Commodities & Futures

Iron-ore prices have slumped to a three-year low as China’s sharp homebuilding slowdown and zero-Covid strategy sap demand for the steelmaking commodity.

The project is the first phase of Port Arthur LNG, a roughly $10.5 billion export facility in Texas that would start delivering cargoes around 2027, potentially adding much-needed supplies of liquefied gas to global markets.

Cleveland-Cliffs, United States Steel, Nucor and Steel Dynamics reported significantly lower profits from their steelmaking operations during the quarter that ended in September, compared with the same period last year when prices were at record levels.

A big driver of inflation is down more than 40% in two months as U.S. inventories have swelled since air-conditioning season.

A drilling bonanza in New Mexico has encroached on miners harvesting potash, a key fertilizer ingredient made scarce by Western sanctions on Belarus and Russia.

The energy crisis stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is seen as hastening a shift to lower-emission sources, according to the International Energy Agency.

Prices for natural gas have tumbled more than 70% from their late-August high, thanks in part to a burst of warm weather.

Rocked by its biggest energy shock since the 1970s, Europe is unpicking parts of a two-decade endeavor to foster a competitive market in natural gas.

Japan imports nearly all of its natural gas and, despite the worst energy crisis in many years, it isn’t facing shortages or out-of-control prices.

Dozens of ships laden with natural gas are floating off the coast of Europe, many of them waiting for berths to unload as the continent races to top up storage ahead of a winter without Russian gas.

Traders braced for a European Commission proposal to place a price cap on wholesale markets if the continent’s energy crisis spirals into an emergency.

Elevated prices for natural gas, heating oil, propane and electricity are colliding with forecasts for slightly colder temperatures.

Diplomats advance work on cap, but will wait to seek approval from the bloc as some member nations are hesitant.

The International Energy Agency slashed its oil-demand forecasts, saying the OPEC cut could undermine longer-term demand for oil.

Some hedge funds that trade raw materials have generated blockbuster returns this year, making them among the major beneficiaries of exceptionally volatile commodity markets.

The sluggish economy and high demand in Europe let Chinese energy companies benefit from high global prices.

Exxon is arguing against the push to get energy companies to slow overseas shipments and stash more fuel in storage tanks.

Futures have shed one-fourth of their value in a month as slowing consumer demand overshadows a potentially poor harvest.

The drop has brought two-by-fours back to what they cost before the pandemic building boom and point to a sharp slowdown in construction.

Surging prices for lithium are intensifying a race between auto makers to lock up supplies and raising concerns that a shortage of the battery metal could slow the adoption of electric vehicles.