Woodside Puts 'Everything on the Table' in Review of Beaumont Facility — Commodities Roundup

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

--Brent crude oil is down 3.2% to $89.20 a barrel.

--European benchmark gas is down 3.2% to 66.08 euros a megawatt-hour.

--Copper futures are up 0.3% to $14,294 a metric ton.

--Gold futures are flat at $4,696.80 a troy ounce.

TOP STORY:

Woodside Puts 'Everything on the Table' in Review of Beaumont Facility

SYDNEY-Woodside Energy considers everything to be on the table in a review of its Beaumont New Ammonia facility in Texas, raising the prospect that it could seek a buyer for a project that it agreed to acquire for US$2.35 billion only two years ago.

Chief Executive Liz Westcott said the review reflected a shift in international policy positions since it agreed to the acquisition in August 2024 and slack demand for lower carbon ammonia, which has potential uses in power generation and as a marine fuel.

"When we took an investment decision, it was a different world," Westcott said in an interview following the Australian company's earnings for the six months through June.

OTHER STORIES:

Gold Fields Returns More Cash to Shareholders as Earnings Jump on Higher Prices

Gold Fields said it would return additional cash to shareholders as reported earnings for the first half of the year rose on higher prices and an increase in production.

The South African gold miner said Tuesday that headline earnings for the half year ended June 30 rose 81% on the same period a year prior to $1.855 billion. This came as attributable gold-equivalent production grew 12% to 1.267 million ounces and average gold prices jumped 51%.

MARKET TALKS:

Oil Falls Further Despite Fresh U.S. Sanctions on Iran -- Market Talk

0941 GMT - Oil prices extend losses, falling more than 2.5% as investors see lower supply risks from fresh U.S. sanctions than from military escalation in the Middle East. In midmorning European trade, the front-month Brent crude contract is down 2.6% to $89.72 a barrel, while WTI futures slide 2.7% to $82.67 a barrel. "With no further military escalation and some tankers slipping through after buying heavily discounted oil to compensate for the elevated transit risk, the market remains in limbo," Saxo Bank analysts say. "However, the drawn-out disruption continues to tighten the availability of crude and, not least, refined products, leaving the market vulnerable to renewed price spikes should flows deteriorate again." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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Copper Holds Above $14,200 a Ton, With Inventories in Focus -- Market Talk

0759 GMT - Copper prices tick lower but hold above $14,200 a metric ton after fresh withdrawals from London warehouses fueled concerns over tight inventories. "Recent deliveries into LME warehouses helped ease some of the tightness," analysts at ING say. "However, the latest withdrawal suggests that any recovery in inventories may prove temporary." Prices remain supported by strong flows into the U.S. as high premiums encourage shipments into the country, tightening availability elsewhere. In early European trading, three-month copper futures on the LME slip 0.1% to $14,235.50 a ton, but are up more than 4% on the month. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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European TTF Gas Holds Above 68 Euros on Winter Supply Concerns -- Market Talk

0743 GMT - European natural-gas prices trade above 68 euros a megawatt-hour, their highest in more than three years, as supply constraints and low storage levels continue to worry investors. Inventories across the European Union are currently 63% full, well below the five-year average of 80%. "At the current rate, it will be difficult for the EU to hit even the lower storage target of 75% ahead of the heating season," analysts at ING say. "This raises the prospects of forced buying, increasing upside risk for gas prices." In early trading, the benchmark Dutch TTF contract slips 0.2% to 68.10 euros a megawatt-hour, but is up 7% on the week. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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Gold Stable After Hitting Three-Month High -- Market Talk

0731 GMT - Gold prices are broadly stable after hitting their highest level since mid-May on Monday, as investors await U.S. inflation data and a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh later this week. In early European trading, New York futures are flat at $4,696.40 a troy ounce. "Renewed U.S. fiscal concerns, uncertainty around Treasury-market credibility and the dollar index remaining below 99 kept demand firm, despite the U.S. 10-year yield staying close to 4.7%," analysts at Sucden Financial say. "Gold now needs to hold above $4,700 an ounce to preserve the stronger tone." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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Oil Falls as Market Shrugs off U.S. Plan to Squeeze Iran -- Market Talk

0723 GMT - Oil prices fall in early trading, with Brent crude below $90 a barrel despite U.S. plans to tighten economic pressure on Iran. The global oil benchmark is down 0.8% to $89.84 a barrel, while the U.S. gauge WTI slips 0.7% to $84.37 a barrel. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. was sanctioning more than 60 entities, individuals and vessels tied to the regime, but didn't outline any specific steps against individual countries like China, a major buyer of Iranian oil. "The market seems largely unfazed by Washington's push for tighter economic pressure on Iran, with traders treating the U.S. effort to nudge partners away from Iranian trade as marginal rather than market‑moving," analysts at ING say. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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Copper Falls as Traders Weigh Effect of Tariff-Related Arbitrage -- Market Talk

0228 GMT - Copper declines in Asia trading. The market for the base metal appears to be increasingly difficult to interpret, given a new set of forces affecting prices, centered on geographic arbitrage and trade policy, say Societe Generale analysts in a note. Limited mine supply and growing demand from sectors such as artificial intelligence have generally supported prices, they note. However, tariff-related arbitrage has redirected large volumes of copper inventories toward the U.S., affecting stockpiles elsewhere and making the market difficult to analyze based on traditional frameworks alone, they add. The three-month copper futures contract on the London Metal Exchange falls 0.3% to $14,225.50 a metric ton. (megan.cheah@wsj.com)

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Iron Ore Edges Higher Amid Supply Concerns -- Market Talk

0225 GMT - Iron ore edges higher in early Asian trading, with the most-traded contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange up 0.1% at 716.0 yuan a ton. Coking coal, a key steelmaking ingredient, is in short supply in China, after a deadly mine explosion in May, ANZ Research analysts say in a note. Both iron ore and coking coal are ingredients for making steel. Prices are also likely supported by the prospect of mills restocking ahead of China's National Day holiday, they add. (amanda.lee@wsj.com)

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Gold's Bullish Momentum Still Has Room to Run -- Market Talk

0158 GMT - Gold's bullish momentum still has room to run, Citi Research's Kenny Hu says in a research report. The commodities strategist sees tailwinds in the eventual resolution of the deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz, lower real U.S. rates and a less hawkish Fed. Citi raises its gold-price target for up to 3 months to $4,800 an ounce from $4,500, while leaving its target for the 6-12 month horizon unchanged at $5,000 an ounce. However, gold price may face "short-term volatility ahead around binary risks" at this week's Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, where Fed Chair Warsh is slated to speak, the analyst adds. Spot gold is 0.5% higher at $4,673.57 an ounce. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 25, 2026 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)

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