Oil Is Gushing out of the Gulf. Why Are Prices Still Above $100 a Barrel? — Commodities Roundup

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

--Brent crude oil is down 1.3% to $113.85 a barrel.

--European benchmark gas falls 3.4% to 96.91 euros a megawatt-hour.

--Copper futures are down 0.9% at $14,359 a metric ton.

--Gold futures are down 0.2% to $4,043.10 a troy ounce.

TOP STORY:

Oil Is Gushing out of the Gulf. Why Are Prices Still Above $100 a Barrel?

Oil exports from the Persian Gulf have rebounded significantly, at times returning to and even surpassing their prewar volumes. But prices for the global benchmark Brent have once again climbed to around $110 a barrel, a level last seen in late April when exports were about half of what they are now.

The price rally reflects fears of renewed escalation, dwindling oil stockpiles and a makeshift shipping system that remains dangerous and expensive to operate, according to traders and analysts.

OTHER STORIES:

Gulf Oil Giants Work to Expand Overseas Storage As War Exposes Supply Risks

The Iran war is pushing major Persian Gulf oil producers to accelerate plans to store more barrels of crude overseas in an effort to safeguard global energy supplies as key regional shipping routes remain under threat.

Eight months into the conflict, storing oil closer to top customers in Asia is becoming a key strategy to mitigate supply risks, speeding up deliveries while bolstering host countries' energy security. While overseas stockpiles offer only a limited hedge against shipping disruptions, the war and low global inventories are strengthening the case for more storage and alternative transport routes, analysts said.

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Oil Prices Fall as Traders Weigh U.S.-Iran Diplomacy

Oil prices fell Thursday as traders assessed fresh U.S. efforts to revive peace negotiations with Iran against persistent Middle East supply risks and the possibility of renewed military escalation.

December Brent crude futures fell 1.2% to $113.91 a barrel, while December West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 1.4% to $101.34 a barrel.

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Shell Maximizes Diesel Production During Supply Crunch

Shell has never squeezed so much diesel out of a barrel of crude oil.

The British energy major ran its refineries hard in the third quarter to maximize diesel production during an unprecedented supply squeeze that has roiled geopolitics ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

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TotalEnergies Profit Surges on High Energy Prices

TotalEnergies reported a surge in third-quarter net profit, as the French energy major got a boost from high energy prices and refining margins.

Net profit for the quarter was $8.26 billion, compared with $3.68 billion for the same period last year, TotalEnergies said Thursday.

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U.S. Wheat Export Sales Hit Marketing-Year High

U.S. export sales of wheat rose sharply last week and were the highest of the current marketing year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday in its latest report.

Wheat export sales for the 2026/27 marketing year totaled 849,800 metric tons for the week ended Oct. 22, up from 239,600 tons reported for the week before, with the Philippines the top destination. An additional 22,000 tons for 2027/28 were sold to Peru.

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Glencore Copper Production Rises

Glencore said copper production rose in the third quarter and reiterated its guidance for the year.

The commodities company said Thursday that copper production rose 2% from the second quarter to 201,600 metric tons. Output in the year to date was up 2.6% at 598,600 tons.

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QatarEnergy to Buy LNG from Woodside's Louisiana Plant

State-owned QatarEnergy will buy up to 3 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year from a U.S. export plant under construction in Louisiana, as the Iran war cripples its own production and shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The LNG exporter--which previously accounted for about 20% of the world's LNG exports--signed a 20-year deal with Woodside Energy on Thursday, the Australian oil and gas producer said.

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Sinopec's Quarterly Net Profit Jumps on Higher Oil Prices

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.'s net profit jumped in the third quarter as higher oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict boosted its margins.

China's biggest oil refiner, better known as Sinopec, said Thursday that net profit for the three months ended September was 13.36 billion yuan, equivalent to $2 billion, up 57% from the same period a year earlier.

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Shell to Launch $5 Billion Share Buyback as Earnings Soar

Shell hiked its quarterly share buyback to $5 billion after earnings doubled and cash flow soared.

The British energy major's third-quarter adjusted earnings--a closely watched metric that strips out certain commodity price adjustments and one-time charges--doubled to $10.81 billion from the $5.43 billion it reported in the same period last year. Analysts had expected $10.33 billion, according to estimates compiled by Vara Research.

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TotalEnergies Profit Surges on High Energy Prices

TotalEnergies reported a surge in third-quarter net profit, as the French energy major got a boost from high energy prices and refining margins.

Net profit for the quarter was $8.26 billion, compared with $3.68 billion for the same period last year, TotalEnergies said Thursday.

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OMV's Earnings Soar as Fuel Supply Squeeze Triples Refining Margins

Austrian oil-and-gas company OMV said third-quarter earnings jumped after refining margins more than tripled from the same period a year prior.

The exceptional margins come as conflict in the Middle East and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have removed millions of barrels of refined products from the global market. The fuel squeeze has been particularly pronounced for jet fuel and diesel, and has pushed prices of both higher.

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Woodside Energy Selling Out of Greater Sunrise Project for Up to $200 Million

SYDNEY--Woodside Energy is selling its stake in a large natural-gas project near East Timor for up to $200 million, a move that raises new questions over a resource discovered around 50 years ago but has yet to be developed.

Woodside on Tuesday said it has agreed to sell its 33.44% interest in the Sunrise Joint Venture, including the titles containing the Greater Sunrise fields, to East Timor's state-owned oil and gas company Timor Gap.

MARKET TALKS:

Cattle Futures Extend Losses, Lean Hogs Pick Up -- Market Talk

1105 ET - Live cattle futures are adding to the previous day's losses, while hogs bounce back somewhat from yesterday's big drop. "Major fund selling developed in the livestock markets Wednesday, which pulled live cattle down," AgResource says in a note. The USDA reports beef export sales for 2026 down 41% last week at 11,000 metric tons. Pork export sales rose 13% to 42,300 tons. Live cattle are off 0.4% on CME and hogs are up 2.4%. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

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U.S. Natural Gas Inventories Rise More Than Expected

1049 ET - U.S. natural gas inventories rose more than expected last week, slightly expanding the surplus over the five-year average, according to the EIA's latest report. Net injections into storage were 80 billion cubic feet, up from the five-year average for the week of 77 Bcf and above the 70 Bcf estimate in a WSJ survey of analysts. The storage build put inventories at 3,724 Bcf, or 38 Bcf above the 2021-2025 average. The surplus was 35 Bcf the previous week. Nymex natural gas futures are down 3.3% at $2.932/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

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Precious Metals Futures Extend Losses -- Market Talk

1047 ET - Precious metals futures lose ground with silver at a fresh 11-month low and gold holding just above the $4,000 level. The Fed's 10-2 decision to hold rates steady reinforces expectations that borrowing costs could remain high, bolstering the U.S. dollar and increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, Naeem Aslam of Zaye Capital Markets says in a note. High oil prices also complicate the inflation outlook, he says. "Silver's dual role as a monetary asset and an industrial commodity makes it particularly sensitive to this environment, as restrictive financing conditions can weaken investment demand while simultaneously increasing costs for manufacturers." December gold is down 0.3% in New York at $4,039.40 a troy ounce. Silver falls 2% to $52.58 a troy ounce. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

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Russia Catches Up on Winter Grains Planting -- Market Talk

1015 ET - Russia's winter grain planting has almost caught up with last year's pace on accelerated planting in the south, agriculture consultancy SovEcon says in a note. Farmers had planted 14.9 million hectares (36.8 million acres) as of Oct. 23, which was 1% below last year at this time, when two weeks ago planting had a lag of 10%, the firm says. SovEcon expects final planted area could be a little below last year. "Planting risks have eased, but weak farm economics could still weigh on the 2027 crop through lower input use, which could make yields more vulnerable to weather." (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

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Grains Market Struggles to Find A Floor -- Market Talk

1010 ET - Grains futures are lower in early trading with the market struggling to find a floor to the rout. "Everyone has been talking about picking bottoms this week, and each time they have gotten blown out of the water," Charlie Sernatinger of Marex says in a note. Bottom pickers need an indication that traders have given up hope of a rally as a signal for a corrective up move, he says. "Even then, we are talking about a correction, not an uptrend, with the overwhelming discretionary attitude being the desire to sell a rally." CBOT corn is down 0.7%, wheat is off 0.3% and soybeans are down 0.8%.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

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Burger King Faces High Beef Costs, but Sees Relief Ahead -- Market Talk

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October 29, 2026 13:03 ET (17:03 GMT)

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