Global Commodities: What’s New?

Natural gas and precious metals markets are navigating significant structural shifts driven by geopolitical instability and evolving supply-demand dynamics. European natural gas markets face increased volatility as Asian buyers, seeking to replace Middle Eastern supply, pull spot volumes away from Europe, narrowing the price spread between JKM and TTF benchmarks. Meanwhile, U.S. Henry Hub prices remain largely isolated due to capacity constraints. In precious metals, gold remains structurally bullish with a year-end 2026 target of $6,000 per ounce, though investor interest currently sits on the back burner pending macro clarity regarding inflation and Federal Reserve policy. While silver faces a transition toward market balance and potential surplus, platinum maintains a tight physical outlook, and palladium prices are expected to remain restrained to incentivize industrial substitution. Otar Dgebuadze, lead of European natural gas research at J.P. Morgan, provides these insights alongside host Greg Shearer.