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

1558 ET - Crude futures rise to their highest level in four months as supply worries increase with threats to alternative supply routes out of the Middle East such as the outage of Saudi Arabia's pipeline to the Red Sea. "Bias remains clearly on the upside," Nikos Tzabouras of Tradu says in a note. "The loss of this crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz can prolong the market shortfall and delay normalization, while dwindling inventories leave limited capacity to absorb further shocks." WTI settles up 4.4% at $105.83 a barrel and Brent gains 2.9% to $108.75 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1433 ET - Precious metals futures settle lower in cautious trading ahead of the Fed's interest-rate decision on Wednesday. "Elevated oil prices amid Middle East tensions and supply disruptions continued to fuel inflation fears and bolster bets on a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this week, keeping the yellow metal exposed to downside risk," Naga market analyst Frank Walbaum says in a note. "A hawkish Fed could further pull gold down, while any soft messaging may ease bets on hikes and help the metal recover." Front month gold slips 0.4% to $4.291.60 a troy ounce and silver settles down 0.4% at $63.236 a troy ounce. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1243 ET - The U.S. exported a record 2.2 billion gallons of ethanol in 2025 worth $4.7 billion, and exports of the biofuel were up 12% in the first half of this year by volume and 21% by value, the USDA says in a report, noting growing global demand and reduced competition from Brazil. A number of wildcards--both positive and negative for U.S. exports--could have an impact the rest of the year, the USDA adds. Brazil could recover export market share if its production outpaces domestic consumption growth. In the U.S., producers can benefit from a tax break they couldn't previously use, although policy changes to increase consumption such as a nationwide E15 mandate could limit exportable supply and push up prices. Demand could rise further as countries respond to higher energy prices caused by the Middle East conflict. "Ethanol prices have not spiked like oil and gasoline, giving ethanol an advantage and encouraging higher blending as a method to reduce prices at the pump." (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1153 ET - Enbridge $2.55 billion Tallgrass crude asset purchase is a "logical extension of ENB'S Liquids Pipelines franchise," says CIBC's Robert Catellier. The analyst says that the transaction adds "highly contracted infrastructure" that complements Express-Platte while expanding the energy company's Rockies footprint to optimize light and heavy crude flows across its broader network "including shifting light barrels onto Express-Platte/Pony Express [crude oil pipelines] and preserving Mainline capacity for heavier Canadian barrels." CIBC raises its price target on the stock by C$1 to C$79. Shares are up 0.9% to C$67.62. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1110 ET - The Iran war is creating sharply different fiscal outcomes across the Gulf depending on countries' ability to keep hydrocarbons flowing, Capital Economics says. Higher energy prices are more than offsetting limited export disruption in the U.A.E. and Oman, improving their budget balances this year. By contrast, budget balances are expected to deteriorate by around 2% of GDP in Saudi Arabia, around 5% in Kuwait and Bahrain, and as much as 10% in Qatar compared with last year. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)

1101 ET - Saudi Arabia leads most major Gulf stocks lower, with the Tadawul All Share Index falling 0.9%. The Dubai Financial Market General Index declines 0.8% and Qatar's QE Index loses 0.5%, while Abu Dhabi's benchmark index bucks the trend, edging up 0.2%. The divergence across Gulf equities appears largely positioning-driven, with geopolitical uncertainty and shifting U.S. rate expectations encouraging investors to reduce exposure to higher-beta markets, says Milad Azar, market analyst at XTB MENA. Investors are favoring markets and companies offering stronger balance sheets, liquidity and earnings visibility until geopolitical risks ease, he says. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)

1027 ET - Precious metals are modestly lower as the market looks to tomorrow's Fed interest-rate decision, which is widely expected to be a rate increase. The risk of higher yields extends beyond the U.S., DHF Capital CEO Bas Kooijman says in a note. "Persistent tensions in the Middle East have kept oil prices high, sustaining inflation concerns and reinforcing expectations that monetary policy will remain restrictive across major economies." Silver could find support in industrial demand, he adds, noting a rise in Chinese industrial output led by equipment and high-tech manufacturing. "Sustained strength in these sectors could support silver consumption." Silver for December delivery is off 0.1% in New York at $64.05 a troy ounce. Gold is down 0.5% at $4,331.10 a troy ounce. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0905 ET - U.S. natural gas futures add to Monday's gains as more days of hot weather are seen before cooling demand is set to taper off toward the end of the month. After strong demand the next five days, "national demand eases to moderate then low levels for days 6-15 as the southern U.S. cools several degrees and with highs of mostly 80s to lower 90s," NatGasWeather.com says in a note. "In addition, the northern half of the U.S. will be perfect temperature-wise with comfortable highs of 60s-80s for light demand." Nymex natural gas is up 1.4% at $2.936/mmBtu.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0850 ET - Oil futures are higher in early U.S. trading amid market pessimism about flows out of the Middle East following the outage of a key Saudi pipeline and the increased Houthi threat to Red Sea shipping. "With Hormuz, the Saudi bypass and Bab al-Mandeb all simultaneously exposed, the market is pricing a broader loss of route flexibility, not just a supply shock," Kaynat Chainwala of Kotak Neo says in a note. "Unless there's a credible diplomatic breakthrough, the risk premium looks set to stay elevated." WTI is up 1.6% at $103..00 a barrel and Brent rises 1% at $106.75. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

0656 ET - AtkinsRealis Group's nuclear opportunity is bigger than the market currently appreciates, says TD Cowen analyst Michael Tupholme. He says that the company's proprietary Candu nuclear reactor opportunity is quite large, especially for new builds. Tupholme points to Ontario, where in the province alone new builds alone represent a revenue opportunity of around C$38 billion compared with its current nuclear segment backlog of C$4.2 billion. The analyst says that a catalyst to look out for will be a favorable Ontario nuclear-technology selection decision, expected in 2H. "We expect strong Nuclear results over our forecast horizon (even before considering new build upside), while we see a favourable nuclear tech. decision for Ontario new builds as a re-rating catalyst," Tupholme says. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0605 ET - Palm oil rose in Asia's trading session. The Bursa Malaysia Derivatives contract for November delivery closed 33 ringgit higher at 4,883 ringgit a metric ton. Prices were likely supported by overnight strength in rival edible oils and persistent concerns of El Nino-related hot-and-dry weather conditions expected to affect output, Kenanga Futures wrote in a note. Kenanga pegs resistance for the November futures contract at 4,950 ringgit a ton. (amanda.lee@wsj.com)

0419 ET - Spillovers from rising global government bond yields into the foreign exchange market have been modest so far, MUFG Bank's Lee Hardman says in a note. This is highlighted by low measures of volatility in the forex market, he says. However, the Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar, Swedish krona and emerging markets currencies have underperformed. "Downside risks for those currencies would intensify if rising bond yields and energy prices triggered a deeper correction lower for risk assets heading into year end," he says.