Author name: Commodities Market Writer

Japanese insurance firms bought the most super-long government bonds in three years last month, adding to signs that demand from a key buyer is stabilizing.

Iron ore fell for a second day as deteriorating profit margins at Chinese steel mills and continued US-Iran hostilities clouded the demand outlook.

Brent could rally to more than $120 a barrel by the fourth quarter if disruptions of the Strait of Hormuz persist, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., although that’s not the bank’s base case.

The rupee is also under strain, with slowing debt inflows coinciding with renewed foreign selling in stocks.

The momentum trade carried along by the equity rally is faltering, while optimistic earnings expectations are under intense scrutiny, two of the signs pointing to a volatile summer.

Prologis Inc. has increased its outline bid to buy Segro Plc to £13.5 billion ($18.2 billion) and offered a series of sweeteners as it seeks to tempt shareholders after the UK landlord’s board rejected the latest terms.

China’s shipments of rare-earth magnets to the US remain well below pre-trade war levels despite last year’s truce, underscoring concerns in the Trump administration about Beijing’s adherence to that agreement.

MOPO, an Africa-focused battery rental company backed by Octopus Energy Group Ltd., said it’s signed an agreement with Nigeria to facilitate a $75 million expansion of its activities in Africa’s most populous nation.