{"id":58669,"date":"2026-02-17T16:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/crude-prices-slump-mondelez-flags-cocoa-pricing-mismatch-and-feds-daly-eyes-ai-impact\/58669\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T16:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:08:26","slug":"crude-prices-slump-mondelez-flags-cocoa-pricing-mismatch-and-feds-daly-eyes-ai-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/crude-prices-slump-mondelez-flags-cocoa-pricing-mismatch-and-feds-daly-eyes-ai-impact\/58669\/","title":{"rendered":"Crude Prices Slump, Mondelez Flags Cocoa Pricing Mismatch, and Fed\u2019s Daly Eyes AI Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Crude oil benchmarks fell sharply<\/strong>, with Brent Crude settling down <strong>1.79% at $67.42\/bbl<\/strong> and U.S. WTI Crude dropping <strong>0.89% to $62.33\/bbl<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mondelez International (<a href=\"\/stock\/MDLZ\">MDLZ<\/a>) CEO warned of a &quot;pricing mismatch&quot;<\/strong> as cocoa prices plunge, potentially forcing the company to lower retail prices despite high-cost hedges.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Federal Reserve\u2019s Mary Daly emphasized the need to &quot;dig deep&quot; into AI data<\/strong> to determine if productivity gains will allow for faster economic growth without triggering inflation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The White House is finalizing plans for a Thursday meeting<\/strong> with major banks and crypto firms to resolve a standoff over stablecoin yield regulations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Venezuela released 86-year-old oil consultant Evanan Romero<\/strong>, a move seen as critical to the government\u2019s efforts to attract foreign energy investment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Energy Markets Retreat Amid Supply and Geopolitical Shifts<\/h2>\n<p>Global oil prices faced significant downward pressure on Tuesday as traders reacted to shifting supply dynamics and easing geopolitical tensions. <strong>Brent Crude futures settled at $67.42\/bbl, down $1.23 or 1.79%<\/strong>, while <strong>U.S. Crude (WTI) settled at $62.33\/bbl, a decline of $0.56 or 0.89%<\/strong>. <em>Analysts noted that the sell-off reflects growing concerns over a potential surplus in late 2026 and a weakening medium-term outlook for energy demand.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In a notable geopolitical development, <strong>Venezuela released veteran oil consultant Evanan Romero<\/strong> after four days of detention in Maracaibo. Romero, a dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen, is a central figure in the transition overseen by the administration of Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, which seeks to revive the nation&#39;s dilapidated petroleum infrastructure. <em>His release is viewed as a necessary step to reassure international energy firms like Chevron (<a href=\"\/stock\/CVX\">CVX<\/a>) and Repsol that the investment climate is stabilizing.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Mondelez Navigates &quot;Cocoa Whiplash&quot; and Consumer Pressure<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking at the <strong>CAGNY Conference<\/strong>, Mondelez International (<a href=\"\/stock\/MDLZ\">MDLZ<\/a>) CEO Dirk Van de Put addressed the challenges posed by a sudden and sharp drop in cocoa prices. While cocoa futures have fallen nearly <strong>70% from their historical peaks<\/strong>, Mondelez remains &quot;saddled&quot; with higher-cost inventory due to previous hedging strategies. <em>This has created a pricing mismatch where retail prices remain high even as raw material costs collapse.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Van de Put admitted that many consumers are &quot;uncomfortable&quot; with current price points and warned that the company may be forced to <strong>&quot;reinvest in pricing&quot;<\/strong> if competitors or clients increase pressure. The company is currently balancing the need to protect margins with the risk of losing volume to private-label brands that can adjust prices more rapidly. <em>Mondelez has already adjusted price points in certain European markets like the U.K. and Germany to stabilize volume trends.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Federal Reserve and the &quot;AI Productivity&quot; Question<\/h2>\n<p>San Francisco Fed President <strong>Mary Daly<\/strong> avoided providing a specific near-term interest rate outlook in her prepared remarks at San Jose State University. Instead, she focused on the structural impact of <strong>Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/strong> on the U.S. economy. Daly argued that the Fed must &quot;dig deep&quot; into data to see if AI is boosting productivity enough to allow the economy to grow faster without igniting inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Daly drew parallels to the <strong>1990s computer revolution<\/strong>, noting that the Fed must determine if current growth is &quot;benign&quot; or an early warning of price pressures. <em>While the Trump administration has suggested AI is already boosting productivity, Daly noted that macro-studies currently find limited evidence of a significant effect.<\/em> This cautious stance suggests the central bank will remain data-dependent as it evaluates the long-term neutral rate.<\/p>\n<h2>Tech and Policy: AWS Expansion and Stablecoin Standoff<\/h2>\n<p>Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>) continues to expand its enterprise AI capabilities, introducing <strong>new agent plugins for AWS<\/strong>. According to a company blog, these plugins are designed to enhance <strong>Amazon Bedrock agent workflows<\/strong>, allowing for more seamless integration of server-side tools and automated web interactions. <em>The move solidifies Amazon&#39;s position in the &quot;agentic AI&quot; race, competing directly with Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>) and Google (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, the <strong>White House<\/strong> is weighing a high-level meeting this Thursday with major banks and crypto firms. The discussions center on <strong>stablecoin yields<\/strong>, a flashpoint in the pending <strong>CLARITY Act<\/strong>. Major banks, including JPMorgan Chase (<a href=\"\/stock\/JPM\">JPM<\/a>) and Bank of America (<a href=\"\/stock\/BAC\">BAC<\/a>), are pushing for a ban on yield-bearing stablecoins to prevent massive deposit outflows from traditional savings accounts. <em>Crypto firms argue that such a ban would stifle innovation and limit competition in the digital asset space.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Crude oil benchmarks fell sharply, with Brent Crude settling down 1.79% at $67.42\/bbl and U.S. WTI Crude dropping [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[391,6069,665,970,2191,3703,3710,3952,4383,4461,4554],"class_list":["post-58669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-amzn","tag-venezuela","tag-clf","tag-wti","tag-bzf","tag-ai","tag-federal-reserve","tag-mdlz","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-crude-oil","tag-stablecoins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}