The latest Market Talks covering Basic Materials. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0732 GMT - Goldman nudges oil-price forecasts higher on the assumption that Mideast shipping disruptions will continue into 2027. But the revision is modest as OECD commercial oil inventories--a key predictor of crude prices--have barely drawn down since the war began and Mideast supply adaptation will likely continue. GS estimates that the global oil market deficit has narrowed from about 7 million barrels a day in March to 1 million in 3Q as Gulf output partially recovered. It assumes new pipeline capacity will come online in late 2027, and that the UAE and Saudi Arabia will eventually deploy spare capacity. Gulf liquids output has already improved and could return to pre-war levels by 2H 2027. (fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com)

0506 GMT - Hyundai Steel could stage an earnings recovery on rising steel prices in the South Korean market, says NH Investment & Securities' Y.K. Choi. Anti-dumping duties on low-cost Chinese imports have led to gradual rises in domestic steel prices, with hot-rolled and cold-rolled products up 26% and 15%, respectively, this year, the analyst writes in a note. Choi expects Hyundai's operating profit to jump 53% in 2026 and 72% in 2027. Stable iron-ore and coal prices could also help the company sustain earnings growth, he adds. NH initiates coverage of the stock with a buy rating and 400,000-won target price. Shares are last 2.9% higher at 33,350 won. (kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com)

0226 GMT - Iron ore prices are higher in early Asia trade. Near-term demand is expected to improve as steel mills restock ahead of the holiday, says Baocheng Futures analysts in a note. Steel production is stabilizing and ore consumption is ticking up, while weak mill margins limit the strength of the recovery in demand, they say. Chinese port arrivals are rebounding sharply, while miner shipments ease, but both remain relatively high for the year, keeping overall supply ample, they say. The market is likely to remain supported in the near-term by restocking before the holiday, they add. The most actively traded January iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange is 0.5% higher at CNY738.0 a ton. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0220 GMT - Citi is bullish on metals heading into year-end, especially gold and silver. It expects metals prices will be "relatively resilient to rising energy price scenarios from here (more so gold and silver than copper and aluminum, explaining our relative preference)." Yet industrial metals prices are supported by structurally bullish themes, such as the growth in artificial intelligence and military spending, the bank says. Citi is also bullish on metals should the Strait of Hormuz reopen, which could be "a catalyst for more explosive upside," it says. Spot gold is up 0.5% at $4,427.35 an ounce. LME 3-month copper is up 0.6% at $14,593/metric ton. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0159 GMT - Copper prices are higher in early Asian trading. Prices are supported by strong fundamentals and tightening inventories, ANZ research analysts say, adding that "Ongoing supply-side issues have been mounting in recent months." Chile, the world's largest copper producer, saw shipments sink to their lowest level in more than a year in August, they note. The three-month LME copper contract is 0.6% higher at $14,604.50 a ton. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0142 GMT - Solar Industries and Astra Microwave are among the top defense companies benefiting from India's higher government spending and a push for private partnerships, Jefferies analysts Lavina Quadros and Shirom Kapur say. With the private-sector share rising in defense, the analysts estimate Solar and Astra's earnings will increase at compound annual growth rates of 31% and 19%, respectively, through FY2026-2030. Jefferies initiates coverage of the two with buy ratings and target prices of 28,160 rupees and 2,055 rupees, respectively. It also starts coverage of state-run Bharat Dynamics with a hold rating and target price of 1,280 rupees. (venkat.pr@wsj.com)

0135 GMT - No matter where you look in the gold market, the bulls appear to be in charge. "Across positioning, flow, and derivatives data, every signal we track continues to point in the same direction: the market is bullish on gold across all fronts," says Societe Generale. What began as a geopolitical shock has evolved into a broad-based build-up of physical, futures and options bets that span retail investors, professional money managers and derivatives traders, it says. "We are now awaiting August central bank data to confirm whether official-sector demand, a key structural pillar of this bull market, remains as robust as in prior months," says SocGen. Any acceleration or slowdown in central-bank buying could help show how durable the bull run might be, it says. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0101 GMT - Investor feedback suggests iron-ore prices have been resilient, says Morgan Stanley. But it doesn't necessarily agree. "Headline CFR [cost and freight] iron-ore prices are being supported by higher freight, giving an impression of higher netback prices for the iron ore miners, which are in fact significantly lower" on-year, MS says. Fortescue and Mineral Resources are most impacted when factoring in current iron-ore prices and freight rates, it says. MS isn't upbeat on the outlook for iron-ore prices, either. "We expect iron ore to weaken into 2H, and see little reason for the market to be excited about iron ore at present," it says. MS forecasts benchmark iron ore at $92/metric ton in 4Q. The spot price is $100.05/ton, according to S&P Global Energy. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0842 GMT - BHP continues to monitor the uranium market, but needs it to be at least three times the size to potentially become a pillar of the giant miner's portfolio, says Citi. "Uranium is only a $10 billion market currently and needs to be a circa $30 billion market in 2-3 decades to be one of BHP's pillars," it says. The bank's remarks follow recent meetings with BHP management. Discussions centered on the company's organic growth pipeline in copper, which appears to preclude near-term, large-scale M&A, says Citi. "Regarding copper, the buy vs build decision is heavily stacked in favor of organic growth (difficult to justify acquiring copper companies at over $80,000/ton of production when BHP is developing assets at $20,000-30,000/ton of production), according to the company," Citi says.