Commodities Wrap 3 September: Palladium Jumps 5.55 Percent as All 5 Metals Rise and Crude Stalls
The metals board went one way on Thursday: palladium jumped 5.55 percent, platinum 3.66, silver 3.04, gold 2.46 and copper 1.21, all 5 rows higher at the 19:11 GMT capture, on our count, as the dollar fell 0.67 percent. Crude barely moved by this week’s standards, with Brent settling 11 cents lower at 95.52 dollars a barrel and WTI 29 cents higher at 91.30, per CNBC, which reports that US crude has gained more than 9 percent this week.
Every metal catches the falling dollar
Palladium led the board at 1,436.00 dollars an ounce, up 5.55 percent and extending Wednesday’s 2.74 percent gain, per our published wrap of 2 September. Platinum added 3.66 percent to 1,829.20 dollars, silver rose 3.04 percent to 67.455 dollars, and gold climbed 2.46 percent to 4,523.40 dollars an ounce against Wednesday’s 4,414.60 dollar settlement. Copper’s 1.21 percent gain made it 5 of 5, on our count. Behind the bid sat a weaker dollar, down 0.67 percent at 98.928, and a 10 year Treasury yield near 4.76 percent, about 3 basis points below our published Wednesday print, on our calculation, after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he would be inclined to support holding rates in September provided the coming inflation data hold no surprises, per CNBC.
The oil premium pauses, the diesel spike unwinds
Brent broke 97 dollars earlier in the session before settling at 95.52, per the same reporting, on a day Kuwait’s air defenses were engaging missiles and drones. On the flows, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said more than 17 million barrels transited Hormuz on Monday, calling it a wartime record, per the same reporting, against about 20 million barrels a day of crude and products before the war began on 28 February. The refined products split, with RBOB gasoline up 1.31 percent and ULSD heating oil down 1.88 percent at the capture, the latter unwinding part of the move that carried diesel futures to a 52 month high this week, per our analysis of 3 September. Natural gas eased 0.98 percent.
Agriculture sells off as the softs lead lower
6 of the 7 agriculture rows fell, on our count. Sugar dropped 3.80 percent, wheat 2.81, cotton 2.79, cocoa 2.12 and coffee 1.07, with corn off 0.78 and soybeans the board’s only gainer at plus 0.32 percent.
Away from the commodity boards, the CBOE Volatility Index fell 5.07 percent to 14.43 and bitcoin rose 5.30 percent to 81,303 dollars at the same capture.
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| RBOB Gasoline, NYMEX (Oct’26), dollars a gallon | $3.1444 | +1.31% |
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Oct’26), dollars a barrel | $91.68 | +0.74% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Nov’26), dollars a barrel | $95.71 | +0.08% |
| Natural Gas, NYMEX (Oct’26), dollars a million Btu | $2.927 | -0.98% |
| ULSD Heating Oil, NYMEX (Oct’26), dollars a gallon | $4.5940 | -1.88% |
Most active contract quotes captured in a single call at 19:11 GMT on 3 September 2026, after the day’s energy settlement window, ranked by change. These are post settlement quotes, not settlements, measured against the prior session’s settlements. The day’s crude settlements are known from CNBC’s written report: Brent’s November contract settled at 95.52 dollars, 11 cents lower, and WTI’s October contract at 91.30 dollars, 29 cents higher; both reconcile exactly against the bases used here.
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Palladium, NYMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $1,436.00 | +5.55% |
| Platinum, NYMEX (Oct’26), dollars an ounce | $1,829.20 | +3.66% |
| Silver, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $67.455 | +3.04% |
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | $4,523.40 | +2.46% |
| Copper, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars a pound | $6.673 | +1.21% |
Quotes from the same 19:11 GMT capture, after the metals settlement window, ranked by change. Post settlement quotes measured against the prior session’s settlements; gold’s base is Wednesday’s 4,414.60 dollar December settlement.
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Soybeans, CBOT (Nov’26), cents a bushel | 1,314.50 | +0.32% |
| Corn, CBOT (Dec’26), cents a bushel | 539.25 | -0.78% |
| Coffee, ICE (Dec’26), cents a pound | 294.90 | -1.07% |
| Cocoa, ICE (Dec’26), dollars a metric ton | $6,140.00 | -2.12% |
| Cotton, ICE (Dec’26), cents a pound | 86.45 | -2.79% |
| Wheat, CBOT (Dec’26), cents a bushel | 752.25 | -2.81% |
| Sugar, ICE (Oct’26), cents a pound | 17.99 | -3.80% |
Quotes from the same 19:11 GMT capture, after the grain and softs settlement windows, ranked by change. Post settlement quotes measured against the prior session’s settlements.
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 98.928 | -0.67% |
| US 10 Year Treasury yield | 4.764% | -3.0bp |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 14.43 | -5.07% |
| Bitcoin, dollars | 81,303.03 | +5.30% |
Intraday quotes from the same 19:11 GMT capture. These are snapshot levels of continuously traded or computed instruments, not settlement prices. The Treasury yield change is expressed in basis points because a percentage change on a yield compounds a ratio of ratios.
Why it matters: Thursday’s flows sorted by what they say about money: all 5 metals and bitcoin rose together as the dollar fell 0.67 percent and yields eased, while the war trade in oil went quiet enough for Brent to end 11 cents lower, per the same reporting, on the day Kuwait was intercepting missiles. On our reading that is a market repricing the cost of money faster than it is repricing the conflict: the metals bid is a rates and dollar story, and the barrel, after a 9 percent week, is waiting for the next headline rather than chasing the last one. The diesel row is the reminder that the sharpest moves fade first, with the contract that set a 52 month high this week leading the energy board lower.
Outlook: Friday’s US jobs report, due at 12:30 GMT from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is the next test for the whole complex: a soft print extends the falling dollar and yield relief under the metals, and a strong one takes it away, on our reading. In oil, the questions are whether Hormuz flows hold at Monday’s pace, the wartime record Wright described, and how Saudi Aramco prices its barrels in the official selling prices normally published around the fifth of the month. Silver above 67 dollars and palladium’s 2 day run leave the high beta metals most exposed to any turn in the dollar.
Sources: CNBC, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Edge.
