The latest Market Talks covering FX and Fixed Income. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

1459 ET - Crude futures settle lower after a string of gains with the U.S. and Iran both claiming to have control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. "The stalemate in crude price movements comes at a time when we see no horizon for a return of constructive diplomatic momentum or a return to broad escalation, at least in the very short term," XS.com senior market analyst Samer Hasn says in a note.That will keep the region "in a state of no peace and no war," he says, with the possibility of major escalation keeping the risk premium high. The IEA's and OPEC's lowering of their demand forecasts, and the unexpectedly large build last week in U.S. crude inventories, could prevent sharp rises in oil prices, he adds. WTI settles down 2.4% at $81.25 a barrel and Brent falls 2.1% to $87.07. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1445 ET - U.S. natural gas futures retreat after the EIA reports an above-estimate 36 Bcf weekly inventory build, extending the storage surplus to 198 Bcf from 195 Bcf, despite hot weather spurring high electricity demand. "What made today's EIA report probably sting a little more was optimism power burns have tightened over the past 1-2 weeks, which the EIA report suggested wasn't the case," NatGasWeather.com says in a note. "And it hasn't helped that wind energy generation has been strong the past few days when demand has been strong," including across Texas, the forecaster adds. Nymex natural gas settles down 2.7% at $2.727/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1434 ET - Bitcoin edges down, but the factors that have supported the cryptocurrency on a fundamental level for years continue to stay in place, says Grayscale Research in a note. Head of research, Zach Pandl, says that there's still 3 big reasons for investors to be interested in crypto. He says "unchecked" government deficits continue to trend higher, making bitcoin ownership more attractive. Trading of perpetual stock futures on various blockchain has also supported the proliferation of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream, and there is also growing risk tolerance among young investors. This current period of low volumes and rangebound prices for bitcoin won't last, Pandl adds. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1425 ET - Bitcoin is down 0.6% to $63,160, keeping rangebound amid a summer lull in trading volume. Bitcoin's relationship to macroeconomic conditions is slowly changing, says James Butterfill of CoinShares in a note--with bitcoin slowly retaking its role as a risk asset. But Butterfill says it is hard to make a lot of smart assessments around bitcoin, because of low liquidity in trading. This includes bitcoin ETFs, which have had a mixed week in terms of inflows versus outflows, according to data from CoinGlass. "This week looks set to finish with modest outflows of around US$150M, following inflows last week," says Butterfill. "In the context of exceptionally thin summer trading, we do not view that as evidence of a meaningful reversal in sentiment." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1127 ET - Some Gen Zers are adding sports betting to their list of financial planning strategies, according to a survey from wealth and savings platform Betterment. The survey found that 26% of Gen Z investors treat sports betting as a deliberate part of their long-term financial strategy, and 52% have redirected money originally intended for investing toward it in the past year. "Younger investors deserve access to the tools and information that meet them where they are, but the industry also has a responsibility to be clear about the difference between participating in a trend and building lasting wealth," said Sarah Levy, CEO of Betterment. The online survey was conducted among 1,000 U.S. retail investors evenly split across four generations. (jessica.coacci@wsj.com)

1111 ET - Yields on U.K. and eurozone government bonds fall as weaker-than-expected U.S. producer price index data for July reduce prospects of a Federal Reserve rate increase next month. Monthly PPI was flat in July, weaker than the 0.2% consensus forecast by economists in a WSJ poll. It's now looking "far less likely" that the Fed will feel it needs to hike interest rates as soon as September, Capital Economics' Stephen Brown says in a note. U.S. money markets price only a 35% chance of a September rate hike, LSEG data show. Ten-year gilt yields fall 2.7 basis points to last trade at 4.941%, Tradeweb data show. Ten-year German Bund yields fall 3.3 bps to 3.126%. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

1057 ET - Canada's dairy farmers raise a stink over possible agricultural concessions the country's negotiators are prepared to make to the U.S. to secure tariff relief on key industrial sectors. "Our national food sovereignty is not up for negotiation," says David Wiens, head of the influential Dairy Farmers of Canada. "It is imperative that no more concessions on dairy" are made. The Trump administration is set next week to impose 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods in response to Canada's alleged mistreatment of US dairy products, automobiles and alcohol. Canadian officials say they are unwilling to upend the country's supply-management system, whereby government agencies set dairy prices, enforce production quotas, and limit dairy imports. Canadian and US negotiators are in talks in Washington, to avoid the imposition of new 50% duties. (Paul.Vieira@wsj.com; @paulvieira)

1052 ET - Economists are now digesting this week's inflation data with the CPI and PPI prints in hand. With both reports showing a decline in annual inflation rates, some economists think this adds to the case for the Fed to stay on hold for the rest of this year. However, in today's PPI report, some economists predict the jump in portfolio management fees may add some pressure to PCE, what has been the Fed's preferred inflation measure. The BEA will change its methodology in measuring those fees in September, with economists predicting the revisions will ease pressure on future core PCE readings. (jessica.coacci@wsj.com)

1049 ET - Technology sector credit valuations look fairly attractive, CreditSights' Logan Miller says in a webinar. The sectors faces pressure due to rapidly rising debt issuance by AI-linked companies. However, tech credit selloffs present opportunities for investors to buy the assets given that valuations are likely to hold up, Miller says. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

1047 ET - The dollar could fall further as recent U.S. data have reduced the prospect of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, Rabobank's Jane Foley says in a note. Last week's weak jobs data combined with Wednesday's subdued inflation data prompted markets to trim rate-rise bets. "If Fed rate hike speculation continues to be pared back, in line with RaboResearch's view, the dollar will be exposed to potential downside pressures." However, any falls in the currency should be contained by safe haven demand while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed given America's energy exporter status, she says. The euro rises 0.1% to $1.1539 and Rabobank expects choppy range trading between $1.15-$1.16 over the next three to six months. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)

1023 ET - The low-hire, low-fire labor market is the result of slowing labor demand growth meeting slowing labor supply growth, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin says in a speech before the Greenville Chamber of Commerce in South Carolina. Net migration to the U.S. has plummeted since 2024 and the population has continued to age, Barkin says. The share of the population aged 65 and over has grown more than 20%, and those baby boomers are largely retiring, cutting the number of individuals not in the labor force, he says. "So, while there may be fewer jobs being added, there are also fewer people looking for those jobs," Barkin says. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

1020 ET - The U.S. economy's resilience can be largely chalked up to persistent consumer spending, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin says in a speech before the Greenville Chamber of Commerce in South Carolina. Inflation is still above target, real incomes are down and consumer sentiment just hit a multi-decade low, yet economic activity has held up, Barkin says. "Despite the turmoil, consumers have kept spending," he says. Consumers seem to have embraced a "YOLO" attitude, especially affluent consumers who have seen their wealth inflate with the stock market and rising home values, Barkin says. Many also still have their jobs, as unemployment claims recently hit a 50-year low, he says.