Gold Prices Top $4,000 for First Time — Commodities Roundup

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

--Brent crude oil is down 0.3% at $65.30 a barrel

--European benchmark gas is up 0.4% to 33.39 euros a megawatt-hour

--Gold futures are up 0.4% to $3,990.70 a troy ounce

--LME three-month copper futures are up 0.7% to $10,732 a metric ton

TOP STORY:

Gold Prices Top $4,000 for First Time

Gold soared to $4,000 a troy ounce for the first time, signaling an investor rush into alternative assets at a time of concern about the outlook for the U.S. economy and its place in the world.

The price of the precious metal has surged this year more than it did during some of America's biggest crises. Rising more than 50%, futures' run-up in 2025 has outpaced rallies during the pandemic and 2007-09 recession. Not since the inflationary shock of 1979 has gold catapulted so much higher in a year.

OTHER STORIES:

Orsted Raises $9.4 Billion to Boost Coffers Amid U.S. Challenges

Orsted raised $9.4 billion through a heavily discounted rights issue, generating new funds to continue its offshore wind-construction projects as the industry faces mounting difficulties.

The capital raise allows the Danish renewable-energy company to shore up its balance sheet after developments in the U.S. wind market disrupted its plans to sell assets.

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Shell Sees Trading Boost in Its Integrated Gas Division, Higher Refining Margins

Shell said it expects to report significantly higher third-quarter earnings from trading in its integrated gas division, while a rise in refining margins will provide some offset to weaker oil prices.

The update comes after a second-quarter where adjusted earnings fell nearly 25% due to lower oil prices and weaker earnings from its integrated gas unit, which was hit by volatile prices triggered by geopolitical developments.

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IEA Cuts U.S. Renewable Energy Growth Outlook on Trump Policies

The International Energy Agency slashed its forecast for renewable energy capacity growth in the U.S. this decade, citing the early phase-out of federal tax incentives and regulatory shifts under the Trump administration.

The West's energy watchdog now expects the U.S. to add nearly 250 gigawatts of new capacity by 2030-down by almost 50% from last year's projections-as a result of fresh import restrictions, the suspension of new offshore wind leasing and a crackdown on permitting for onshore wind and solar projects on federal land.

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Alberta Seeks Deal With Canada's Carney on Repealing Some Environmental Laws

OTTAWA--The leader of the oil-rich Canadian province of Alberta says she's seeking a deal by mid-November from Prime Minister Mark Carney to repeal federal environmental laws that she argues has thwarted investment in the energy patch.

Danielle Smith told reporters in Ottawa that ditching Ottawa's "nine bad laws" is necessary for big energy projects, like an Alberta-backed crude-oil pipeline to the northwest Pacific Coast, to proceed. Carney has championed the need for so-called national-building projects, like natural-gas plants to trade corridors like ports, to rewire an economy that needs to reduce its reliance on a protectionist U.S.

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Plug Power Appoints Jose Luis Crespo as CEO

Plug Power has appointed Jose Luis Crespo as president and chief executive officer, effective Oct. 10.

Crespo takes over the head role at the hydrogen solutions company from Andy Marsh, who has been appointed as chair of the board starting on March 2, Plug said Tuesday.

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Solaris Shares Fall on $650 Million Debt Offering

Shares of Solaris Energy Infrastructure fell after the company said it would offer $650 million of 0.25% convertible senior notes due 2031, up from the $600 million in notes it previously said it would offer.

The stock fell 4.3% to $44.73 after closing Monday up 62% so far this year.

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Naturgy to Sell 3.5% of Share Capital for $1 Billion in Discounted Placing

Naturgy said it would sell around 3.5% of its share capital for around $1 billion to qualified investors in a placing.

The Spanish natural-gas utility said Tuesday it would sell 34.1 million shares at 25.90 euros ($30.34) each, amounting to around 883.2 million euros ($1.03 billion). The placement price represents a 3.9% discount to Monday's closing price of 26.94 euros.

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A Devastating Fire at a Major Ford Supplier Will Disrupt Business for Months

A late-night fire leveled a key part of a New York aluminum plant in hours. Its absence is going to disrupt business at Ford Motor and other automakers for months to come.

The plant's operator, Atlanta-based Novelis, supplies about 40% of the aluminum sheet used by the auto industry in the U.S., according to industry analysts. Novelis said a major portion of its Oswego, N.Y., plant has been knocked offline until early next year.

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Beyond Gold: Silver, Platinum Soar as Investors Seek Affordable Havens -- Analysis

The precious metals rally is in full swing, and gold isn't the only driver.

Silver futures prices in New York have climbed 65% this year and platinum has risen 81%. Still, both remain much cheaper than gold, attracting a broad range of investors seeking more affordable safe-haven assets.

"The primary driver of this surge is the rally of gold, which is climbing from one record to the next," said Thu Lan Nguyen, head of commodity research at Commerzbank. "The high price level is likely deterring some investors who are looking for alternatives."

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South32 to Sell Down Trilogy Stake to Defense Dept. in Latest U.S. Mine-Stake Deal

South32 has agreed to sell roughly $17.8 million of stock in Trilogy Metals to the Defense Department as part of a deal for the U.S. to take a 10% stake in the Canadian mineral-exploration company.

Australia-based South32 and Canada's Trilogy jointly own the Ambler Metals project in northwest Alaska, which includes deposits of copper, zinc, silver and other metals. South32 also owns a roughly 11% stake in Trilogy. Shares in Trilogy doubled in after-hours trading Monday after Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said the U.S. would take a $35.6 million stake in the company.

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Hudbay Minerals Restarts Operations in Peru Following Protests

Hudbay Minerals has resumed operations in Peru after shutting down due to political protests.

The Toronto-based miner said Tuesday that it has restarted operations at the Constancia mine after it was temporarily shut down on Sept. 22 due to local protests that had affected transportation of supplies and concentrate.

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EU Plans 50% Tariff on Excess Steel Imports in Bid to Tackle Overcapacity

The European Union's top trade officials are proposing a 50% tariff on steel imports above a certain quota as the bloc moves to shield its struggling sector from overcapacity.

The European Commission--the bloc's executive arm--said the EU steel industry faced significant pressure from overcapacity that it estimated at more than five times its annual steel consumption. Officials said growing overcapacity, rising steel imports and tariffs from other countries were compounding challenges for the EU steel sector.

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Hochschild Mining's Tiernan Gold Signs Definitive Agreement to Buy Railtown Capital

Hochschild Mining said subsidiary Tiernan Gold signed a definitive agreement to buy Railtown Capital in a reverse takeover.

The gold-and-silver miner on Tuesday said that as part of the agreement it will raise a minimum of 35 million Canadian dollars ($25.1 million) via a private placement for Tiernan. The London-listed company said the proceeds will be used for the development of Chile's Volcan gold project.

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Hecla Mining Says US Forest Service Issued Final Decision Notice on Libby Project

Hecla Mining said the U.S. Forest Service issued a final decision notice and finding of no significant impact for the Libby Exploration Project, advancing the exploration phase of the copper and silver deposit in Montana.

At the end of last year, the project, located southwest of Libby in Lincoln County, had an Inferred Resource of 112.2 million tons grading 0.7% copper and 1.6 ounces per ton silver, for contained metal of over 1.5 billion pounds of copper and 183 million ounces of silver, Hecla said.

MARKET TALKS:

Markets for Canadian Aluminum Open Up Beyond U.S. -- Market Talk

1136 ET - While Canadian aluminum exports to the U.S. are down sharply in the wake of the Trump administration's tariffs, there are hopeful signs other markets are opening up. Statistics Canada notes that while the U.S. remains the biggest destination for Canadian aluminum exports, accounting for 83.4% of the total in April-to-August, aluminum exports to the Netherlands have jumped 74.3% in 2025. At the same time, exports to Italy have nearly doubled and exports to Poland are up fourfold. Canada's government is seeking to diversify the country's export markets, though overall goods exports to countries other than the U.S. fell 2% on-month in August, a third consecutive decline. (robb.stewart@wsj.com; @RobbMStewart)

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Gold Rise Tied to Lower Confidence in Dollar Assets -- Market Talk

1133 ET - The rise of gold price reflects increasing discomfort with U.S. assets, FolioBeyond's Dean Smith says. Gold pierces $4,000 an ounce for the first time ever, following a nearly steady climb in the past two months. Smith says the rise reflects investors' search for safe havens other than the dollar or Treasurys. "Global markets are hedging their bets," he says. Investors are no longer sure they want to have "so much of [their] prosperity and economic future tied up" to dollar assets, he says. The uncertainty and risk reassessment behind gold value "is going to take years to resolve," Smith says. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

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SovEcon Raises Outlook for Ukrainian Crops -- Market Talk

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October 07, 2025 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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