The situation in the Strait of Hormuz has worsened, creating risks for the recovery of oil and gas infrastructure. Simultaneously, there are many questions on the return of central bank diversification and gold purchases, which is a central issue for the outlook on precious metals. In this episode, we focus on the news from the Middle East, as well as the status of gold and LNG markets. Speakers: Otar Dgebuadze, European Natural Gas Greg Shearer, Head of Base and Precious Metals Strategy This podcast was recorded on July 17, 2026. This communication is provided for information purposes only. Institutional clients can view the related report at https://www.jpmm.com/research/content/GPS-5364444-0, https://www.jpmm.com/research/content/GPS-5363056-0 and for more information; please visit www.jpmm.com/research/disclosures for important disclosures. © 2026 JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. All rights reserved. This material or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold or redistributed without the written consent of J.P. Morgan. It is strictly prohibited to use or share without prior written consent from J.P. Morgan any research material received from J.P. Morgan or an authorized third-party (“J.P. Morgan Data”) in any third-party artificial intelligence (“AI”) systems or models when such J.P. Morgan Data is accessible by a third-party.

Global Commodities: Eyes back on Hormuz

At Any Rate

Hello, and welcome to another episode of At Any Rate. I'm Greg Shear, your host for today, and I had a base in precious metals research at J.P. Morgan. The Middle East recovery process has deteriorated further this week as the U.S. and Iran continue to exchange strikes. Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have dropped to around 2 MBD in the last few days, just a quarter of June's average, and 10 percent of pre-war levels. While we view these disruptions as temporary, they have expanded

potential risks across commodities. This is especially the case for LNG, where the ramp-up process of Qatar's liquefaction facilities has slowed down, putting pressure on gas prices as winter is fast approaching. Increased uncertainty around energy has also brought back questions on precious metals, especially gold, and the interplay between, in the near term, real rates and inflation, and in the

longer term, central bank behavior. While interest rates are definitely one part of this discussion, another question is on central bank behavior, i.e. whether or not we're going to see continued diversification and what this means for prices over the medium term. This central bank question is what I will focus on today, while Otar Dgebuadze, who leads our European Natural Gas and Global LNG

Research, will discuss this week's natural gas developments. Ohtar, it's great to see you again. Let's start with gas first. Obviously, we've seen flows through the straight deteriorate. What are you seeing on the LNG movements in the straight at the moment? Hi, Greg, and thanks for having me. As you can imagine, we follow these movements very closely, and we publish regular global LNG supply and shipping tracker, which is very

Global Commodities: Eyes back on Hormuz

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Global Commodities: Eyes back on Hormuz

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.