Commodities: Geopolitics drives energy, record highs for metals

Every week, this commodities round-up reviews market news to help you better understand price moves in energy, metals and agricultural commodities.

Energy: crude prices are getting back on track. North Sea Brent is trading higher around $64.5, while US light crude (WTI) is moving toward $60. Broadly speaking, political tensions in Venezuela and Iran are supporting prices, despite a persistent global supply glut. The news remains dominated by the situation in Venezuela. Following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, the Trump administration said it intends to take indefinite control of Venezuela’s oil sector. Washington plans to market up to 50 million barrels of oil currently stored by state company PDVSA. Major players such as Chevron, Vitol and Trafigura are competing to secure these export contracts. Investors are also watching Iran. Protests over economic hardship and reported internet outages in several major cities are stoking fears about the stability of the country’s output. For now, these geopolitical risks are offsetting bearish signals from market fundamentals, with global supply still in surplus.

Metals: copper hit a record $13,200 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Tightening supply, US tariffs and shortage risks are driving the surge. The copper rally is reviving speculation about a tie-up between Rio Tinto and Glencore. Talks are said to have resumed to create the world’s biggest mining group, with a combined enterprise value of $263bn. In precious metals, gold has posted a new peak at $4,630 . Tensions in Ukraine and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro by the United States are supporting safe-haven demand. Central-bank buying is also reinforcing the trend. Silver is outperforming, up about 20% since  January 1. It is benefiting both from its safe-haven status and from industrial demand linked to electrification.

Agricultural products : wheat is edging higher in Chicago, at 510 cents a bushel (March 2026 contract). Market fundamentals, shaped by abundant global supply, are taking a back seat to geopolitical risks. Recent Russian strikes in Ukraine, which caused widespread power outages in the country’s south-east, are reviving concerns about Black Sea supply.