U.S. Brings Tough Demands to Iran Nuclear Talks -- Commodities Roundup

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

--Brent crude oil is down 0.1% to $70.59 a barrel.

--European benchmark gas is down 0.6% at 30.75 euros a megawatt hour.

--Gold futures are down 0.8% to $5,183.90 a troy ounce.

--LME three-month copper futures are down 0.6% to $13,275 a metric ton.

TOP STORY:

U.S. Brings Tough Demands to Iran Nuclear Talks

GENEVA-U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are entering a crucial round of talks over Iran's nuclear program Thursday with tough demands, under pressure from hawks in the administration and Republicans in Congress not to agree to a deal that could be criticized as soft.

In the talks, now under way in Geneva, the U.S. negotiators were expected to make clear Iran must dismantle its three main nuclear sites-at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan-and deliver all of its remaining enriched uranium to the U.S., officials said.

OTHER STORIES:

Big Oil Is Urging Trump to Stop Battle on Offshore Wind

Big Oil has an unusual ask for President Trump : Please stop your battle against offshore wind.

Oil lobbyists have made the case to Trump officials in recent weeks that his attacks on wind farms off the U.S. coast risk derailing congressional efforts to speed up permits for energy projects, according to people familiar with the matter. The oil-and-gas industry fears missing out on a huge opportunity to ship more of its products to markets via new pipelines.

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Canadian Utilities Swings to 4Q Loss on Noncash Impairments, Write-Offs

Canadian Utilities swung to a loss in the fourth quarter as noncash impairments and write-offs related to its Alberta Renewables portfolio dragged performance.

The diversified energy and utilities company on Thursday logged a net loss of 328 million Canadian dollars ($239.8 million), or C$1.28 a share, compared with a profit of C$164 million, or C$0.53 a share, in the comparable quarter a year ago.

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EDP Posts Higher Net Profit on Renewables Recovery

Portugal's EDP reported a jump in 2025 net profit, aided by higher earnings from its renewables arm and a recovery of its wind and solar businesses.

The energy company said it made a full-year net profit of 1.15 billion euros ($1.36 billion), up 44% compared with 2024. The company said the increase reflected a bigger contribution from separately listed EDP Renovaveis.

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How to Build the World's Most Expensive Nuclear Power Plant

"We are now entering a new phase in the golden age of nuclear," declared Michael Shanks, a U.K. energy minister, as he recently talked up the country's plans to attract private investment in new reactors.

His parade was swiftly dampened. Last week, Britain's first new nuclear plant in three decades cemented its status as the most expensive on record anywhere. The risk is that the U.K.'s contribution to the golden age is a cautionary tale about the cost of these megaprojects as the U.S. advances its own nuclear buildout.

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Eni Earnings Rise on Higher Production

Italian energy major Eni reported a rise in fourth-quarter earnings despite lower oil prices as it benefited from higher production and cost efficiencies.

The integrated oil-and-gas company said Thursday that adjusted net profit--the company's preferred metric--jumped 35% to 1.2 billion euros ($1.42 billion) compared with the same period a year earlier. This came ahead of the 960 million euros analysts had expected according to a company-compiled consensus.

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Karoon Prefers to Be Operator of South Santos Basin Drill Campaign

SYDNEY--Karoon Energy prefers to be the operator of a mooted exploration campaign in the deepwater Santos Basin of Brazil, but is prepared to hand on that responsibility if it finds a strong partner with the right skillset.

That is the view of Chief Executive Carri Lockhart after Karoon recently began an effort to test the interest of companies in taking equity in licenses that it wholly owns in the southern area of the basin where the ocean is nearly a mile deep.

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Cold Is Winning the Coffee Wars at Starbucks

Starbucks's business is going cold. Around two-thirds of the chain's U.S. orders are now iced, up from 37% in 2013.

The trend extends beyond the U.S., with 60% of the chain's global sales represented by cold espressos, fruity Refreshers, iced matcha and chilled tea lattes.

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BlueScope Says $11 Billion Steel Dynamics, SGH Takeover Offer Insufficient; Open to Talks

BlueScope Steel said a revised takeover offer from U.S. steelmaker Steel Dynamics and Australian conglomerate SGH isn't sufficient for directors to recommend a deal to shareholders, but that it is open to talks if the companies are able to address some of its concerns.

Last week, Steel Dynamics and SGH submitted a sweetened offer for Australia's BlueScope that values its equity at roughly US$11 billion, and said they wouldn't raise it again unless a rival bidder emerges.

MARKET TALKS:

Soybean Futures Higher But Brazilian Harvest Eyed -- Market Talk

0919 ET - Soybean futures on the CBOT are up premarket, but analysts keeping a close eye on how the Brazilian harvest is progressing. With a record amount of soybeans expected from Brazil, gains seen in futures may be hitting a short-term ceiling. "It would be unusual for the biggest soybean harvest the world has ever seen (Brazil) to not slow down price gains in the beans at some point," says Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note. Bergman adds that soybean futures have likely priced in optimism surrounding demand from renewable fuels. Soybeans are up 0.5%, while corn rises 0.5% and wheat climbs 0.2%. ([e-mail])

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U.S. Natural Gas Futures Fall Ahead of Inventory Data -- Market Talk

0911 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are lower awaiting weekly storage data due at 10:30 a.m. ET, while weather forecasts point to warmer weather for the first half of March. The milder outlook is pressuring futures prices through the summer "as we are more likely to exit winter with above-normal amounts of gas in storage," Tradition Energy's Gary Cunningham says in a note. "Domestic gas production is back to firing on all cylinders and imports from Canada are returning to normal," he adds. Nymex gas is down 3% at $2.782/mmBtu as the April contract debuts at the front of the curve.([e-mail])

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Oil Futures Move Lower As U.S.-Iran Talks Held

0901 ET - Oil futures lose ground as U.S. and Iranian officials hold talks in Geneva on Iran's nuclear program. "Geo-risk will continue to rise and fall in response to latest U.S./Iran headlines, but global oil supplies are increasing appreciably as floating shadow inventories are moving into more transparent regions of the world," Ritterbusch and Associates says in a note. The energy complex is also losing support from diesel futures "as the heating season winds down amid a broad-based warming trend across the U.S. during the next couple of weeks," the firm adds. WTI is down 1.7% at $64.28 a barrel and Brent is off 1.4% at $69.84 a barrel. ([e-mail])

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EU's Buy-European Push Could Direct Public Funding to non-European Low-Carbon Steel, Lobby Group Says -- Market Talk

1215 GMT - Europe's steel lobby group says that the bloc's current plan to boost public backing for European companies will leave the local steel sector behind. A leaked draft of the European Commission's Industrial Accelerator Act--set to be presented on March 4--requires a share of at least 25% of steel in public procurement to be low-carbon, but it is not clear whether low-carbon steel will count as a strategic product that must be produced in Europe, Eurofer says. "In today's turbulent geopolitical context, it seems unthinkable that the steel industry is not being defined as strategic in the package," the group's director general, Axel Eggert, says. "This goes hand in hand with strengthening Europe's autonomy, which means applying robust "Made in Europe" requirements," he says. ([e-mail])

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European Gas Prices Vulnerable to Oil Rally and Gulf Risks -- Market Talk

1017 GMT - Geopolitical risks that push oil prices higher also create upside for gas, as some long-term LNG and pipeline supplies to Europe are linked to crude, Rabobank analysts say. Key triggers include a sharp crude rally boosting oil-indexed LNG or Iranian attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure-particularly Qatari LNG. A partial disruption through the Strait of Hormuz could lift TTF toward 50 euros a megawatt hour,while full impairment of key infrastructure could send it above 100 euros, though such extreme scenarios are seen as low probability. A more limited Middle East flare-up could instead add 5 euros-10 euros a megawatt hour to TTF. Rabobank's base-case outlook remains 26 euros for 2Q and 29 euros for 2026 as a whole, but any escalation affecting oil-linked contracts could push prices into the 40s through spring and summer. ([e-mail])

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Palm Oil Ends Lower Amid Weak Demand -- Market Talk

1012 GMT - Palm oil ended lower amid weak demand. Malaysia's palm oil exports during the Feb. 1-25 period are estimated to be 16% lower on month at 922,649 metric tons, cargo surveyor AmSpec Agri Malaysia said Wednesday. However, expectations of a sharper drop in Malaysian production this month could help tighten supplies and ease elevated inventories, Kenanga Futures says in a research note. Several Malaysian palm plantations reported earnings this week, with KL Kepong expecting CPO prices to range between 4,000-4,300 ringgit/ton over January-March. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for May delivery ended 48 ringgit lower at 4,005 ringgit a ton. ([e-mail])

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Zimbabwe Lithium Export Curbs Won't Hit the Same as DRC's on Cobalt -- Market Talk

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02-26-26 1047ET