Front Month Nymex Natural Gas Rose 0.79% to Settle at $3.5510 — Data Talk

Oil futures extend losses to three sessions, but pull up from early lows as the EIA reports a 3.9 million barrel weekly draw in U.S. crude oil stocks following large builds the previous two weeks. Gasoline was disappointing, says Mizuho's Robert Yawger, noting the 3.4 million stock build "during the middle of summer driving season," with demand down by 670,000 barrels a day at 8.5 million b/d. Diesel stocks, a cause of concern for being too low, rise by 4.2 million barrels. WTI settles down 0.2% at $66.38 a barrel, and Brent falls 0.3% to $68.32. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

Fresh headlines in the saga surrounding President Trump's dissatisfaction with Federal Reserve chair Powell boosts otherwise-flat gold futures, with the front-month contract closing up 0.7% to $3,352.50 a troy ounce. The move breaks a two-session losing streak, and makes it now four out of the past six trading sessions gold has closed higher. Gold prices spiked initially on reports that Trump asked lawmakers if they supported Powell's ouster, but pared some of the gains after he walked back the threat later in the White House. The legality of such a firing remains questionable. Analysts say that gold remains attractive as a haven asset, with fears around inflation exacerbated by tariff price pressures contributing to the uncertainty. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

The following is a range of analysts' estimates of export sales for the week ended Jul. 10. The estimates and prior week's actual figures encompass combined sales for all marketing years, unless indicated.

Units are in thousand metric tons. Parentheses indicate a negative number.

The export sales report will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday in Washington. Actual figures are subject to revision by the USDA.

 
           Estimates         Actuals 
            Jul 10      Jul 3       Jun 26 
Wheat       300-700     577.2        586.0 
Corn        900-2000   2150.7       1472.9 
Soybeans    450-1000    751.4        701.4 
Soymeal     200-700     578.5        703.6 
Soyoil        0-18        4.0         11.8