[MARKET ANALYSIS] Commodities lack demand amid the holiday closures in Asia and North America

Commodity prices are showing weakness largely due to diminished demand from holiday closures in Asia and North America.

Newsquawk StaffPublished 16 Feb 2026, 02:41 UTCOn the live feed at 02:21 UTC — 5 more headlines followed before this page went public

Newsquawk headlinesUTC

02:30

Thai GDP Growth Rate YoY (Q4) Y/Y 2.5% vs. Exp. 1% (Prev. 1.2%)

02:22

Alibaba (9988 HK) is to releases it AI app Qwen V3.5 today

02:21

[MARKET ANALYSIS] Commodities lack demand amid the holiday closures in Asia and North America

01:27

Japanese junior coalition partner, Ishin, leader Yoshimura says Japan should proceed with a two-year suspension of food sales tax at the earliest date possible

01:20

PRE-MARKET HONG KONG STOCKS NEWS: Meituan (3690 HK) prelim. FY25 (CNY) net loss 23.3bln-24.3bln (exp. loss 22.2bln), mainland China is closed for more than a week, while Hong Kong markets will only be open for the morning session

Open the platform and use it. The whole workspace is free to try, with no signup and no card. When you want the headlines arriving live instead of on a delay, Newsquawk Pro is £24.99 for 7 days.

Try the platform free

Free. No signup, no card.

WTI/Brent: WTI Mar'26 -0.2% / Brent Apr'26 -0.2%

Oil prices are rangebound amid light energy-specific newsflow from over the weekend and after last Friday's indecisive performance, with a source report noting that OPEC+ is said to be leaning towards resuming oil output hikes from April, but with no decision made.

Gold: -0.4%

Takes a breather after edging higher in the aftermath of the recent softer-than-expected US inflation data, with price action also contained amid the holiday closures across Asia and North America.

Copper: -0.5%

Lacks demand amid the ultimately mixed risk appetite, and with its largest buyer away for over a week due to the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival holiday.

Context

With OPEC+ hinting at potential output increases yet making no decisive moves, oil remains rangebound, while metals like copper are struggling as major consumers are absent from the market. This backdrop suggests ongoing price pressure may persist, which could have implications for inflation and related asset classes.

Energy · last 90 days

Recent headlines that moved markets

ENERGY/3 Sept · 08:03 UTC

Russian President Putin says that Russia and Ukraine should agree first; he notes that there is an opportunity to reach a peace agreement.

with Brent Nov, after we published−1.3%

Energy prices fell following Russian President Putin's more conciliatory comments.

ENERGY/1 Sept · 16:17 UTC

Initial reports of an American attack on Iran, reports i24's Stein.

- Brent (V6), after we published+1.2%

ENERGY/27 Aug · 17:46 UTC

The Trump administration has repeatedly told mediators it has no interest in going back to the terms of the MoU it reached with Iran in June, reports WSJ citing sources

Brent crude, after we published+1.4%

ENERGY/25 Aug · 19:26 UTC

A ceasefire between the US and Iran has been agreed upon, it includes free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and will be announced in the coming days, reports Ria citing Pakistani and Iranian sources

Brent crude, after we published−2.4%

ENERGY/2 Sept · 18:19 UTC

US President Trump says renewed campaign against Iran will not continue for too long; oil prices will come down.

Brent (V6), after we published−0.8%

ENERGY/2 Sept · 11:13 UTC

Saudi Foreign Ministry says it has urged all parties to remain calm, halt escalations and respect international law and return to negotiations

WTI crude, after we published−0.6%

Newsquawk Daily

Get both market opens in your inbox.

This note and the other one — the EU open and the US open, every business day, written by the desk. No account needed.

Related headlines

The whole workspace, free to try.

© 2026 Newsquawk. All rights reserved.