Orsted Shares Jump as U.S. Judge Rules Work Can Resume at Revolution Wind Project — Commodities Roundup

MARKET MOVEMENTS:

-- Brent crude oil rises 2.9% to $65.72 a barrel.

-- European benchmark gas is up 3.7% to 31.37 euros a megawatt-hour.

-- Gold futures are up 0.5% to $4,640.40 a troy ounce.

-- LME three-month copper futures are up 0.5% to $13,241 a metric ton.

TOP STORY:

Orsted Shares Jump as U.S. Judge Rules Work Can Resume at Revolution Wind Project

Orsted shares jumped Tuesday after a U.S. judge ruled that work could resume at the company's Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island.

Shares were 5.5% higher in early European trade.

The Trump administration had ordered a halt to construction of five U.S. offshore wind projects just before Christmas, citing national security risks. The order, issued by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, affected Orsted's Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind projects.

OTHER STORIES:

Here in Midland, Texas, the Last Thing Anyone Wants Is Cheap Venezuelan Oil

MIDLAND, Texas-For most Americans, cheap oil is good news. In Midland, Texas, it is a problem.

Oil prices have mostly slumped since last spring, and the U.S. intervention in oil-rich Venezuela is stoking President Trump's desire to push prices down further. This raises a new risk for Midland, where restaurants are already less crowded, barbers are idling around waiting for customers and a host of businesses linked to the oil field are feeling squeezed. On the local Facebook Marketplace, shiny Ford F-150 pickup trucks are listed for sale at bargain prices.

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America's Biggest Power Grid Operator Has an AI Problem-Too Many Data Centers

America's AI boom is pushing the nation's largest power-grid operator to the brink of a supply crisis.

Sixty-seven million people in a 13-state region stretching from New Jersey to Kentucky get their power from a market operated by nonprofit PJM. So, too, do the many AI data centers springing up in Northern Virginia's "Data Center Alley," which have a bottomless appetite for electricity.

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Total Energy Services to Lift Quarterly Dividend 20%

Total Energy Services plans to boost its dividend payout 20% this quarter.

The provider of drilling and transportation services for energy companies in North America and Australia said Tuesday its board approved lifting the dividend to 12 Canadian cents a share (8.6 U.S. cents), beginning the quarter ended March 31.

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Lynas Could Gain From China's Curbs on Rare Earths Supply to Japan -- Interview

A diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo is creating opportunities for Lynas Rare Earths, the world's biggest rare-earths miner outside of China, as trade in commodities vital to the defense and technology industries becomes weaponized.

That's the view of Lynas Chief Executive Amanda Lacaze after Beijing began restricting exports of rare earths and rare-earth magnets to Japan as retaliation for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks late last year suggesting the country could become involved in a conflict over Taiwan.

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White House Weighs Iran's Nuclear-Talks Offer as Trump Leans Toward Strikes

WASHINGTON-The White House is weighing a last-ditch Iranian offer to engage in diplomacy over curbing its nuclear program even as President Trump currently leans toward authorizing fresh military strikes on Iran, U.S. officials say.

Some senior administration aides, led by Vice President JD Vance, are urging Trump to try diplomacy before retaliating against Iran for killing protesters during a two-week uprising over a flailing economy and regime repression, the officials said.

MARKET TALKS:

USDA Reports New Export Sales to China and Mexico -- Market Talk

0936 ET - The USDA reports new flash sales of U.S. soybeans, with 168,000 metric tons sold to China for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year, and 152,404 tons sold to Mexico for 2025/26 delivery. The notice comes after Monday's WASDE from the USDA reduced the outlook for soybean export sales by 60 million bushels. That's a reduction of roughly 1.63 million tons. CBOT soybean futures are down 0.5%, while corn sinks 0.8% and wheat falls 0.3%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

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Grains Slip After Large Supply Figures -- Market Talk

0932 ET - The surprise in Monday's WASDE report is still being felt in grain futures, with the complex lower in early trading. The USDA didn't trim views for the 2025 crop as expected, but instead said that more bushels than expected are sitting in farmer bins. "Yesterday was a triple whammy bearish report for corn, beans and wheat," says Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note. Other analysts suggest that futures may show a bounce after the steep drops seen yesterday, especially for corn, but that has yet to materialize. Most-active corn futures fall 0.8%, soybeans down 0.5%, and wheat is off 0.3%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

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Rio Tinto Investors Could See Bumper Dividend -- Market Talk

1421 GMT - Rio Tinto's quarterly earnings will be the first of new CEO Simon Trott's tenure and he won't want to be stingy with the dividend, RBC Capital Markets analysts write. The miner's fourth-quarter production shouldn't have any major surprises, they add. Its results will be entirely overshadowed by its merger talks with Glencore, they say. By the time they are released, Rio Tinto will have to have either made a firm offer or walked away. Rio Tinto's London shares rise 0.7% at 61.78 pounds. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

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TTF Gas Prices Up 10% Year-to-Date on Cold Weather, Supply Risks -- Market Talk

1417 GMT - European gas prices have surged nearly 10% year-to-date as strong heating demand, heavy speculative short positioning and rising geopolitical risks support the rally. Cold weather is driving strong gas demand across Northwest Europe, while inventories are drawing down faster than usual and sit well below last year's and historical norms, according to analysts at DNB. Meanwhile, increased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are also keeping prices elevated, as almost 20% of global LNG trade comes from Qatar, which loads in the Persian Gulf. In afternoon trading, the benchmark Dutch TTF contract is up 1.9% to 30.82 euros a megawatt hour after rising above 32 euros earlier in the session. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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Copper Rises on Global Supply Concerns -- Market Talk

1350 GMT - Copper prices edge higher in afternoon trading, driven by persistent concerns over supply as prospects of potential imports tariffs in the U.S. have triggered aggressive stockpiling. Futures on the London Metal Exchange rise 0.4% to $13,221 a metric ton after hitting a record high last week. "Comex copper inventories reached an all-time high after expanding for 42 straight weeks," ING analysts say. "This is keeping markets outside the U.S. tight." However, some market watchers question how long the stockpiling can be sustained. Meanwhile, copper output in China is expected to remain high in the near term, leaving prices vulnerable to a pullback in the weeks ahead. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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Gold Little Changed Ahead of U.S. Data -- Market Talk

1318 GMT - Gold prices are little moved ahead of key U.S. inflation data, with New York futures down 0.2% to $4,604.50 a troy ounce. Markets are expecting headline CPI to rise 2.7% on year, but a softer print would likely weigh on the U.S. dollar and strengthen expectations for additional interest-rate cuts this year, according to analysts. Despite the slight retreat, gold continues to trade near record highs, driven by concerns over the Federal Reserve's independence, a supportive monetary policy backdrop, and renewed safe-haven demand due to heightened geopolitical tensions in Iran and Venezuela. Meanwhile, silver futures rise 2.4% to $87.24 an ounce, while platinum is up 3.6% to $2,359.60. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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Oil Climbs, With Brent Above $65 on Iranian Supply Risks -- Market Talk

1313 GMT - Oil prices extend gains, bringing Brent crude back above $65 a barrel as growing tensions between the U.S. and Iran raise concerns over potential supply disruptions. The international oil benchmark is up 2% to $65.12 a barrel, while the U.S. oil gauge WTI rises 2.1% to $60.74 a barrel. The key question now is whether President Trump's decision to impose a 25% tariff on any country doing business with Iran will be sufficient to push China away from Iranian oil, market watchers say. "The new tariffs threaten to reignite a trade war with China, the world's top crude importer and the buyer of about 90% of Iran's total exports," according to analysts at DNB. Traders are also closely watching developments in Venezuela after Trump said last week that Caracas would hand over as much as 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the U.S. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

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Crude Futures Lifted By Rising Iran Risk -- Market Talk

0856 ET - Crude futures are higher for a fourth session after President Trump said the U.S. will impose tariffs on countries doing business with Iran. "Investors are hedging against the risks of Brent's rally continuing at its fastest pace since the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran last summer," Alex Kuptsikevich of FxPro says in a note. The latest sanctions could bring about a supply crisis, or rekindle the trade war between the U.S. and China with negative impact on global growth and demand, he says. The rally follows the buildup of speculator short positions following events in Venezuela. "Their unwinding is leading to a rebound." Brent is up 1.9% at $65.06 a barrel, and WTI is 1.9% higher at $60.63. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

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Palm Oil Ends Lower on Uncertainties in Indonesia's B50 Program -- Market Talk

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January 13, 2026 10:15 ET (15:15 GMT)

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