CME to Reopen Futures, Options Trading After Halt Caused by Data-Center Issue -- Commodities Roundup

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

--Brent crude oil is flat at $62.88 a barrel.

--European benchmark gas is down 1.1% to 28.87 euros a megawatt-hour.

--Gold futures are up 0.7% to $4,230.50 a troy ounce.

--LME three-month copper futures are up 2.2% to $11,174 a metric ton.

TOP STORY:

CME to Reopen Futures, Options Trading After Halt Caused by Data-Center Issue

CME Group said it would reopen futures and options trading after an hourslong glitch at a data center prompted it to halt exchanges across asset classes.

The exchange operator said Friday that its CME Globex Futures & Options markets would open as of 0730 CT, or 0830 ET. The move follows earlier restorations of fixed-income and foreign-exchange platforms.

OTHER STORIES:

Rio Tinto CEO's Big Test: What to Do With Lithium -- Analysis

Rio Tinto last year bet big on lithium. Its new chief executive officer will next week set out whether the commodity has a prominent future at the world's second-largest mining company.

Simon Trott, who took charge of Rio Tinto in August, has promised changes that analysts speculate could include asset sales, cost cuts and slower developments. On Thursday, he will lay out a detailed vision for the company for the first time at an investor gathering in London.

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Aker Solutions Gets Contract Extension From ConocoPhillips Worth Up to $400 Million

Aker Solutions said it signed a six-year contract valued at up to around $400 million to provide services to ConocoPhillips at two fields offshore Norway.

The Norwegian energy-industry service provider said Friday that the exact value of the contract--expected to be between 2.5 billion and 4 billion kroner ($246 million-$393.6 million)--will depend on the volume of maintenance and modification work to be carried out.

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Canada's Carney Loses Cabinet Minister Over Easing of Climate-Change Rules

OTTAWA-Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney faces his first major political setback, as a member of his cabinet stepped down Thursday after Carney cut a deal with the energy-rich province of Alberta that suspends environmental rules aimed at curbing oil-and-gas carbon emissions.

Steven Guilbeault, who served as Canada's culture minister under Carney and as the environment minister under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said he submitted a resignation letter "with great sadness" following the government's deal with Alberta. In a statement, Guilbeault said Carney was dismantling climate-change policies he helped implement under Trudeau, such as a cap on carbon emissions from oil-and-gas producers, clean-electricity regulations and a zero-emissions vehicle standard.

MARKET TALKS:

Crude Futures Gain as U.S. Market Reopens -- Market Talk

1533 GMT - Crude futures are higher as the U.S. market reopens after Thanksgiving and WTI trading resumes following an outage at the CME. WTI is up 1.1% at $59.29 a barrel, and Brent is up 0.2% to $62.97. The market continues to watch for progress in Russia-Ukraine peace efforts, while OPEC+ is expected to confirm at its weekend meeting that it will keep production targets steady in January. "Much of today's price gains appear related to reduced optimism regarding peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia," advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates says in a note. ([e-mail])

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Gold Rises on U.S. Rate-Cut Bets After CME Outage -- Market Talk

1521 GMT - Gold prices rise after the CME resumed trading, and are now on track for a weekly gain of 3.7% as optimism over U.S. rate cuts boosts demand. Futures in New York are up 0.7% to $4,228 a troy ounce, while spot gold gains 0.8% to $4,163.58 an ounce. According to the FedWatch tool, traders are now pricing in a nearly 87% chance of a December cut by the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, other precious metals are soaring, with silver and platinum futures up 4.1% and 5% to $55.82 and $1,667.50 an ounce, respectively. ([e-mail])

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Corn Futures Edge Up After Solid Delayed Export Sales -- Market Talk

1454 GMT - Corn futures add to Wednesday's strong gains after a report showing a big rise in export sales for the week through Oct. 16. The USDA reported corn export sales of 2.82 million metric tons for the 2025/26 marketing year and 571,500 tons for 2026/27. "It's old data. However, it did reveal some very impressive corn sales during the week - totaling 111.1 million bushels of current year corn, along with another 22.5 million bushels of next year's corn crop - with the majority of it going to Mexico," Arlan Suderman of StoneX says in a note. The USDA also reported flash sales of 273,988 tons of corn to unknown destinations for 2025/26. Corn is up 0.1% at $4.45 3/4 a bushel. ([e-mail])

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U.S. Natural Gas Futures Rise As Temperatures Drop -- Market Talk

1437 GMT - U.S. natural gas futures open higher after the Thanksgiving break as weather turns colder. "The mid part of the U.S. is feeling the first frigid days of winter with below average temperatures to continue into the first week of December," Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial says in a note. The 11 Bcf storage draw reported for last week still leaves inventories 4.2% above the five-year average, he notes. "Weather is key and while futures are in a bullish trend, weather models are seeing less cold in the longer-range forecasts." Nymex natural gas is up 3.5% at $4.716/mmBtu. ([e-mail])

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Traders Are Relieved That CME Outage Happened on Quiet Day -- Market Talk

1409 GMT - The outage in trading of futures and options on exchanges operated by CME Group caused major disruption, but traders and investors were relieved it happened on a quiet day. Trade was already quiet due to Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday and amid a lack of major data or central-bank announcements. "The only good thing about the outage is that it has happened on a very quiet day for markets," says Rabobank's Jane Foley. Pepperstone's Michael Brown says the outage "caused havoc" but it would have been "a hundred times worse" if it had happened, for example, on a day when the Federal Reserve announced a decision. CME futures and options markets have reopened after the outage, caused by a data-center glitch. ([e-mail])

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Russia-Ukraine Peace Efforts to Have Little Impact on Oil Fundamentals

1327 GMT - Barclays sees limited downside for oil in efforts to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. "Even if there was a diplomatic breakthrough, it would be unlikely to lead to a material increase in Russian output in 2026, which has not been able to keep up with OPEC+ targets this year amid capacity constraints," Amarpreet Singh says in a note. OPEC+ production increases have been less than targeted since the group began unwinding cuts, and even if the group resumes increases in April, "the efficacy in terms of actual production increase would be even lower, in our view," he says. Barclays sees next year's expected surplus as "comfortably in the price" and keeps its 2026 Brent forecast at $66 a barrel. Brent on ICE Futures Europe is off 0.2% at $62.74 a barrel. WTI is suspended due to an outage at CME. ([e-mail])

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WTI Crude Futures Frozen at Around $59 During CME Outage

1257 GMT - U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were frozen at around $59 a barrel ahead of the U.S. market open as a tech outage halted trading on the CME. Oil prices have been largely muted as investors continue to monitor negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and await an OPEC+ meeting on Sunday. "A peace deal would likely remove much of the supply risk facing the market, potentially leading to the lifting of US sanctions on Russia," ING analysts say. Meanwhile, OPEC+ is expected to leave production unchanged. "The fundamental outlook remains fairly similar to where it was at the group's last meeting," the analysts say. ([e-mail])

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Gold Futures Frozen at $4,221 as CME Outage Disrupts Trading Ahead of U.S. Open -- Market Talk

1242 GMT - Gold futures in New York are frozen at $4,221.30 a troy ounce ahead of the U.S. market open due to disruptions caused by the CME outage. The malfunction further exacerbated already thin trading volumes after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, with some market watchers saying this could lead to price swings once trading resumes. Gold prices were on track for a weekly gain of 3.5%, driven by renewed expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December--a scenario that would benefit nonyielding bullion. ([e-mail])

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Traders Wait to See Whether Precious Metals Jump Once CME Outage Ends -- Market Talk

1131 GMT - An unexpected outage at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange leaves investors on tenterhooks looking to see whether precious metals prices surge higher again once the outage is resolved, Rostro's Joshua Mahony says in a note. "The outage came at the same moment as a bullish breakout in silver, with the precious metal having just pushed into a fresh record high," he says. "The question for the metal bulls is whether we see prices surge higher once the issue is resolved." Trading of futures and options on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has been halted for hours, distrupting trade in financial assets. The exchange cited a cooling problem at a data center provider and said it was working to resolve the problem. ([e-mail])

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CME Exchange Outage Puts Grains Trading at Risk Ahead of Friday Open -- Market Talk

1130 GMT - An outage at the CME exchange could disrupt trading in agricultural contracts if not resolved in the next few hours. All CME Group markets, including those on the Chicago Board of Trade, have been halted due to a data-center cooling issue at CyrusOne. This includes key agricultural futures contracts such as corn, soybeans, and wheat. The CME experienced a similar incident in 2014, when it was forced to halt electronic trading in certain agricultural contracts. Futures contracts for wheat, soybeans, and corn are scheduled to begin trading at 8:30 a.m. CST on Friday. ([e-mail])

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11-28-25 1112ET