Oil prices were rallying again on Wednesday after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) captured two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude for June delivery gained 2.99% to trade at $101.40 per barrel at 3.49 pm ET, while the corresponding WTI crude contract was up 3.18% to change hands at $92.52/bbl. Iranian state media reported that the vessels violated maritime regulations, operated without permits, and tampered with navigation systems. The IRGC identified the seized ships as Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Liberia-flagged…

Asian countries have been buying all the oil they can get their hands on since the Strait of Hormuz shut down for business. Thanks to ample supply of seaborne crude oil, mostly consisting of sanctioned Russian and Iranian crude, the shock from the fallout of the war has been somewhat mitigated—but not for long. As that supply runs out, the shock is looming ever larger. Iran closed Hormuz for traffic right after the United States and Israel bombed it on February 28. Since then, tanker traffic has been sporadic, sending international oil prices…

Oil producers in the Middle East would typically rejoice at oil prices of $100 per barrel as they would see windfall revenues from their exports. But since the Iran war trapped most oil and gas shipments at the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf economies have lost billions of dollars in oil revenues and haven’t seen any upside from the oil price spike. The United Arab Emirates, one of the richest Gulf countries, hasn’t been spared from crashing revenues from oil, and tourism, too, as airlines have cut routes to avoid the war zone, which the…

Saddam Hussein’s favorite movie was reportedly “The Godfather.” A central theme in the story is the attempts of Michael Corleone, the godfather, to turn the Corleone Family into a legitimate business. Many of today’s leaders of Iraq’s Iran-aligned militias (and their families) were persecuted by Saddam’s security services and could not enjoy the luxury of foreign films, but they would understand Michael’s dilemma. The “founding charter” of Iraq’s militias is arguably Coalition Provisional…

A reprieve from high gasoline prices in California is in the works — though it won’t please everyone in a state that has vilified Big Oil.On Monday, Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) and Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) announced they have secured enough long-term shipper commitments to advance a proposed pipeline to supply fuel to Arizona and California. According to the companies, the Western Gateway Pipeline will connect Midwest and Gulf Coast refinery supply to Phoenix, Arizona and California markets with connectivity to Las Vegas, Nevada, via Kinder…

Hochschild Mining revealed a near 40 per cent rise in the average price of the gold it produces this morning, burnishing the appeal of a sector with a long history in the City. The news propelled shares in the £3bn, 100-year-old firm onto the leaderboard of the FTSE 250. Hochschild's stock strode over 2% higher to 672p, the fourth-biggest rise of the day. In a trading update for the first quarter, it reported an “average realisable price” for gold of $4,471/ounce for gold. At its annual results in March, the equivalent figure…

Brazil posted a record trade surplus of $14.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 47.6% increase compared to the same period in 2025 thanks in large part to high oil prices. Brazil’s crude oil exports climbed 31% Y/Y to $12.56 billion in the first quarter, with China accounting for 57% of oil exports at $7.2 billion, and 65% of crude exports in March alone. In contrast, oil exports to the U.S. collapsed by 40% to just $632 million while overall exports fell 18.7% due to new tariff pressures and shifting corporate strategies. Interestingly,…

Brazil posted a record trade surplus of $14.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 47.6% increase compared to the same period in 2025 thanks in large part to high oil prices. Brazil’s crude oil exports climbed 31% Y/Y to $12.56 billion in the first quarter, with China accounting for 57% of oil exports at $7.2 billion, and 65% of crude exports in March alone. In contrast, oil exports to the U.S. collapsed by 40% to just $632 million while overall exports fell 18.7% due to new tariff pressures and shifting corporate strategies. Interestingly,…

Brazil posted a record trade surplus of $14.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 47.6% increase compared to the same period in 2025 thanks in large part to high oil prices. Brazil’s crude oil exports climbed 31% Y/Y to $12.56 billion in the first quarter, with China accounting for 57% of oil exports at $7.2 billion, and 65% of crude exports in March alone. In contrast, oil exports to the U.S. collapsed by 40% to just $632 million while overall exports fell 18.7% due to new tariff pressures and shifting corporate strategies. Interestingly,…

We knew there was a reason why China had accumulated a cool 1.5 billion barrels in its strategic petroleum reserve: the reason, to become the world's strategist petroleum reserve when the time arises... for a price of course. According to the chief executive officer of commodity trader Mercuria, Chinese oil companies have been aggressive sellers in recent weeks, selling barrels to several nations in tenders. “What has been happening in the last two or three weeks is actually they have been aggressively selling crude oil,” Mercuria CEO…

The global energy crisis has reshaped global energy priorities seemingly overnight. The Strait of Hormuz has been closed to virtually all commercial traffic for well over a month now, severely restricting global flows of oil and gas. As a result, global energy prices have skyrocketed, and supplies have tightened, pushing many countries to explore alternative energy pathways in a big hurry. This has led to an unfortunate resurgence of coal-fired power, especially in Asia – but it is also set to supercharge the clean energy industry on a global…

Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) has unveiled plans to invest 1.16 trillion yen ($7.3 billion) in exploration and production in a bid to quadruple oil and gas output over the next decade, mainly in the United States. Japex has set a goal to raise net profit to 100 billion yen and achieve a 12% Return on Equity (ROE) by 2035. In February, Japex completed the acquisition of Denver-based tight oil company, Verdad Resources, in a $1.3-billion deal, the company’s largest ever M&A transaction. The merger gives Japex exposure to the sprawling…

Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) has unveiled plans to invest 1.16 trillion yen ($7.3 billion) in exploration and production in a bid to quadruple oil and gas output over the next decade, mainly in the United States. Japex has set a goal to raise net profit to 100 billion yen and achieve a 12% Return on Equity (ROE) by 2035. In February, Japex completed the acquisition of Denver-based tight oil company, Verdad Resources, in a $1.3-billion deal, the company’s largest ever M&A transaction. The merger gives Japex exposure to the sprawling…

Japan Petroleum Exploration (Japex) has unveiled plans to invest 1.16 trillion yen ($7.3 billion) in exploration and production in a bid to quadruple oil and gas output over the next decade, mainly in the United States. Japex has set a goal to raise net profit to 100 billion yen and achieve a 12% Return on Equity (ROE) by 2035. In February, Japex completed the acquisition of Denver-based tight oil company, Verdad Resources, in a $1.3-billion deal, the company’s largest ever M&A transaction. The merger gives Japex exposure to the sprawling…

A Kyrgyz-registered cryptocurrency exchange, slapped with Western sanctions for helping Russia finance its war effort in Ukraine, has experienced a hack that sucked over 1 billion rubles (over $13 million) out of users’ crypto wallets. The exchange, Grinex, announced via its Telegram channel on April 16 that it was suspending operations. Exchange representative alleged the hack was the work of foreign special services seeking to disrupt Russian efforts to evade sanctions and finance the procurement of needed goods and technologies, RFE/RL reported.…

Unidentified traders executed a highly suspicious $430-million bearish bet on crude oil futures roughly 15 minutes before President Trump announced an indefinite extension of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. The traders placed a total of 4,260 sell orders for Brent crude futures during a "post-settlement" period when trading volume is typically extremely low, with the directional trades occurring between 19:54 and 19:56 GMT on Tuesday, just minutes before Trump announced the extension around 20:10 GMT on Tuesday. Brent crude prices plunged from $100.91…

Unidentified traders executed a highly suspicious $430-million bearish bet on crude oil futures roughly 15 minutes before President Trump announced an indefinite extension of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. The traders placed a total of 4,260 sell orders for Brent crude futures during a "post-settlement" period when trading volume is typically extremely low, with the directional trades occurring between 19:54 and 19:56 GMT on Tuesday, just minutes before Trump announced the extension around 20:10 GMT on Tuesday. Brent crude prices plunged from $100.91…

Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 1.9 million barrels during the week ending April 17, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 465.7 million barrels according to government data, which is still 3% above the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories saw a draw of 4.4 million barrels in the period.…

Lufthansa Group will remove a total of 20,000 short-haul flights from its European summer schedule, Europe’s biggest airline said as the airline industry faces jet fuel shortages and soaring prices. The cancellation of the 20,000 uneconomical short-haul flights through October would save the group about 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel, the price of which has doubled since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, Lufthansa said. “For the flights scheduled in the summer timetable, the Group expects a largely stable fuel supply,” the airline…

Lufthansa Group will remove a total of 20,000 short-haul flights from its European summer schedule, Europe’s biggest airline said as the airline industry faces jet fuel shortages and soaring prices. The cancellation of the 20,000 uneconomical short-haul flights through October would save the group about 40,000 metric tons of jet fuel, the price of which has doubled since the outbreak of the Iran conflict, Lufthansa said. “For the flights scheduled in the summer timetable, the Group expects a largely stable fuel supply,” the airline…