Gold held steady in early Wednesday trade as remarks by a Federal Reserve official tempered bets on further rate hikes, Bloomberg reported, ahead of US consumer price data due later in the day. The site market tables show gold at $4,169.30 an ounce, down 0.19 percent on the day but up 0.69 percent on the week, and silver at $58.78, down 0.64 percent. New York Fed President John Williams said he still sees one more hike as appropriate this year and does not expect another will be needed in 2027, comments that also framed the copper session.
US gasoline prices rose 7.1 percent in September, OilPrice.com reported, citing the latest daily national average of $4.3413 a gallon from AAA, while diesel remains above $6 a gallon, off its high of over $6.50. Economists polled by Reuters expected September consumer inflation of 0.6 percent on the month, driven largely by energy, with the twelve month reading reported at 3.6 percent against core inflation of 2.4 percent. The figures frame the fuel politics running through the diesel deal fight in Washington.
At his Alaska rally, President Trump signed pardons for Alaska diesel mechanics convicted of Clean Air Act violations, onstage at the same event where he promoted the Alaska LNG project and other energy deals, The Hill and Fox News reported. The pardons extend the administration’s deregulatory posture on diesel equipment into criminal enforcement, and will be read by fleet operators alongside the red-dyed diesel waiver covered in today’s diesel futures story.
South Korean steel shares rose after a White House spokesperson mentioned the Alaska LNG project, Yonhap reported, as Asian suppliers position for pipeline and plant construction work tied to the export development. The move is an early equity read on the Taiwanese commitment covered in today’s Alaska LNG update: procurement expectations are moving before any final investment decision.
The USDA published its weekly Crop Progress report on October 13, the standing harvest pace release for corn, soybeans and winter wheat planting. Grains in the site tables were mixed to softer ahead of the data’s digestion: wheat down 0.78 percent, corn down 0.52 percent and soybeans up 0.29 percent. No new WASDE figures were released in this window.
Lawrence Tech has launched a $100,000 critical materials innovation challenge, Mining.com reported, a small but telling sign of how far down the supply chain the critical minerals contest now reaches: universities are being funded to source ideas for materials the market cannot yet supply at scale.