Doug Alexander

Diverging views on oil’s outlook has prompted debate ahead of an OPEC+ meeting in the final weekend of November. China and the the US agreed to step up joint action to tackle climate change in the lead up to a key United Nations meeting. Copper trades are signaling a shaky 2024, while cocoa has been soaring. And a UK summit is set to shine a light on food security when hundreds of millions of people worldwide suffer from undernourishment.

Southwestern Energy Co., and Chesapeake Energy Corp. are close to a merger that would create a roughly $17 billion company, ranking as one of the largest natural gas producers in the US, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The top executive of Canada’s Porter Airlines said he sees “a future potential path” to an initial public offering within five years, a move that would revive earlier ambitions of listing on public markets.

As mining enthusiasts converge on Toronto for one of the industry’s biggest global gatherings, lithium and uranium companies will vie for investors’ attention. US natural gas gets a boost to help reverse its losing streak. Oil spreads are rallying. And renewable jet fuel is set to take off.

Cocoa, the key chocolate-making ingredient, continues to rally, setting fresh records ahead of Easter. Oil is poised to extend its monthly streak of advances as demand outpaces expectations. And copper investors are increasing bullish bets for the industrial metal.

The collapse of a Baltimore bridge has threatened to disrupt commodity exports — including a significant chunk of US coal shipments — from an important East Coast port. Iron ore prices swing near $100 a ton amid weak Chinese steel demand. And the frantic pace of dealmaking in the oil-and-gas industry continues, with a strong start to the year.

The metals world is monitoring the impact of the London Metal Exchange’s banning of new Russian supplies including aluminum, while one of the biggest gatherings for the copper industry — Cesco Week and CRU’s World Copper Conference — kicks off in Santiago. Meanwhile, the annual BNEF Summit will convene in New York, bringing together project developers, government officials and bankers to discuss global trends in the energy transition.

The Exxon Mobil Corp. investor that the oil giant is suing for its climate-related shareholder proposal is promising not to file similar motions in the future in a bid to get the legal action dropped.

Commodities are soaring, fueled by escalating conflict in the Middle East, war in Ukraine, wild weather and supply chain bottlenecks. Gold’s rally has made buying Brent with bullion cheaper. And risks to Brazil’s corn crop are driving up prices of the grain.

Americans go to the polls on Tuesday in a presidential election that could influence gold prices and the future path for US renewable investments. And this week gets bookended by US agricultural reports that signal how the world’s wheat supplies are faring.