January 27, 2026 Metals & Mining Pre-Market:
Metals & Mining Pre Market
Synopsis:
o Daily update: Following yesterday's higher close, futures signal a mixed
start this morning with the S&P +0.2% and the Dow (0.5%) thus far in the
pre-market.
o Gold prices are flat today after reaching new record highs during
yesterday's session as investors continue to assess the geopolitical
tensions and tariff uncertainties. Note that gold prices are up so far 17%
this year after posting strong gains of around 65% in 2025.
o Deutsche Bank believes gold prices of $6,000/ounce are achievable with a
weaker US dollar this year. The bank also anticipates a quarterly peak of
$13,000/ton for copper prices in Q2/2026 followed by some moderation in
prices from H2/2026 citing potential for recovery in production at several
major mines.
o On the corporate front, Nucor shares are trading lower in the pre-market
trading as Q4/2025 results missed expectations across key financial
metrics. The company reported that approximately 6.19M tons were
shipped to outside customers as compared to 6.06M tons in Q4/2024.
o In terms of equity research, Morgan Stanley downgraded Alcoa Corp. to
equal-weight from overweight with an increased target of $64 from $52.
o Pre-Market: B +1.2%, NEM +0.5%, FCX +0.4%
Metals Snapshot:
o Gold +0.0% to $5,085.20/oz, Monthly +11.7%, YTD +17.1%
o Silver (3.3%) to $111.68/oz, Monthly +44.7%, YTD +58.2%
o Copper (2.2%) to $5.89/lb, Monthly +0.8%, YTD +3.6%
o Nickel (0.6%) to $18,525/mt, Monthly +20.0%, YTD +12.4%
o Zinc +3.4% to $3,329/mt, Monthly +8.8%, YTD +8.7%
o Aluminum +0.5% to $3,192/mt, Monthly +8.9%, YTD +7.5%
o GDX +1.3% to $108.84, Monthly +17.7%, YTD +25.3%
o GDXJ +1.4% to $146.26, Monthly +18.7%, YTD +26.8%
o DXY (0.3%) to $96.69, Monthly (1.3%), YTD (1.6%)
o VIX (0.4%) to $16.09, Monthly +18.7%, YTD +8.0%
Precious Metals:
o MUX announced new drill results from the Gold Bar Mine Complex located
in the Eureka Mining District of Nevada. Results include the best hole
drilled by McEwen to date at Windfall, which returned 5.55 g/t gold over
44.2m. The gold mineralization at Windfall remains open to further
expansion in multiple directions. Results from the 2026 drilling program
will be used to update the Mineral Resource Estimates, including initial
Mineral Resource Estimates for Windfall and Unity Ridge.
o ABRA.CN reported final assay results completed from the Phase V drilling
program at its wholly-owned Diablillos project in Argentina. Highlights
included DDH 25-096 which returned 57.0m of 51 g/t silver from 109m
downhole and DDH 25-099 which returned 13.0m of 477 g/t silver from
151m downhole.
o SKE.CN announce that it has received its Environmental Assessment
Certificate for the company's wholly-owned Eskay Creek Gold-Silver
Project located in Northwestern British Columbia.
o FDR.CN announced the successful consolidation of a cumulative 102,360
ha contiguous land package in Southeastern Suriname. The expansion
comprises a 36,360-ha exploration concession granted by the Suriname
GMD and a 10,000-ha exploitation concession acquired separately by the
company.
o RDS.CN announce assay results from seven new drill holes completed at
its wholly-owned O'Brien Gold Project located in the Abitibi region of
Quebec. The seven holes are the latest completed as part of the
Company's ongoing 140,000m step-out drill program designed to test the
overall scope of gold mineralization at the Project. Highlights included B-
25-322W3 intersected 23.37 g/t gold over 4.0m and OB-25-322W4 which
intersected 2.37 g/t gold over 11.5m.
o AYA.CN provided its corporate outlook for FY/2026. Total production is
expected between 6.2M-6.8M AgEq, combined from both Zgounder and
Boumadine. On the exploration front, a 230,000m drilling program is being
planned for. A US listing is expected in H1/2026.
o EGO announced exploration results of multiple new high-grade zones in
Canada (Lamaque Complex) and Greece (Olympias). Highlights include
13.59 g/t Au over 13.5m, 338.66 g/t Au over 1.0m, 18.93 g/t Au, 123.15 g/t
Ag, 3.17% Pb and 0.43% Zn over 7.55m and 22.30 g/t Au, 331.19 g/t Ag,
11.74% Pb and 9.70% Zn over 23.4m. The company stated that total
exploration spending is expected to increase to between $75M-$85M.
o CNL.CN reported assay results for two directional diamond drill holes from
the Apollo system's Ramp zone located within the Guayabales Project in
Caldas, Colombia. Highlights include 21.33 g/t Au and 13 g/t Ag over
58.10m and 5.00 g/t Au and 10 g/t Ag over 15.00m. Today's results
represent the highest-grade and deepest intercept drilled to date at the
Apollo system.
Base Metals:
o NUE reported results for the Q4/2025 period highlighted by EBITDA of
$918M and net earnings of $1.64 per diluted share. In the steel products
segment, earnings declined during the quarter on lower volumes and
higher average costs per ton, partially offset by higher average realized
pricing. Earnings in Q1/2026 are expected to increase across all three of
the operating segments.
o IE.CN announced a definitive Collaboration and Exploration Agreement
with Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SQM to explore for copper in
northern Chile. The collaboration will be funded by SQM with an initial
commitment of $9M. Upon identifying a Qualifying Copper Deposit,
Ivanhoe Electric will have the option to acquire a 50% interest in the
deposit and form a 50/50 joint venture with SQM by paying a price equal
to twice SQM's exploration expenditures to date.
o NEXM.CN reported assay results from an additional three drill holes
successfully intersecting high-grade mineralization at the Selebi North
Underground deposit, located in Botswana. The highlight was SNUG-25-
194 which returned 32.45m of 4.61% CuEq (1.61% Cu, 1.46% Ni). Drill
holes were designed to test the strike continuity of mineralization in the
down plunge extent of the South Limb of the Selebi North deposit.
On Deck:
o Tuesday 27th
Economic: US Consumer Confidence (10:00)
o Wednesday 28th
Central Banks/Politics/Finance: FOMC Meeting (14:00)
o Thursday 29th
Economic: Eurozone M3 Money Supply y/y (04:00), Eurozone Economic Sentiment
Indicator (05:00), US Initial Jobless Claims (08:30), US Continuing Claims (08:30), US
Productivity (revised) (08:30), US Unit Labor Costs (revised) (08:30), US Trade Balance
(08:30), US Factory Orders (10:00)
January 27, 2026 Energy Pre-Market:
Energy Pre-Market
Oil & Gas:
o Pricing
WTI (0.1%) to $60.53 (Mar))
Brent (0.1%) to $65.50 (Mar)
Natural gas (5.4%) to $6.431 (Feb)
RBOB (0.1%) to $1.819 (Feb)
ULSD (2.6%) to $2.500 (Feb)
o Oil: WTI and Brent are roughly unchanged following losses of (0.7%) and
(0.4%) respectively on Monday, incorporating the impact of winter storm
Fern, geopolitical headlines, and news the Tengiz oilfield has begun the
process to slowly bring back production. The Dollar Index is down another
(0.34%) to 96.525. ULSD was up +5.7% as single-digit temperatures
settled in across a good portion of the L48. Oil production continues to be
curtailed by freezing temperatures with TP ICAP this morning putting that
total number at 1.0M bpd. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and
several guided-missile destroyers arrived in the Middle East according to
Reuters sources while the U.S. Air Force will begin a multi-day
readiness exercise across the Middle East "to demonstrate the ability to
deploy, disperse, and sustain combat airpower" in the region. The NYT
reports the Pentagon has sent additional Patriot and THAAD systems to
the Middle East protect U.S. troops from possible Iranian missile strikes.
On Venezuela, PetroChina has told its traders not to trade or purchase VZ
crude since D.C. took control of that country's oil supply while Indian
refiners are only being offered small volumes of that nations crude as most
of that supply heads to the U.S. That according to India refining executive
sources of Reuters . API data is due this afternoon ahead of the DOE
WPSR tomorrow. The DOE yesterday said 500K barrels were added to
the SPR last week.
China crude stockpiling: China is expected to add about 300k
barrels of crude to its inventories each day this year as new storage
capacity comes online, Vortexa analyst Emma Li said during a
webinar on Tuesday
o Natural gas: The February contract is down (5.4%) to $6.431after a
+28.9% move higher Monday and a gain of over +115 Bcf the prior five
sessions on frigid weather driving strong demand and resulting in freeze-
offs across multiple basins. That February contract expires tomorrow while
March is down (5.0%) to $3.703. Consensus for EIA storage data due
Thursday has a draw of (235) Bcf which compares to the 5-year average
of (208) Bcf. Working gas currently stands at 3.065 Tcf, +6.1% above the
5-year average. Preliminary data for week-ending this Friday indicates the
potential to break the prior record draw of (359) Bcf. TTF is down (1.1%)
to 39.43 Euros per MWh following a fractional move lower on Monday.
E&P:
o MTDR increases hedge position and provides updates on 2025 A&D
activity and improved well performance
o XOM said on Monday it has begun its commercial operation of carbon
capture and storage, or CCS, with ammonia producer CF Industries in
Louisiana. Reuters .
o MGY was upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Wells Fargo.
o MTDR was downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Wells Fargo.
Services:
o PUMP priced secondary offering and provided Q4/2025 guidance
Priced 15.0M share common stock offering priced at $10/share.
The offering was upsized from 12.5M.
Q4 guidance: Revenue $289-$291M vs FactSet $275.5M, capex
$70-$72M vs FactSet $78.2M.
2025 guidance: Revenue $1.269-$1.271B vs FactSet $1.25B,
capex $280M-$282M vs prior $270M-$290M
Pipelines/MLP's:
o DKL increases quarterly dividend by 0.4% to $1.125 from $1.12
o KNTK was downgraded to peer perform from outperform at Wolfe
Research.
o OKE was downgraded to neutral from overweight at JPMorgan, target to
$83 from $87.
o VG was downgraded to neutral from overweight at JPMorgan, target to
$11 from $10.
On Deck:
o Tuesday 27-January
API stockpile data 16:30 ET
o Wednesday 28-January
DOE WPSR 10:30 ET
EIA Electric Power Monthly
HH February contract expires
Earnings post-market LBRT, MUR
o Thursday 29-January
EIA weekly nat gas storage data 10:30 ET
Earnings pre-market CNX, VLO
o Friday 30-January
Baker Hughes weekly rig count 13:00 ET
EIA Petroleum Supply Monthly
EIA Natural Gas Monthly
Brent March, RBOB Feb, and ULSD Feb contracts all expire.
Earnings pre-market CVX, XOM
Brent March, RBOB Feb, and ULSD Feb contracts expire
o Sunday 1-February
OPEC-8 meeting to review market conditions
