OPEC's oil production rebounded sharply in June as Gulf producers finally began bringing shut-in barrels back online after months of war-induced disruptions. But despite the impressive headline number, the cartel is still pumping nowhere near where it was before the Strait of Hormuz crisis turned Middle East oil flows upside down. According to Reuters' monthly survey, the 11 OPEC members produced 19.43 million barrels per day in June, up 3.3 million bpd from May, when output plunged to the lowest level recorded by the survey since at least 2000.…

Six months after Operation Epic Fury upended the metals complex, the Strait of Hormuz still can't decide if it's open. Days after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17, Iran's military declared the strait closed again, only for Iran's own foreign ministry to tell state media shipping was “operating normally.”  Under that same agreement, Washington has until July 19 to fully lift its naval blockade, while Tehran is only committed to its “best efforts” to restore pre-war traffic. Base metals…

Numbers Report – July 03, 2026 In the latest edition of the Numbers Report, we will take a look at some of the most interesting figures put out this week in the energy and metals sectors. Each week we’ll dig into some data and provide a bit of explanation on what drives the numbers. Let’s take a look. 1. Hormuz Turns Oil Outlooks Into a Guessing Game - Energy market research organizations have started to recalibrate their global supply outlooks for 2026 and 2027, with the US Energy Information Administration seeing a much slower…

Russia's fuel crisis has reached the point where one of the world's biggest oil producers is preparing to import jet fuel. According to Reuters, Russia is set to receive at least 200,000 barrels of jet fuel originating in Japan through a complex chain of traders and ship-to-ship transfers via South Korea, underscoring just how badly Ukrainian drone strikes have disrupted the country's refining system. The cargo is expected to load from Chiba, Japan, in the first half of July before heading to South Korea's Yeosu port for a ship-to-ship transfer.…

The Trump administration is taking its campaign against high gasoline prices to the states, and it’s doing it formally. A little more than a week after President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate possible price gouging at the pump, federal antitrust regulators have formally asked state attorneys general to join the effort, warning that oil market volatility is no excuse for anticompetitive behavior. In a letter sent Friday seen by CBS News, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission said they are actively…

The Trump administration is taking its campaign against high gasoline prices to the states, and it’s doing it formally. A little more than a week after President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate possible price gouging at the pump, federal antitrust regulators have formally asked state attorneys general to join the effort, warning that oil market volatility is no excuse for anticompetitive behavior. In a letter sent Friday seen by CBS News, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission said they are actively…

The Trump administration is taking its campaign against high gasoline prices to the states, and it’s doing it formally. A little more than a week after President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate possible price gouging at the pump, federal antitrust regulators have formally asked state attorneys general to join the effort, warning that oil market volatility is no excuse for anticompetitive behavior. In a letter sent Friday seen by CBS News, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission said they are actively…

The Trump administration is taking its campaign against high gasoline prices to the states, and it’s doing it formally. A little more than a week after President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate possible price gouging at the pump, federal antitrust regulators have formally asked state attorneys general to join the effort, warning that oil market volatility is no excuse for anticompetitive behavior. In a letter sent Friday seen by CBS News, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission said they are actively…

The Trump administration is taking its campaign against high gasoline prices to the states, and it’s doing it formally. A little more than a week after President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate possible price gouging at the pump, federal antitrust regulators have formally asked state attorneys general to join the effort, warning that oil market volatility is no excuse for anticompetitive behavior. In a letter sent Friday seen by CBS News, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission said they are actively…

Oil prices remain stuck in a tight range as traders look past geopolitical headlines and wait for clarity on the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Friday, July 03, 2026 Following weeks of extremely volatile and geopolitics-driven trading, oil prices have been exceptionally calm this week, with ICE Brent trending within a narrow range of $71-73 per barrel. This partly stems from pre-holiday liquidity dips; however, it could also be seen as the oil markets’ general fatigue with gauging the current status of the US-Iran ceasefire. Iraq Mends Its…

Russia carried out one of its largest attacks on Ukraine's capital this year, reigniting demands in the United States and Europe for tougher military and economic measures against Moscow.Ukrainian officials said at least 27 people were killed and scores of others wounded in the large-scale attack on Kyiv on July 2, which caused fires and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and residential buildings across several districts.The scale of the assault drew swift condemnation from lawmakers in Washington, where debate over future aid to Ukraine…

TotalEnergies is offering millions of barrels of Iraq’s Basrah Medium and Basrah Heavy crudes for prompt delivery to Asia this month and next, traders who had received some of these offers told Bloomberg on Friday. Iraq, one of the Persian Gulf producers most hit by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has been offering crude on the spot market with deep discounts and only on a loading basis, which means buyers need to secure empty tankers to move inbound into the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz. But TotalEnergies, one of the top commodity…

TotalEnergies is offering millions of barrels of Iraq’s Basrah Medium and Basrah Heavy crudes for prompt delivery to Asia this month and next, traders who had received some of these offers told Bloomberg on Friday. Iraq, one of the Persian Gulf producers most hit by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has been offering crude on the spot market with deep discounts and only on a loading basis, which means buyers need to secure empty tankers to move inbound into the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz. But TotalEnergies, one of the top commodity…

TotalEnergies is offering millions of barrels of Iraq’s Basrah Medium and Basrah Heavy crudes for prompt delivery to Asia this month and next, traders who had received some of these offers told Bloomberg on Friday. Iraq, one of the Persian Gulf producers most hit by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has been offering crude on the spot market with deep discounts and only on a loading basis, which means buyers need to secure empty tankers to move inbound into the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz. But TotalEnergies, one of the top commodity…

Japan’s biggest oil refiner, Eneos Holdings, will likely move to diversify its crude supply from a heavy dependence on the Middle East in the wake of the shock disruption of flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the company’s chief financial officer, Soichiro Tanaka, told Reuters in an interview published on Friday. Before the Iran war, Japan and its refiners relied on the Middle East for a massive 95% of all crude imports. But the shock loss of supply forced refiners to seek alternatives and the government to release oil from strategic…

Japan’s biggest oil refiner, Eneos Holdings, will likely move to diversify its crude supply from a heavy dependence on the Middle East in the wake of the shock disruption of flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the company’s chief financial officer, Soichiro Tanaka, told Reuters in an interview published on Friday. Before the Iran war, Japan and its refiners relied on the Middle East for a massive 95% of all crude imports. But the shock loss of supply forced refiners to seek alternatives and the government to release oil from strategic…

America's biggest power grid pushed to the edge of an all-time record this week, and the bigger force behind it may be tied to data centers. PJM Interconnection, which delivers power to 67 million people across 13 states and Washington, D.C., saw electricity demand surge to roughly 163 gigawatts on Thursday as a brutal heat dome pushed heat indices past 110 degrees from Washington to New York, according to Reuters. That fell just short of the grid's 2006 all-time peak of 165,563 megawatts, even after PJM had forecast Thursday's load could top 166,000…

India’s strategic and commercial crude oil inventories have jumped to a nearly one-year high as the world’s third-largest crude oil buyer boosted its imports to a record high in June. As at the end of June, India’s crude oil stocks held in strategic, commercial, and refinery storage had increased to 104 million barrels, up from 90.5 million barrels at the end of April, according to data from commodity intelligence provider Kpler cited by Indian outlet Economic Times. Before the Iran war began, India held 107 million in crude oil…

Previously, we reported that Abu Dhabi’s flagship crude, Murban crude, has rapidly risen to prominence, with Murban crude futures having rapidly evolved from a regional benchmark into a primary global pricing standard. Known for its high API gravity and low sulfur content, Murban serves as a globally recognized energy benchmark traded on the ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD) exchange. By offering continuous screen-trading, deep liquidity and the removal of destination restrictions, Murban has bypassed older, restricted benchmarks like Platts Dubai,…

Iran is wasting no time in returning full steam to the oil export market after the Islamic Republic and the United States agreed in mid-June on a 60-day window to negotiate a deal. Since the memorandum of understanding was signed and the U.S. blockade aimed at preventing Iranian oil exports was lifted, Tehran has exported millions of barrels of its oil and has probably raised more revenues from these sales as the discounts of the Iranian crude to benchmarks have narrowed. In the memorandum of understanding, Iran won several key concessions for…