Good morning, this is Markets Desk with your midday market update.
Crude oil took a sharp move higher on Monday, with September West Texas Intermediate settling up more than five percent after hopes for a Strait of Hormuz reopening faded. With no agreement reached between Iran and Oman, traders repriced supply risk quickly, pushing gasoline to a one-week high on the same session.
Staying in the energy complex, natural gas also surged nearly five percent on Monday, driven by forecasts calling for a significant heat buildup across the United States. The Commodity Weather Group flagged hotter-than-expected conditions ahead, which would push power generators to burn more gas to meet rising air conditioning demand — a clean, direct demand catalyst.
Meanwhile, Mexico's energy policy tension is worth watching for anyone tracking North American gas flows. President Sheinbaum wants domestic shale development to reduce reliance on American natural gas imports, but environmental concerns around fracking and freshwater aquifers are keeping that ambition firmly in check. Until that policy knot gets untangled, U.S. exporters remain the default supplier across the border.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
