MARKET MOVEMENTS:

--Brent crude oil edged down 0.6% to $72.61 a barrel.

--European natural gas fell 5.5% at EUR 40.50 a megawatt hour.

--Gold futures edged up 0.3% at $1,979.30 a troy ounce.

--LME three-month copper futures rose 0.7% to $8,672 a metric ton.

--Wheat futures declined 1.2% to $7.02 a bushel.


TOP STORY:

UBS, Credit Suisse Deal Fails to Stem Oil's Losses

A sharp slump in oil prices continued Monday as UBS's plans to buy struggling rival Credit Suisse appeared to do little to assuage investors' concerns about the health of the banking sector.

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. oil benchmark, tumbled 2.3% to $65.25 a barrel, putting it on course for its lowest closing level since August 2021. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, tumbled 2.2% to $71.35.

The losses add to steep declines last week, as investors fled risk assets on concerns--prompted by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank--that the U.S. Federal Reserve's raising of interest rates was pushing banks close to failure. Front-month WTI crude futures tumbled 29% last week, their biggest percentage fall in a week since 1991, according to Dow Jones Market Data.


OTHER STORIES:

Ukraine Grain Deal Is Extended; Russian Drones Downed

Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations agreed to extend a deal to allow shipments of Ukrainian grain via Black Sea ports, as Moscow launched a fresh wave of attack drones against its neighbor.

The grain deal was prolonged for 120 days after talks on Friday night ahead of its expiration this weekend, said Oleksandr Kubrakov, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister, under an agreement signed last year that alleviated concerns of a global food crisis.

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Strong Soybean Oil Demand Faces Hurdle

Farmers and refiners are worried that a nascent boom in the market for soybean oil is being stalled by a challenge from an unexpected source: the Environmental Protection Agency.

Prices for soybean oil, a byproduct left over after crushing the beans for animal feed, soared to records last year owing to growing government incentives to make it into diesel fuel. Then, in December, the EPA proposed to mandate less use of biomass-based diesel through 2025 than many had expected, pruning the value of credits the agency issues to makers of biofuels. Soybean oil futures dropped more than 15% in the week after the announcement.

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Independent Audit Identifies Rio Tinto Cultural-Heritage Shortcomings

An independent report commissioned by Rio Tinto PLC found the world's second-largest miner by market value was missing the foundations for good cultural-heritage management practices at all of its operations to some extent.

The report, published Monday, was commissioned in the aftermath of Rio Tinto's destruction of two ancient rock shelters in 2020 that cost the miner's previous chief executive his job and damaged the mining industry's reputation more broadly. Rio Tinto ordered the audit in response to a board review of cultural-heritage management that identified a need for change to processes and practices.

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Gold Soars Above $2,000 a Troy Ounce Amid Banking Crisis

Gold prices have pushed past $2,000 a troy ounce for the first time since March of last year as the crisis in banking continues to push investors toward safe havens.

Gold futures on Monday morning were sitting at $2,008 an ounce - the highest since March 2022 when Russia's invasion of Ukraine the previous month spurred investors toward the precious metal, according to data from FactSet.

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Found Inside a Rotterdam Nickel Warehouse: Bags of Stones

The bags stowed in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam were supposed to contain 54 metric tons of nickel. When the warehouse operator weighed the sacks, it found stones.

The missing nickel, disclosed today by the London Metal Exchange, is a blow for the exchange at a delicate time. It is also a black eye for the nickel market, which has become the problem child of the metals industry just as demand for the silvery metal is shooting higher among EV makers.


MARKET TALKS:

Natural Gas Rises After Falling 22% Over Two Weeks

0843 ET - Natural gas futures are trading higher to start the week, up 3.5% at $2.420/mmBtu following a 22% sell-off over the past two weeks on a widening storage surplus and reduced risk appetite. Today's gains suggest the gas futures market may be starting to re-focus on fundamentals and the chances for larger-than-normal storage declines over the next couple weeks as a winter chill continues, giving a much-needed boost to heating demand. Mild weather earlier this winter and near record-high production rates have left gas inventories a bearish 24% above normal, according to EIA data. (dan.molinski@wsj.com)

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Oil Falls Further After Last Week's 13% Drop

0830 ET - Oil futures are lower to start the week, with the U.S. benchmark WTI falling 1.1% to $66.04 a barrel and the global benchmark Brent declining 1% to $72.24 as focus remains squarely on the health of the U.S. and global banking sectors. Spartan Capital's Peter Cardillo says in a note that oil traders "remain hesitant over future demand ... the takeover of Credit Suisse works in reverse psychology, adding to investors' wariness." With the macro financial sector pushing oil prices even lower after last week's 13% decline, investors are keeping watch on OPEC and other major oil producers to see if they begin to cut production or make other announcements. (dan.molinski@wsj.com)

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Brazil Soybean Harvest Slowed by Rain

0811 ET - Brazilian farmers advanced with their soybean harvesting over the past week, though rain in some states slowed work in the fields, said agricultural consultancy AgRural in a research note. As of March 16, farmers had finished harvesting on 62% of the estimate area planted with the oilseeds, up from 53% a week earlier but behind the 69% level on the same date last year, AgRural said. Productivity is high in most parts of the country, though a drought in Rio Grande do Sul state is reducing forecasts for crop yields there, the consultancy said. (jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com)

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Oil-Price Recovery Set to Take Some Time, GS Says

1014 GMT - Oil prices should take some time to recover after tumbling on concerns over the banking sector and fears of a recession, Goldman Sachs Equity Research's Natasha Tiwana says in a note. "Historically after such scarring events, positioning and prices recover only gradually, especially long-dated prices," Tiwana says. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, is down 2.9% to $70.87 a barrel, while WTI, the U.S. oil gauge, trades 2.9% lower to $64.76 a barrel. GS forecasts Brent at $94 a barrel for the 12 months ahead and at $97 a barrel in the second half of 2024 versus previous expectations of $100 a barrel, also on the back of higher than expected inventories and somewhat lower demand. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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Crude Palm Oil Prices Weaken Amid Banking Crisis

1003 GMT - Crude palm oil prices finished lower, with investor sentiment likely taking a hit from the ongoing banking crisis, and as weak demand for biofuels from the European Union weigh on prices, says Abdul Hameed, director of sales at Pakistan-based Manzoor Trading. He estimates that the current average price for Malaysian crude palm oil could remain below MYR3,800 a metric ton in the short term. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for June delivery closed MYR130 lower at MYR3,790 a ton. (yiwei.wong@wsj.com)

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Grain Markets Lower After Russia Ukraine Deal Extension

0922 GMT - Grain markets are pushing lower following the weekend extension of the UN-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative--allowing Russian and Ukrainian wheat out of the region. Wheat futures in Chicago are down 1.4% to $7.01 a bushel while corn is 1.3% lower to $6.26 a bushel. "Any extension of the grain deal is nothing short of necessary to help ease global grain shortages and alleviate food insecurity in many parts of the world," says Harpinder Collacott, executive director for Europe of humanitarian-NGO Mercy Corps in a note. "While the details remain unclear, it is concerning that the deal was possibly extended for only 60 days, rather than the previously-agreed 120 day timeframe," Collacott adds. Oil and equity markets are also lower in early trading - often a drag on agricultural markets. (yusuf.khan@wsj.com)

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Oil Slides as Bank Worries Persist

0821 GMT - Oil prices tumble for another day as news that UBS will buy struggling Credit Suisse fails to assuage banking concerns. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, falls 2.7% to $70.96 a barrel, while WTI, the U.S. oil gauge, falls 2.9% to $64.80 a barrel. For Brent, the losses take it to its lowest level since December 2021, while WTI is at its lowest point since August 2021. Fed officials are also set to meet this week amid uncertainty about the path of interest rates. "Volatility is likely to linger this week, with broader financial market concerns likely to remain at the forefront," says ING in a note. (william.horner@wsj.com)

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Gold Soars, Base Metals Slip Amid Banking Crisis

0800 GMT - Gold prices are soaring, while base metals are moving lower as the turmoil within the banking sector continues. Gold prices are up 2.1% to $2,014.10 a troy ounce--the highest since March 2022. Three-month copper, meanwhile, is down 0.5% to $8,567.50 a troy ounce. "Safe-haven demand, triggered by the risk--off market reaction to the banking crisis, helps explain the lift in gold futures," says Vivek Dhar, analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in a note. Dollar strength will be key to gold prices, he says. "We consider the U.S. dollar a stronger safe-haven asset than gold. That means that if risk events are large enough we will typically see markets shift from gold to the U.S. dollar." (yusuf.khan@wsj.com)


Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-20-23 0939ET