The latest Market Talks covering Commodities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

1537 ET - U.S. natural gas futures settle modestly higher after the EIA reported a fourth straight below-average weekly storage build, although the 40 Bcf injection landed above market expectations. "With weather-related demand continuing to wane and reduced consumption over Labor Day weekend, we would expect storage injections to trend higher beginning with next week's report," Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in a note. "From there, builds will ramp until heating demand begins driving more consumption in October." Nymex natural gas settles up 0.4% at $2.834/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1536 ET - Oil futures rise the their highest level in nearly four months with increased fighting across the Persian Gulf region raising supply worries. "Iran has stated they are ready for a more intense war and President Trump stated the conflict will last into the mid-term elections, which now has solidified the fact that tighter supplies are being priced in for the foreseeable future," Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial says in a note. Futures are in an overbought condition, "with a corrective phase due," he adds. WTI settles up 6.7% to $102.48 a barrel and Brent gains 6.3% to $107.63, their highest closes since May 19. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1529 ET - Lean hog futures trading on the CME settle down 0.2% to 74.475 cents a pound, dropping for a second day as traders look for a near-term bottom for the contract. Profit-taking after a strong showing Tuesday is a factor running the show in the second-half of the week, says Joe Davis of Futures International. Lean hogs are one of the only agricultural commodities where fund traders are reported as showing a net short position instead of a widening net long, according to CFTC data. The CFTC will update its Commitment of Traders report tomorrow. Most-active live cattle futures close up 0.5% to $2.19575 a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1359 ET - Gold futures lose ground as a pickup in U.S. producer price inflation in August raises expectations of a Fed rate increase next week, while conflict escalation in the Middle East pushes up oil prices. "Gold faces a combination of negative factors, driven mainly by the lack of a near-term horizon for settling the Middle East war, along with high escalation risks that fuel waves of bond-yield increase globally," Samer Hasn of XS.com says in a note. Front month gold settles down 1.2% at $4,364.50 a troy ounce. Silver falls 5.4% to $64.284 a troy ounce. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1209 ET - Above-average temperatures are moving out of the U.S. Corn Belt, according to the latest forecast from the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. The updated 6-10 day forecast shows northern Plains states seeing near-normal temperatures, while above-average temperatures move south. States like North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota are now seeing cooler temperatures, this while receiving more precipitation than normal. However, in its 8-14 day forecast, that heat appears to slowly return to those northern states. CBOT grain futures are up in midday trading, with most-active corn up 0.5%, soybeans up 1.2%, and wheat up 0.5%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1208 ET - With little to move sentiment outside of the USDA's WASDE report and intensifying conflicts overseas, CBOT grains are up in midday trade. Soybeans appear to be setting the pace, says Charlie Sernatinger of Marex in a note, and that's not likely to change over the course of the afternoon. Soybeans have been getting the most support in the grains complex, due in part to optimism around soybean oil in renewable fuels usage. Soybeans are up 1.5%, with soymeal up 1.2% and soyoil up 1.6%. Corn is up 0.9%, and wheat climbs 1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1047 ET - U.S. natural gas inventories rose more than expected last week, while the increase was small enough to reduce the storage surplus over the five-year average. Underground storage rose by 40 billion cubic feet to 3,254 Bcf, or 148 Bcf more than the 2021-2025 average, the EIA says. The storage injection was larger than the 28 Bcf estimate in a WSJ survey of analysts, but smaller than the five-year average 52 Bcf build for the week. Nymex natural gas futures are off 1.6% at $2.777/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1022 ET - U.S. natural gas futures are lower for a third straight session as the market awaits inventory data from the EIA while focusing on coming mild weather. "A third failed attempt at $3.00/mmBtu has recast momentum steeply lower," Eli Rubin of EBW Analytics says in a note. A widening year-over-year storage deficit could provide near-term support for prices, although a key driver of weakness remains the winter strip with robust end of season storage, increasing production and prospects of a mild winter weighing, he adds. Nymex natural gas is off 1.6% at $2.776/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1018 ET - The El Niño system that's in place now is getting stronger, enough so that the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center now views there to be a "greater than 90% chance of a very strong event" in the Northern Hemisphere this fall into this winter. The Climate Prediction Center classifies an event as 'very strong' if the average sea surface temperature deviates more than 3 degrees Celsius higher. An El Niño climate system tends to create mild winters for the northern U.S., while the southern U.S. gets hit with hurricanes potentially exacerbated by the warmer waters. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1015 ET - Most-active live cattle futures are down 0.1% while lean hogs rise 0.1%. The Goldman roll, the monthly time period where the S&P GSCI rolls expiring commodity futures contracts forward to new ones, continues to be a main factor in livestock futures. Volumes are light for both contracts, says the Hightower Report in a note, but there are some signs that a price rebound could be coming. "We see technical signs the market has turned the corner to a potentially more bullish phase, but prices need an upside recovery to finish the week to keep the weekly chart in a positive mode." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1010 ET - Grain futures trading at multi-year highs this year prompted hopes for farmers who have suffered from past low commodity prices and inflated input costs for fertilizer and seeds. But surging fuel prices from wars overseas threaten to evaporate any benefit from those higher crop prices. According to AAA, current retail diesel prices set a new high, at $5.9773 a gallon. For farmers, this means harvesting may prove to be an even-steeper expense than anticipated. Last week, the USDA forecast 2026 net farm income at $158.4 billion--up from its previous forecast of $153.4 billion. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1010 ET - The USDA has announced another round of flash sales of U.S. grain exports. The agency says that 272,000 metric tons of soybeans have been sold to China for delivery in the 2026/27 marketing year, while an additional 206,500 tons of soybeans were reported as being "received" by the USDA for delivery to unknown destinations, also for 2026/27. It's the second flash sale to China reported in the shortened holiday week, with the first being 340,000 tons of soybeans sold to China reported on Tuesday. CBOT grains are higher pre-market, with corn up 0.8%, soybeans up 0.8%, and wheat up 0.7%.