Commodities
Oil jumps while metals and softs mostly fade
Crude leads the complex, gold edges up, and several agricultural and soft commodities retreat.
Oil is the clear mover. WTI crude rises 3.2% to $91.1, and Brent climbs 3.7% to $103.9. CNBC and OilPrice both point to Iran-related headlines as part of the backdrop, including Trump saying the U.S. will not attack Iran before the midterm election and fresh sanctions on Iran’s shadow fleet.
The rest of the energy complex is less uniform. Nat gas falls 2.1% to $3.136, while gasoline drops 2.4% to $3.156. Still, crude’s move is enough to make Energy the best-performing stock sector.
Metals are mixed. Gold gains 0.4% to $4,157.8, but silver slips 0.7% to $59.485 and platinum falls 2.7% to $1,647.5. Copper loses 0.8% to $6.544.
In agriculture and softs, losses dominate. Coffee falls 5.5%, sugar drops 3.1%, soybeans slide 0.9%, wheat dips 0.4%, and corn loses 0.5%. Cocoa is a small bright spot, up 0.6% to $5,617.