Commodities Wrap 27 October: Midday, Copper Rises and Palladium Slides Before the Fed
Crude drifted below Monday’s settlements on Tuesday morning. Brent traded at 115.03 dollars a barrel at 11:10 GMT, 0.67 percent lower, and WTI at 101.19, down 0.56 percent, with CNBC attributing the session’s earlier losses to renewed diplomatic efforts to end the United States and Iran war. Palladium fell 3.43 percent while copper rose 1.15 percent, the two ends of a divided metals sheet ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision. The session’s settlements follow in this wrap’s evening update.
Diplomacy Leans on the Premium, and the Attacks Lean Back
The morning’s pull lower follows Monday’s talks in Tehran between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Iranian officials: Riyadh said the discussions were aimed at keeping diplomatic channels open and preventing another escalation, and the four countries agreed to continue engaging, on Iranian state media’s account carried by CNBC. Against that, President Trump said on Sunday he was approaching a decision on whether to strike a deal with Iran or intensify military operations, and Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had intercepted further missiles and drones from the Houthis, which kept the earlier losses contained. The products moved with the crudes, gasoline 0.26 percent lower and heating oil down 0.66 percent, while natural gas lost 1.46 percent toward what would be a third straight settlement decline. The calendar matters here: the November natural gas contract trades its final session on Wednesday 28 October and December Brent its last day on Friday 30 October, so later changes this week shift to the next delivery months.
Palladium Leads the Metals Lower While the Softs Split
Palladium’s 3.43 percent fall to 1,016.50 dollars an ounce was the deepest move on the sheet at the stamp, on our count across the contracts we track, and platinum lost 2.26 percent toward a fifth straight decline. Gold eased 0.40 percent and silver 1.67 percent with the dollar index 0.22 percent firmer, while copper rose 1.15 percent toward a third straight gain. Agriculture split four rising against three falling: cocoa added 1.09 percent and sugar 0.94 percent, both after single settlement declines, soybeans rose 0.40 percent on the January contract, and coffee fell 1.96 percent toward what would be a fourth straight decline. The VIX eased 3.21 percent from Monday’s New York close.
Energy
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| RBOB Gasoline, NYMEX (Nov’26), dollars a gallon | 3.2100 | -0.26% |
| WTI Crude, NYMEX (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | 101.19 | -0.56% |
| Heating Oil ULSD, NYMEX (Nov’26), dollars a gallon | 4.8797 | -0.66% |
| Brent Crude, ICE (Dec’26), dollars a barrel | 115.03 | -0.67% |
| Natural Gas, NYMEX (Nov’26), dollars per million Btu | 2.564 | -1.46% |
Intraday quotes at 11:10 GMT against Monday’s official settlements, ranked by change; snapshots, not settlements, with changes measured on the unrounded values.
Metals
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Copper, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars a pound | 6.6175 | +1.15% |
| Gold, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 4,022.10 | -0.40% |
| Silver, COMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 53.44 | -1.67% |
| Platinum, NYMEX (Jan’27), dollars an ounce | 1,510.40 | -2.26% |
| Palladium, NYMEX (Dec’26), dollars an ounce | 1,016.50 | -3.43% |
Same session, stamp and basis, ranked by change.
Agriculture
| Contract | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa, ICE (Dec’26), dollars a tonne | 5,550.00 | +1.09% |
| Sugar, ICE (Mar’27), cents a pound | 19.28 | +0.94% |
| Soybeans, CBOT (Jan’27), cents a bushel | 1,257.50 | +0.40% |
| Wheat, CBOT (Dec’26), cents a bushel | 616.25 | +0.04% |
| Corn, CBOT (Dec’26), cents a bushel | 454.25 | -0.16% |
| Cotton, ICE (Dec’26), cents a pound | 78.70 | -0.46% |
| Coffee, ICE (Dec’26), cents a pound | 295.05 | -1.96% |
Same stamp and basis, ranked by change; the CBOT grain rows are the overnight session, with the day session opening at 13:30 GMT.
Rates, currencies, volatility and crypto
| Instrument | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| US Dollar Index (DXY) | 102.18 | +0.22% |
| Dollar/Yen | 157.67 | +0.11% |
| Bitcoin | 79,900.24 | +0.01% |
| Sterling/Dollar | 1.3318 | -0.16% |
| Euro/Dollar | 1.1150 | -0.20% |
| VIX | 17.80 | -3.21% |
Intraday quotes at 11:10 GMT, ranked by change on the unrounded values; the VIX row is the index’s indicative reading at the stamp, measured against Monday’s New York close, the currency, dollar-index and bitcoin rows against the feed’s previous reference levels.
Why it matters: The sheet reads as a market making room for two decisions at once. Crude is drifting rather than breaking, because the Tehran talks and the continuing attacks pull it in opposite directions and neither side has produced a fact large enough to settle the argument. The metals are trading ahead of the Fed: a firmer dollar leaned on gold, silver, platinum and palladium together while copper went the other way, and a volatility gauge 3.21 percent lower into a decision week reads as nerves moderating, not as a verdict on what Wednesday brings. Tonight’s settlement sheet turns the morning’s leanings into the record.
Outlook: The exchanges’ settlements land tonight, and this wrap takes them in its evening update. December Brent enters the evening on one settlement decline, and the Federal Reserve decides on Wednesday 28 October, on the meeting dates its own calendar confirms. The Gulf’s markets follow this afternoon in our Middle East wrap.
How these wraps are prepared: Methodology.
Sources: CME Group, ICE, CNBC, The Edge.
