Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Crude oil took a notable hit Friday, with June WTI settling down more than one and a half percent after Pakistan confirmed a second round of US-Iran peace talks is expected. The prospect of sanctions relief and returning Iranian supply was enough to push prices sharply lower, erasing earlier gains and pressuring the energy complex broadly.
Shifting to the agricultural commodities, coffee prices pulled back from four-week highs as expectations of a bumper Brazilian arabica harvest weighed heavily on the market. Arabica settled down nearly two percent, with ample projected supply undermining any bullish momentum that had been building through the week.
And on the ground, a deepening spring drought across the Great Plains is threatening winter wheat harvests and forcing cattle producers to purchase costly supplemental feed. The dry conditions, compounded by a late-winter heat spell and widespread pasture fires, have prompted some ranchers to abandon expansion plans entirely, raising longer-term concerns about domestic beef and grain supply chains.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
