I was recently fueling up my wife's car in Tempe, Arizona when I noticed something I hadn't seen in a while: an "I did that!" sticker pointed at the price on the pump. Those stickers were everywhere during the gas price spike under President Biden. Now they're back — with the same message, but a different president. It’s true that fuel prices have spiked under both administrations. But the reality is more complicated than a sticker on a pump suggests. To understand what really happened, you have to look at the underlying market forces…

Inflation is expected to jump to 3.3 per cent as the first effects of the war in Iran will be recorded in a new set of data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is expected to reveal that inflation inched up in the year to March due to soaring fuel prices and tremors across financial markets. Economists polled by Bloomberg predicted that the consumer price index (CPI) inflation print would come in at 3.3 per cent, compared to three per cent for February. The acceleration in price growth could dampen hopes of improved stability, posing a challenge…

Air Canada has announced the suspension of several key routes, including major U.S. connections, after jet fuel prices nearly doubled in the wake of the Iran-United States war that kicked off in late February.  According to Air Canada, all service from Toronto and Montreal to John F. Kennedy International Airport will be suspended starting June 1, 2026, and resume on October 25, 2026, while flights to Salt Lake City and Jacksonville will also be suspended. Air Canada will, however, maintain service to the New York area through LaGuardia and…

Kazakh officials are working with international development banks and the UN Development Programme to address a burgeoning water shortage that threatens to throttle economic growth. Regional analysts say the water deficit, combined with the need to rapidly boost power-generation capacity, are two of Kazakhstan’s most formidable obstacles to achieving President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s modernization agenda. “The shortage of the resource has moved into the category of severe macroeconomic challenges, comparable in importance to access…

The national average price of gasoline in the United States has dipped below the $4 mark for the first time in weeks, with data compiled by GasBuddy from more than 12 million individual price reports across more than 150,000 gas stations revealing that the national average fell by 9 cents from a week ago to $3.97 per gallon, with further drops to $3.65-$3.85 possible in the near future. However, AAA reported the national average at $4.042 per gallon on Monday, down from $4.125 a week ago. The disconnect comes from different methodologies used by…

This week brings with it the 22 April deadline marking the end of the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. The on-again/off-again/on-again closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Tehran, and Washington’s naval blockade specifically on Iranian ports, can broadly be seen as part of the ongoing negotiations for peace that began on 8 April, with the mood surrounding the talks having swung as wildly on both sides as the state of the blockades. Even before the recent spate of hostilities, mediating Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi declared…

Kuwait has declared force majeure on shipments of crude oil and refined products after disruptions at the Strait of Hormuz prevented some vessels from entering the Persian Gulf. The move comes as tensions in the Strait escalated again following the U.S. seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the waterway. According to Reuters, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation has notified customers that it is invoking contractual clauses allowing it to withhold certain scheduled deliveries after the blockade hindered access to the Gulf. The measure is not expected…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized an easing of sanctions on Russian energy, writing on X that "every dollar paid for Russian oil is money for the war." His statement on April 19 comes after the United States prolonged its Russian oil waiver earlier in the week with figures showing that Moscow nearly doubled its oil revenue in March amid soaring energy prices as Iran continues to disrupt shipping on the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Zelenskyy claimed that more than 110 tankers from Russia’s shadow fleet are currently at sea,…

India has recently raised the number of Russian insurers allowed to provide protection and indemnity (P&I) cover for ships docking at Indian ports, as Indian refiners are once again boosting imports of Russian crude thanks to a U.S. waiver. The number of Russian insurers eligible to cover marine indemnity and protection has been raised to 11, up from eight previously, India's Directorate General of Shipping has said, as carried by Reuters. India has recently allowed new Russia-based insurers to provide cover for ships docking at Indian ports,…

India has recently raised the number of Russian insurers allowed to provide protection and indemnity (P&I) cover for ships docking at Indian ports, as Indian refiners are once again boosting imports of Russian crude thanks to a U.S. waiver. The number of Russian insurers eligible to cover marine indemnity and protection has been raised to 11, up from eight previously, India's Directorate General of Shipping has said, as carried by Reuters. India has recently allowed new Russia-based insurers to provide cover for ships docking at Indian ports,…

The price of oil has been driven higher by the latest round of escalations in the Middle East, renewing fears of a drastic global energy shock. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – jumped over six per cent on Monday morning to over $96. It follows a weekend of tensions where shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has once again ground to a halt following a brief opening on Friday. The regime in Tehran has warned that the new closure will remain in place until the US blockade is lifted. In a Truth Social post on Sunday,…

China is on track to import record-high volumes of ethane from the United States this month as Chinese and other Asian petrochemicals producers rush to secure replacement feedstock amid plunging naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply from the Middle East. China is expected to import as many as 800,000 tons of U.S. ethane in April, which would be a record high for any month and about 60% higher compared than the usual monthly imports of the feedstock from the United States, per estimates from Chinese consultancy JLC cited by Bloomberg.…

In a “perilous position,” the Platts Dubai benchmark used to price around 18 million barrels per day, nearly a fifth of global supply, is now severely strained by the halt in exports through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Reuters, with most cargoes having been unable to move safely through the chokepoint, the system is grappling with a fundamental question of how to price oil that cannot be loaded. The situation remains largely unchanged as of today, despite Washington’s announcement that the Strait is officially open for…

In April 2026, a new 500 MW sodium-cooled reactor in Kalpakkam, India, attained criticality. The reactor maintained a nuclear chain reaction—which is a pretty big step for any new nuclear plant. There are a number of things that struck us about this news. The haters and skeptics will point out that this unit began construction in 2004 with a 2010 expected completion date. No cost escalation figures were provided by the Indian government. But the real question here is why a molten salt reactor? It’s not a new technology. President Jimmy…

Accelerated refinery closures in the past decade and increased dependence on kerosene from the Middle East have exposed Europe’s energy supply vulnerability once again. For years, European consumers have had to contend with last-minute strikes of ground personnel and cabin crew during peak summer travel. This year, strikes may be viewed as a minor nuisance compared to what’s coming within weeks—a jet fuel supply crisis that could ground flights and hike fares. The war in Iran has cut most of Europe’s imports of jet fuel,…

As technology continues to improve, many renewable energy developers are increasingly using automation to develop commercial-scale projects, such as solar and wind farms. Tech companies have made significant improvements to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic equipment in recent years, with different types of robots now available to perform a wide variety of tasks. This is reducing the burden on humans in the development phase of new renewable energy projects, with robots now capable of conducting tasks that may be dangerous for people to…

The United Kingdom has been rapidly increasing its deployment of new renewable energy capacity in recent years, to the point that it now has some to spare during peak production hours. While the U.K. gradually increases its battery storage, the government is encouraging consumers to use more electricity during certain times of the day to help shift reliance away from fossil fuels to green alternatives. Consumers are being asked by the government to use high-consumption appliances, such as dishwashers and washing machines, as well as electric vehicle…

Europe’s supermajors are set to report a strong quarter later this month and in early May thanks to their trading divisions. While Big Oil does not report trading profits, BP, Shell, TotalEnergies, and Equinor all signaled they are making a lot of money on trade with oil and gas in what some say is the worst supply crisis in history. Shell was the first to flag “significantly higher” profits from oil and gas trading in its financial report for the first quarter of the year. The company attributed the expected windfall on the extreme…

By now, a familiar narrative has returned to Europe’s energy debate. The transition, we are told, went too far, too fast, and too blindly. Politicians chased climate headlines, imposed unrealistic targets, burdened households with costs, and pushed industry toward the exit. It is a compelling story. It is also the wrong one. Europe’s real mistake was not moving too quickly on clean energy. It was moving halfway. We invested in renewable generation, but underinvested in the grids, storage, flexibility, and electrification required to…

As governments look to diversify their energy mix by expanding renewable energy capacity, many are turning to solar and wind power. Meanwhile, hydropower is often overlooked by countries that do not have a tradition of hydropower production. With the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, the price of fossil fuels is being pushed ever higher due to severe shortages of oil and gas. This is encouraging governments worldwide to assess their energy security and consider developing various energy sources to support greater diversification…