A Rush to Stockpile Oil Will Keep Prices Higher -2-

0749 GMT - Oil prices erase most of the previous session's gains after Israel and Iran halted attacks on each other following a recent escalation that threatened regional negotiations to end the war. In early European trading, Brent crude is down 1.2% to $93.08 a barrel, while WTI futures decline 1.8% to $89.68 a barrel.Meanwhile, the latest trade data from China shows crude oil imports fell further in April as refiners increasingly draw down inventories rather than sourcing additional barrels from abroad. "The 29% year-on-year drop together with a surge in U.S. exports, releases from SPR [strategic petroleum reserve], and a degree of demand destruction, helps explain why oil prices failed to rally more aggressively during last month's supply disruptions," analysts at Saxo Bank say. ([e-mail])

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Copper Prices Likely to Be Stronger for Longer -- Market Talk

0041 GMT - Copper prices are likely to stay stronger for longer than Jefferies thought. It expects LME copper prices to rise to $6.50/lb in 2027, up from $5.50/lb projected earlier. Jefferies expects copper to peak at $8.00/lb in 2031-2032, from $6.50/lb assumed before. "We see copper supply deficit averaging 491,000 tons annually through to 2030," Jefferies says. It points to a delayed recovery at the Grasberg mine. "Kamoa-Kakula has reset to lower near-term volumes and higher costs, and Chile's April output was the weakest in 23 years," Jefferies says. Metals account for 25% of manufacturing costs in white goods and electric vehicles. So, a 25% increase in copper/metals prices lifts total manufacturing costs by 5%-6% and adds 3% to data-center build costs. ([e-mail]; @dwinningWSJ)

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-09-26 1124ET