U.S. Corn Export Sales Land on Low End of Forecasts -- Commodities Roundup

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

--Brent crude oil is down 0.5% to $72.21 a barrel.

--European benchmark gas is up 0.6% to EUR46.53 a megawatt-hour.

--Gold futures are up 0.1% to $2,574.90 a troy ounce.

--LME three-month copper futures are flat on $9,027 a metric ton.

TOP STORY:

U.S. Corn Export Sales Land on Low End of Forecasts

Export sales of U.S. corn fell on the low-end of analyst forecasts for the week, says the Department of Agriculture in its latest report.

The USDA said that for the week ended Nov. 7, corn export sales landed at 1.32 million metric tons in the 2024/25 marketing year. That's down 53% from the previous week, and on the low side of projections from analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week - who had forecast sales between 1.28 million tons and 2.6 million tons.

Soybean sales landed in the middle of forecasts at 1.56 million tons, while wheat also landed at the midpoint of forecasts at 380,100 tons. Unknown destinations were the leading buyers of U.S. corn for the week, while China was the top buyer of soybeans and South Korea was the lead buyer of wheat.

OTHER STORIES:

FuelCell Energy To Cut Additional 13% Of Workforce Amid Slower Clean-Energy Investments

FuelCell Energy will cut an additional 13% of its workforce as part of a restructuring in response to slower investments in clean energy.

The Danbury, Conn., new-energy fuel-cell developer said that the changes would allow it to focus on commercially available technologies. The company said it would expand its molten carbonate technology, which its said could help meet increasing power demand driven by artificial intelligence data centers.

FuelCell said in a regulatory filing that it would reduce its workforce by 75 employees. Along with cuts made earlier this year, the company has laid off about 17% of employees.

The company expects the restructuring to slash operating costs by about 15% in fiscal 2025 compared with the prior year.

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Vallourec Shares Rise on Dividend Return

Vallourec's shares traded higher after the French steel tube maker said it intends to pay its first dividend in just over 10 years.

Shares rose 7.1% to 16.34 euros in early afternoon European trading, bringing its share price up nearly 17% from the start of the year.

Vallourec "has proven its ability to control its costs, manage its working capital and ultimately to generate significant cash flow," Chief Executive Philippe Guillemot said. "This marks the group's eighth consecutive quarter of deleveraging which ended with the exit from the safeguard plan implemented in 2021."

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U.S. Import Prices Rose in October on Higher Fuel Prices

U.S. import prices unexpectedly rose last month, driven by increases in the prices of fuel and nonfuel goods.

Prices were 0.3% higher in October than a month earlier, Labor Department data showed Friday. That reversed declines in the prior two months.

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AtkinsRealis Group JV Wins New Nuclear Reactor Build Contract in Romania

AtkinsRealis Group said Friday that its joint venture was awarded a contract to build two new nuclear reactors at a power plant in Romania with the financial backing of the Canadian government.

The Canadian services and project-management company, formerly SNC-Lavalin, said that the Candu Energy joint venture received the contract from EnergoNuclear to build two new CANDU reactors at the Cernavoda Nuclear Generating Station.

MARKET TALKS:

Cattle Slips as Slaughter Rates Turn Higher -- Market Talk

1105 ET - Live cattle futures on the CME are down 0.1% in morning trade. Analysts are seeing cattle slaughters higher seasonally, although they remain at multi-year lows. "Cumulative cow slaughter for the year is down 18% from last year and has been the slowest since 2017," says AgResource in a note. The firm forecasts a 'steady to weaker' outlook for today's session. Most-active lean hog futures are down 1.2% early, with export sales reported by the USDA down considerably from the previous week. ([e-mail])

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Corn Gains Are Subdued on Export Sales Concerns -- Market Talk

1048 ET - Corn export sales have been strong in recent weeks, but traders speculate that a swift pace may dry up in the coming weeks. "Uncertainty surrounding post-winter U.S. export demand and watching non-threatening South American weather has dominated trade this week," Daniel Flynn of Price Futures Group says in a note. Export sales reported by the USDA in its weekly release fell on the lower-end of analyst expectations, which some analysts fear may continue going forward as buyers opt to purchase more South American exports, Flynn says. Most-active corn is up 0.4% in morning trade, while soybeans are up 1% and wheat rises 1%. ([e-mail])

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Retail Orange Juice Prices Find New All-Time High -- Market Talk

1038 ET - Average retail prices for orange juice found a new all-time high, says Nielsen in its latest report. The firm says that for the four weeks ended Nov. 2, the average retail price was $9.93 per gallon. That's up 7.1% from the same time last year, Nielsen says -- and a new record. Meanwhile, gallons sold for the four weeks were a record-low, at 21.82 million gallons. The elevated retail prices come as orange juice futures remain close to record-highs, with the most-active contract trading around $4.80 a pound. "The market remains well supported in the longer term based on forecasts for tight supplies in Florida," says Jack Scoville of Price Futures Group in a note. ([e-mail])

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Oil Prices Fall Amid Global Demand Concerns -- Market Talk

1030 ET - WTI crude futures fall as economic trends in the U.S. and China threaten global demand, XS.com's Samer Hasn writes. A sluggish China economy, coupled with the prospect of slower interest rates reduction in the U.S., bodes ill for global demand, Hasn says. Higher than previously expected rates in the U.S. "would restore downward pressure on crude prices due to the strength of the dollar...and the impact that high borrowing rates could have on global economic growth," he says. Moreover, U.S. crude inventories increased more than expected last week, the EIA reported yesterday. WTI front-month contract falls 0.7% to $68.25 a barrel. ([e-mail];

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Natural Gas Futures Narrow Weekly Gains -- Market Talk

1026 ET - Natural gas futures trim their weekly gains. Cooling weather forecasts triggered a rally earlier this week that now looks like an overreaction. Ritterbusch analysts write that "below normal patterns across the eastern half of the nation are not yet being suggested across the rest of this month." They add that "the beginning of the heating cycle will be tempered by a surplus [in U.S. inventories] that will contain price gains" until colder forecasts emerge. "Occasional frigid weather will be inevitable and the possibility of such will likely be limiting downside price," Ritterbusch says. The front-month contract falls slightly to $2.779, still on track for a weekly gain. ([e-mail]; @ptrevisani)

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Gold Futures Stable But Set for Biggest Weekly Decline Since 2021 -- Market Talk

1220 GMT - Gold futures are flat at $2,573.10 a troy ounce. The precious metal stabilized after dipping to a two-month low in Thursday's session, says ActivTrades' Ricardo Evangelista. Bullion is on track for its steepest weekly drop since June 2021, down nearly 5% on week. The decline reflects a surge in risk appetite after the Republican win in the U.S. presidential elections, which sparked a stock-market rally and damped gold demand, Evangelista says in a note. President-elect Donald Trump's protectionist stance, including substantial increases to import tariffs, is also fueling inflation fears. This has strengthened the dollar and boosted Treasury yields, all of which are further pressuring the non-yielding precious metal, Evangelista writes. Recent U.S. inflation data showing an uptick, alongside hawkish Federal Reserve comments on the prospect of easing monetary policy, have added to gold's challenges, he adds. ([e-mail])

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Palm Oil Ended Higher Amid Weak Production -- Market Talk

1015 GMT - Palm oil ended higher amid weak production. Malaysia is still cutting production while Indonesia is also unlikely to see a significant output recovery by the year end, Guosen Futures analyst Cao Yanhui says in a commentary. The analyst expects some price adjustments to take place in November, and investors are likely to see a new round of market conditions afterwards. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for January delivery rose MYR118 to MYR5,082 a ton. ([e-mail])

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Metal Prices Rise, Mounting Recovery After Trump-Sparked Losing Streak -- Market Talk

0924 GMT - Base metal prices rise, with LME three-month copper up 0.3% at $9,048 a metric ton and LME three-month aluminum up 1.25% at $2,556.00 a ton. Industrial metals have started to recover after a sharp selloff following Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential elections. Copper and aluminum remain down 6.6% and 5.5% on week respectively. The extended losses reflect a stronger U.S. dollar post-Trump as well as mainland Chinese stimulus measures falling short of market expectations, BMI analysts say in a note. Trump's victory presents downside risks to base metal prices with rising expectations of a stronger-for-longer U.S. dollar, given their inverse relationship, BMI says. Metal prices will also remain highly sensitive to any stimulus announcements by China, with markets expecting more support in anticipation of renewed trade tensions under a second Trump presidency, BMI adds. ([e-mail])

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Europe's Gas Prices Surge on Stronger Demand, Supply Concerns -- Market Talk

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11-15-24 1137ET