The Race Against the Clock to Fix a Power Grid Meltdown -- Commodities Roundup

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

--Brent crude oil is up 2% at $66.05 a barrel.

--European benchmark gas is up 2.3% at 39.66 euros a megawatt-hour.

--Gold futures are flat at $5,084.60 a troy ounce.

--LME three-month copper futures are down 1.3% at $13,005 a metric ton.

TOP STORY:

The Race Against the Clock to Fix a Power Grid Meltdown

Part of Mississippi is paralyzed in the wake of a winter storm that completely upended the power grid. Linemen are now working nearly around the clock to re-electrify the area around Oxford, Miss.

In the region served by the rural electric cooperative North East Mississippi Electric Power Association, virtually all 30,000 customers lost power on Sunday. Roughly 23,000 were still without power on Monday.

"Our whole system got at least an inch of ice," said Keith Hayward, chief executive officer and general manager for the co-op.

OTHER STORIES:

The Possible Faces of a Rio Tinto-Glencore Deal

A Feb. 5 deadline for Rio Tinto to make a takeover bid for Glencore is approaching. Information about what form a deal could take is limited.

The companies said on Jan. 8 that talks involve a possible combination of some or all of their businesses, including a potential all-share takeover of Glencore by Rio Tinto. A combination could create the world's largest mining company with a market value of more than $200 billion and the industry's biggest copper business, controlling nearly one-tenth of global output.

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Weatherford International Raises Quarterly Dividend by 10%

Weatherford International's board has raised the energy-services company's quarterly dividend by 10%, to 27.5 cents from 25 cents.

The new payout, equal to $1.10 a year, represents an annual yield of about 1.22% based on Monday's closing price of $90.46, up from 1.11%.

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ProPetro Holding Shares Fall in Premarket on Pricing of Upsized Public Offering

ProPetro Holding shares fell in premarket trading Tuesday after the company priced its upsized share offering at $10 apiece.

Shares traded 9.1% lower ahead of the morning bell at $10.11.

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NextEra 4Q Net Income Up, Company Backs '26 Adj EPS View on Strong Demand

NextEra Energy's fourth-quarter net income rose as demand for electricity increased among residential and industrial customers, and as the power giant reiterated its 2026 adjusted earnings forecast and projected long-term gains from the artificial-intelligence boom.

The Juno Beach, Fla., utility and nuclear-power producer posted earnings of $1.54 billion, or 73 cents a share, up from $1.2 billion or 58 cents a share, a year earlier.

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Ford Names Lisa Drake as President of Ford Energy

Ford Motor has named Lisa Drake as president of Ford Energy, effective immediately.

Ford said Drake will launch its battery energy storage systems business, the formation of which was announced in December 2025.

Drake will be responsible for Ford Energy's end-to-end operations, including battery cell manufacturing, system assembly, and sales.

MARKET TALKS:

Trump's Iowa Speech Being Watched by Grain Markets -- Market Talk

1045 ET - President Trump is scheduled to speak in Clive, Iowa this afternoon, and while the focus is on affordability, it's likely he may also address important issues for the U.S. agricultural market. Analysts hope to hear comments about E15, the blend of motor fuel with 15% ethanol. A Congressional bill to keep the government running through the end of the month originally included language to allow E15 fuel to be sold nationwide all year, but that language was removed, disappointing farmers sitting on a record-sized corn crop after last fall's harvest. Relaxed regulations around E15 should boost the consumption of U.S. corn significantly.([e-mail])

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Cattle Inches Lower as Pastures Thaw -- Market Talk

1042 ET - Live cattle futures are down 0.2%, with regions that were slammed by a snowstorm late last week beginning to restart business that was paused. "Weather impacts on the cattle market should begin to loosen up starting today as the region thaws," says StoneX in a note. Slaughter rates totaled 535,000 head last week, the firm adds, which is lower than expected by analysts even with the storm moving through. Lean hog futures are higher today, rising 0.3%. ([e-mail])

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Grain Markets Focus on Larger Brazilian Crops -- Market Talk

1024 ET - CBOT grain futures are mixed, with Brazilian crop estimates garnering more attention from traders and analysts. Michael Cordonnier of Soybean and Corn Advisors projects the Brazilian soybean crop at 179 million metric tons. That's up from his previous forecast of 178 million tons. Earlier this week, AgRural forecast the Brazilian soybean crop at over 180 million tons. Cordonnier left his outlook for Brazilian corn unchanged at 137 million tons, and stressed that Brazilian soybeans are not without risk going forward. "Even though I increased the soybean estimate, I am still concerned about the crop," he says, highlighting potential hot and dry weather disrupting crop yields. CBOT corn is down 0.1%, soybeans rise 0.4%, and wheat falls 0.1%. ([e-mail])

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Crude Futures Turn Higher in Early U.S. Trade

0917 ET - Oil futures move higher with concerns about supply disruptions keeping prices up. Worries about possible supply disruptions in Iran aren't the only reason prices have risen in recent weeks, Fawad Razaqzada of Forex.com says in a note, "but also because of the ongoing situation in Ukraine, where the war rages on despite peace talks taking place." U.S. production freeze-offs with the passage of the winter storm have also contributed, he adds. "The short-term risks therefore remain tilted to the upside amid disruptions-or fears thereof-to supply." WTI is up 2% at $61.83 a barrel, and Brent is up 1.7% at $66.68.([e-mail])

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U.S. Natural Gas Futures Ease, But Frigid Weather Persists -- Market Talk

0844 ET - U.S. natural gas futures pull back from yesterday's three-year highs reached amid winter storm Fern that lifted consumption and caused major production freeze-offs. Residential and commercial demand hit a seasonal high 69 Bcf on Monday, and electricity generators used an estimated 50 Bcf, "a level that rivals the hottest days of last summer," Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in a note. "Demand is expected to remain extremely elevated until temperatures begin to moderate early next week," maintaining extreme pricing in physical markets, he adds. Nymex gas for February delivery is off 3.2% at $6.581/mmBtu ahead of tomorrow's expiration. The March contract is down 3.8% at $3.749/mmBtu.([e-mail])

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Past Experience Suggests Gold Could Top $7,000 by Year-End -- Market Talk

0839 ET - Gold's crossing of the $5,000 an ounce threshold to a string of all-time highs has it at levels RBC Capital Economics hadn't factored into a "high" scenario until later in the year. Its call had been for gold to trade mostly in a $4,500-$5,000 range in 2026, with upside risk mostly in the second half that opened it up to a high on average of $5,203/ounce in 4Q. The latest surge raises a number of question on where gold heads. RBC notes that gold in 2025 scaled 4.9 all-time highs a month on average, ending the year about 65% higher. So given RBC doesn't get a sense of exhaustion in terms of gold accumulation from investors or from central banks and using 2025's gains as a proxy, that could see the metal climb as high as $7,100/oz at year end. ([e-mail])

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BP Should Increase Investor Access to Its Chair, Barclays Says -- Market Talk

1411 GMT - BP should increase investor access to its Chair as part of a shift in how it communicates, Barclays analyst Lydia Rainforth writes. "At this point in BP's life-cycle, only talking to large shareholders whilst important - is also a signal of thinking that may be too traditional and not transformative," she says. An increasing number of company executives are also turning to podcasts to reach a wider audience, she says. BP's shares rise 0.8% to 448.35 pence. ([e-mail])

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Oil Rises With Focus on U.S. Production Impact, Global Supply -- Market Talk

1341 GMT - Oil prices rebound in afternoon trading, with traders focused on the impact of the U.S. winter storm on production and prospects of excess global supply. Brent crude and WTI both rise 0.8% to $65.29 a barrel and $60.64 a barrel after slipping earlier in the session. "Official estimates of weather-related production losses are not yet available," says Carsten Fritsch from Commerzbank. "According to estimates by analysts and traders, the losses could amount to as much as 2 million barrels per day." Significant restrictions on oil imports and exports, along with a sharp drop in crude oil processing, have likely occurred as refineries scaled back or shut down operations due to extreme cold and power outages. However, production losses and other effects of the winter storm are likely to be short-lived, according to market watchers. ([e-mail])

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BP's Accelerated Strategy Could Unlock Significant Value -- Market Talk

1243 GMT - BP stands at a crossroads but there is significant upside if it delivers on its strategy, Barclays's analyst Lydia Rainforth writes. The incoming CEO and refreshed board can accelerate the British energy major's push to become a simpler and more profitable business, Rainforth says. However, the company's capital-allocation credibility is severely impaired, she says. It needs to change how it communicates with investors and specify how the capital-allocation processes that led to expensive write-downs has changed, she says. BP's shares rise 0.25% to 4.46 pounds. ([e-mail])

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Palm Oil Ends Higher, Tracking Soybean Oil's Strength -- Market Talk

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01-27-26 1223ET