue that grew to 14.59 billion euros from 13.92 billion euros.
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Equinor Earnings Slide on Lower Oil Prices
Equinor said third-quarter earnings slumped on weaker oil prices, missing market expectations.
The Norwegian energy major said Wednesday that adjusted operating income-its preferred measure-fell 10% to $6.215 billion against the $6.31 billion analysts had expected, according to a company-compiled consensus.
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All Aboard Coalition Sees Gain in Helping Clean-Tech to Scale
A newly formed 15-member investment group aims to prove that investing in clean-energy startups can generate profits even without supportive government policies.
Their All Aboard coalition plans to back companies that are struggling to bridge the "missing middle" in financing for businesses that have passed early-stage development and reached the point of turning prototypes into commercial products, said co-founder Stan Miranda. He is also the founder and chairman emeritus of Partners Capital, a London-based provider of asset-management services.
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Washington's Oil Dilemma Returns: How to Hurt Moscow Without Raising Gas Prices
The Trump administration's recent oil sanctions have revived a dilemma for the West: how to hurt Moscow's war chest without inflicting economic self-harm.
Even after last week's sanctioning of Russia's two biggest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, the U.S. has still more tools at its disposal to squeeze Moscow's oil exports. Those range from blacklisting Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers to using secondary sanctions on banks, traders and refiners in other countries such as China or India.
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Phillips 66 3Q Profit Falls on Higher Costs
Phillips 66's third quarter profit fell as one-off costs dragged.
The downstream energy provider on Wednesday posted lower net income of $133 million, or 32 cents a share, compared with $346 million, or 82 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.
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Valero Energy Names Homer Bhullar Finance Chief as Jason Fraser Retires
Valero Energy's top finance executive, Jason Fraser, is retiring from the maker of transportation fuels and petrochemical products.
Valero on Wednesday said Fraser will leave his post as executive vice president and chief financial officer at the end of the year and retire from the San Antonio, Texas, company in the first quarter of 2026.
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Australia's Lynas to Build New Heavy Rare-Earths Plant in Malaysia
Lynas Rare Earths will build a new heavy rare-earth separation facility in Malaysia to meet demand from buyers looking to source the critical minerals from outside of China.
The Australian miner intends to begin producing samarium, needed for magnets for defense technologies, such as F-35 jet fighters, early next year, before adding other heavy rare earths that are today almost all refined in China.
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Glencore Trims Top End of Copper Production Guidance After Output Declines
Glencore trimmed the upper range of its full-year copper output guidance after it suffered a drop in production in the first nine months due to lower grades of mined material
The Anglo-Swiss commodity mining and trading company said it had produced 583,500 metric tons of copper in the year to date, down 17% from the comparable period a year prior. Gold production also dropped 17%, it said.
MARKET TALKS:
Grains Futures Mixed in Early Trade -- Market Talk
0950 ET - Grains are mixed, with soybeans pulling back a bit despite reports that China has already started buying U.S. beans again. "The market has priced in a lot of bullishness ahead of the Trump/Xi meeting, but it is worth keeping in mind that even if a trade deal is reached, China already has a lot of bean coverage after loading up on Argentine beans, and global supplies are still forecast record large," Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives says in a note. For further upside, "we likely need to see weather concerns develop in South America," he adds. Soybeans for January on CBOT are off 0.3% at $10.91 3/4 a bushel. Corn is up 0.5% and wheat up 0.2%. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
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Oil Futures Steady Ahead of U.S. Inventory Data
0926 ET - Oil futures are holding their ground after three straight sessions of declines, with the market watching for the EIA's weekly inventory data at 10:30 a.m. ET, the Fed's interest-rate decision and the outcome of this week's meeting between President Trump and China's Xi Jinping. WTI is getting some support from the API's report of a larger-than-expected 4 million barrel drop in U.S. crude stocks, analysts note. WTI is up 0.1% at $60.18 a barrel and Brent is 0.1% higher at $64.45.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
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U.S. Natural Gas Futures Lose Ground As November Expires -- Market Talk
0911 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are lower with warmer early November weather forecasts taking some of the recent enthusiasm out of the market. Overnight data were little changed overall "and still with decent national demand the next five days, then too warm over too much of the U.S. for the 6-15 day period," NatGasWeather.com says in a note. Nymex gas for November delivery is off 3.3% at $3.236/mmBtu ahead of today's expiration, and the December contract is down 2.1% at $3.786/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
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Rare-Earths Dependence on China Should Break to Diversify Supply Chain -- Market Talk
1038 GMT - Midstream rare-earth dependence on China should break before the West's strategies of diversifying its supply chain can succeed, says Sabrin Chowdhury, head of commodities research at BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions. It may take up to 10 years to build independent processing capacity, she says, noting that China has invested around $57 billion in critical minerals from 2000 to 2021, while the U.S. and Europe have invested a combined $2 billion. China's policy restrictions on processing technology and knowledge could further slow progress for the West in diversifying their rare-earth supply, adds BMI Chief Economist Cedric Chehab. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)
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Palm Oil Ends Lower, Following Soybean Oil Prices -- Market Talk
1022 GMT - Palm oil closed lower on weaker soybean oil and crude oil prices, according to David Ng, a trader at Kuala Lumpur-based Iceberg X. Ng sees support for palm oil prices at 4,200 ringgit a ton and resistance at 4,350 ringgit a ton. Weak demand and improved output have weighed on palm oil prices this week. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for January delivery fell 65 ringgit to 4,252 ringgit a ton. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
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OMV Gets Boost From Strengthening Refining Margins -- Market Talk
0912 GMT - Austrian oil-and-gas company OMV reported a solid set of earnings, with its clean operating result beating consensus expectations by 9%, RBC Capital Markets analysts Adnan Dhanani and Matthew Russell write. This was driven by a 21% beat in its fuels and feedstock segment amid strengthening margins, they write. There is near-term upside to earnings from refining-margins strength, they add. Shares trade up 1.8% 46.96 euros.(adam.whittaker@wsj.com)
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Gold Climbs Back Above $4,000 Ahead of Fed Rate Decision -- Market Talk
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October 29, 2025 11:29 ET (15:29 GMT)
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