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

1530 ET - Most-active live cattle futures on the CME close down 0.1% to $2.1865 a pound, bringing the contract down to its lowest level since early December. It comes while cases of New World screwworm, while slowed, continue to grow. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reported a new case today, bringing the total reported since June to 46 -- although only 4 of those are considered active. The latest case was found in sheep in Val Verde County, Texas. Lean hog futures finish virtually unchanged at 72.5 cents a pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1522 ET - U.S. natural gas futures lose ground with high production and comfortable storage levels weighing against strong weather-driven demand and recovering LNG feedgas flows. "Lingering heat across Texas and the Southeast should support cooling demand through the remainder of August, while LNG exports are positioned to rise as maintenance concludes and new capacity ramps," Andy Huenefeld of Pinebrook Energy Advisors says in a note. But with production increasing as the shoulder-season approaches, "competing forces continue to favor a broadly balanced market rather than a sustained move in either direction," he adds. Nymex natural gas settles down 1.6% at $2.690/mmBtu. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1502 ET - Oil futures settle higher as the U.S. and Iran vie for control over the Strait of Hormuz and President Trump says he's in no hurry to resolve the conflict. Gains accelerated after Iranian state media said an Emirati oil tanker was seized in the strait. "The Iranian route is one of the conditions, and payment for services and Iran's permit are other conditions that oil tankers must observe," the Fars news agency said.The U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports,with Centcom saying that to date U.S. forces have "redirected 64 commercial vessels, disabled 3, and boarded 2 to ensure compliance." WTI settles up2.5% at $84.50 a barrel and Brent rises 2.7% to $90.87 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1438 ET - OceanaGold's acquisition of western Australia's Ausgold should help supplement production while it develops its Wharekirauponga project in New Zealand. TD Bank's Wayne Lam says that the deal for about $549 million provides OceanaGold with "a medium term growth asset with first gold targeted in 2029, helping to bridge the gap to ongoing development of WKP where first ore is guided in 2032." Lam says the addition also helps offset a potential decline in the production profile at OceanaGold's Macraes operation in New Zealand while preserving balance sheet flexibility to fund ongoing growth initiatives and continued return of capital. OceanaGold is up 3.6% to C$41.18. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1413 ET - Oil prices add to gains following an unconfirmed Iranian state media report that Iran seized a U.A.E.-owned oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Both the U.S. and Iran claim to have control over the strait, which has seen limited shipping since the reopening agreed under the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding unraveled in July. The 60-day MOU expired Monday. President Trump told Fox News earlier that he is in no hurry to resolve the conflict and warned Oman against interfering with the U.S. blockade of Iranian ships in the waterway. WTI is up 2.5% at $84.46 a barrel and Brent rises 2.6% to $90.82 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1332 ET - More soybeans were crushed in the U.S. in July, says the National Oilseed Processors Association. Crushing came in at a rate of 216.65 million bushels, up from 214.34 million bushels in June. But it's not as high as the more-than 221 million bushels traders surveyed by Reuters expected. Soybean oil is up 2.7%, while underlying soybeans rise 1.9%. Biofuel demand is seen as a major contributor to the higher soybean figures. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1250 ET - CBOT wheat futures are lower, driven in large part by traders opting to lock in recent profits despite the ongoing conflict in the Black Sea over the weekend. "More strikes were carried out over the weekend putting into question 'when will the Black Sea re-open?'" says Cory Bratland of AgMarket.net in a note. "Wheat futures are starting out the week a little lower and that is a function of us getting back close to our previous highs and we are seeing a little selling show up." The most-active contract is now flat Monday, this while earlier in the day wheat futures were trading lower. Corn and soybeans are higher currently. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1246 ET - Corn typically has the highest demand for fertilizers during its growth process, and the supply chain issues seen this year may have affected how much fertilizer farmers have been able to apply to their fields. This may affect corn yields, says AgResource. The firm hosted its own crop tour last week, and now sees the national corn yield at 178 bushels an acre, which would be down 2 bpa from the USDA's August WASDE report. "It appears that due to high cost and unprofitable production margins, farmers trimmed their nitrogen application rate," says the firm. "This was not universal, but the wet spring also caused nitrogen leaching, which was not fully replaced during the growing season by the application of 32%." CBOT corn is up 1.4%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1200 ET - Early pictures of corn ears being pulled in Ohio are generally strong -- with many scouts taking to X under the #pftour26 hashtag to exhibit how fields and corn ears look this morning. Most of the pictured specimens look strong, relatively thick for their age and matured past the pollination stage. This is more evident in the eastern fields - although excessive rain may introduce issues on the east side of the Corn Belt. CBOT corn and soybeans are both higher, with corn up 1.1% and soybeans up 1.4%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1117 ET - A weaker U.S. dollar is giving gold futures support. The dollar movement appears to be a reflection of recent softer-than-expected macroeconomic reports. "We have had a couple of soft inflation reports along with weaker employment and retail sales data and this has led to more dovish expectations of the Fed with important asset price impacts," says Stephen Coltman of 21shares in a note. As part of the movement gold is now "showing signs of life," says Coltman. Most-active gold futures are up 0.9% to $4,474.50 a troy ounce. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1030 ET - U.S. field crops that were planted this spring and grown this summer are now reaching maturity. "We turn to the back-half of August and for the athletes it's the final few minutes of the game, not much can change from here on out--what the crops are, they are," says Joe Davis of Futures International. This week's Pro Farmer Crop Tour will show what these mostly-baked crops look like, with the western portion of the tour starting in South Dakota and the eastern side starting from Ohio. CBOT corn is up 0.5%, while soybeans climb 0.9%. Wheat is down 0.3%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1013 ET - Most-active cattle futures on the CME rise 1.4% and hogs climb 0.8%. Last week was a negative one for both livestock contracts, with cattle Friday dipping to its lowest since late last year. "The technical picture doesn't look all that healthy, we'll likely need some stabilization in the cash feeder and cash fat markets this week to help calm the waters," says StoneX in a note. The Labor Day holiday is often a source of an improved outlook for U.S. meat, but this August has been quiet in terms of demand.