The Trump administration has grand plans for “ENSURING AMERICAN SPACE SUPERIORITY.” When NASA sent humans to the moon for the first time this century earlier this month, the organization made it clear that this is just the “opening act” for a new and revitalized era of space exploration. Under the Trump administration, NASA has enormous ambitions, going as far as to plan a permanent base on the moon, which will need never-before-seen energy innovations to maintain a secure source of power. This week, the federal government…

A massive drought has emerged across large swaths of the US agricultural belt, threatening crops and livestock and eventually affecting food prices, at a time when fertilizer and diesel costs are soaring. As of early April, 60% of the Lower 48 is in drought as the Northern Hemisphere growing season begins and farmers begin plantings, according to NOAA. The southern US is already experiencing severe, extreme, and even exceptional drought conditions, putting pressure on key crops such as sugarcane, rice, and peanuts, while fruit trees have also been…

Oil tankers are beginning to test the waters at the Strait of Hormuz. At least eight crude carriers started advancing toward the chokepoint within hours of Iran declaring the Strait open to shipping under a ceasefire framework. Five vessels that had been idling north of Dubai moved first, followed by three more positioned roughly 70 miles west, according to vessel tracking data cited by Bloomberg. It’s the first real sign of life in a corridor that has effectively been frozen since late February, when conflict in the region choked off flows…

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 543,  down 42 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs slipped by 1 to 410 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 63 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 2 after falling in the week prior as well. Gas rigs now sit at 125, which is 19 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous…

As US President Donald Trump says the war in Iran could be over "very soon" and Pakistani mediators in Tehran prepare to meet with officials, another nearby conflict has been drawing Beijing's attention. Since late February, fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan has intensified, with Islamabad declaring an "open war" with its neighbor. Strikes have killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan. The conflict has alarmed the international…

The Spanish market and competition regulator on Friday opened probes into potential breaches of power sector rules as part of a wider investigation into last year's blackout in the country. Spain's grid buckled on April 28, 2025, leaving the country, most of Portugal, and, for shorter periods of time, parts of France, without electricity. Investigations and multiple reports have found over the past year that the immediate cause of the worst blackout Europe has ever seen in modern times was a surge in voltage. On Friday, the Spanish market and competition…

The Spanish market and competition regulator on Friday opened probes into potential breaches of power sector rules as part of a wider investigation into last year's blackout in the country. Spain's grid buckled on April 28, 2025, leaving the country, most of Portugal, and, for shorter periods of time, parts of France, without electricity. Investigations and multiple reports have found over the past year that the immediate cause of the worst blackout Europe has ever seen in modern times was a surge in voltage. On Friday, the Spanish market and competition…

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are predicting growth rates to slow in the coming years across Central Asia and the Caucasus. Azerbaijan is projected to be the lone state in the two regions to buck the trend and register moderate growth. The economic disruption created by the US-Israeli blitz on Iran is a wild-card factor affecting growth projections, according to the two banks’ most recent updates. The World Bank’s Economic Update for the Europe and Central Asia region also cites geopolitical tensions and trade fragmentation…

A milder 2025 summer and heavy rainfalls in the monsoon season later dragged down the growth in India's electricity consumption in the fiscal year ended March 2026 to the lowest level in six years. The electricity supplied by India's state power retailers between April 2025 and March 2026 increased by less than 1% compared to the previous fiscal year, according to data from the country's Central Electricity Authority cited by Bloomberg. The growth was India's slowest since the 2020-2021 fiscal year when the Covid pandemic and related restrictions…

Oil markets are hanging on U.S.–Iran talks as hopes for reopening the Strait of Hormuz push prices lower—but failure could trigger shortages and a new price spike. Friday, April 17, 2026 Oil markets are fixated on this weekend’s second round of US-Iran talks, with hopes rising for a negotiated end to the Strait of Hormuz’s 45-day blockade. Iran’s announcements that navigation through Hormuz is open come after Trump managed to seal a shaky Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, sending ICE Brent below $90 per barrel again. The negotiations…

A labor dispute could soon lead to industrial action at the Ichthys LNG plant offshore Western Australia, potentially further crippling global LNG supply at a time when 20% is already offline due to the missile strikes at Qatar's key plant and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The labor dispute has been brewing for days after the operator of Ichthys LNG, Japanese energy firm Inpex, proposed a new employment agreement that trade unions have slammed as 'sub-standard' in terms of wages and benefits. Employees have voted to reject the employment…

A labor dispute could soon lead to industrial action at the Ichthys LNG plant offshore Western Australia, potentially further crippling global LNG supply at a time when 20% is already offline due to the missile strikes at Qatar's key plant and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The labor dispute has been brewing for days after the operator of Ichthys LNG, Japanese energy firm Inpex, proposed a new employment agreement that trade unions have slammed as 'sub-standard' in terms of wages and benefits. Employees have voted to reject the employment…

When a geopolitical shock hits energy markets, the same pattern plays out: diesel prices spike fast, while gasoline lags behind. According to data from the Energy Information Administration, since the conflict in Iran began through to 4/6/26, the national average price of gasoline has risen by $1.11 per gallon. Meanwhile, diesel prices are up $1.75 per gallon. That divergence is important because diesel underpins freight and logistics, amplifying inflationary pressures across the broader economy. We saw this exact pattern after Russia’s invasion…

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is "completely open" to commercial shipping for the remainder of the US-Iran ceasefire, a declaration that drew an immediate public thank-you from President Trump. "In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran," Araghchi wrote on X. Trump…

Indian refiners that have bought Iranian crude under the one-month U.S. waiver on Iran's oil on tankers are settling the purchases in Chinese yuan via the Shanghai office of India's ICICI Bank, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting multiple sources familiar with the deals. After initial hesitancy following the temporary U.S. waiver on purchases of Iranian crude loaded on tankers, some Indian refiners have opted to buy Iranian oil during the window of 'unsanctioned' crude from Iran that closes on Sunday, April 19. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary…

Indian refiners that have bought Iranian crude under the one-month U.S. waiver on Iran's oil on tankers are settling the purchases in Chinese yuan via the Shanghai office of India's ICICI Bank, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting multiple sources familiar with the deals. After initial hesitancy following the temporary U.S. waiver on purchases of Iranian crude loaded on tankers, some Indian refiners have opted to buy Iranian oil during the window of 'unsanctioned' crude from Iran that closes on Sunday, April 19. Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary…

Conflict Update (as of 12:00 a.m. ET, April 18) The U.S. rushed to lock in a 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire starting on Thursday because the Lebanon front was starting to blow up the Iran talks. The Lebanon ceasefire did not get off to a smooth start, with Israeli strikes continuing right up to the deadline, killing civilians, and Hezbollah openly signaling it doesn’t trust the deal. Iran backed the Lebanon pause immediately and tied it to its own ceasefire with Washington, making clear it expects the regional fighting to be part of any…

Israel failed to demonstrate any meaningful gains in its own version of the war with Iran. Now, it needs a new enemy to target, and preferably one that would cause a dangerous wedge. The target is Turkey, a very important U.S. ally in this conflict, and Netanyahu is now publicly attempting to tie Erdogan to Iran and its proxies. Simultaneously, the propaganda machines are working overtime, with U.S. media now taking the Israeli “think tank” bait and questioning Turkey’s place inside NATO, pointing to Hamas links and Muslim Brotherhood…

WTI and Brent crude traded through a volatile stretch from this week, driven almost entirely by headlines tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict. By Thursday night, June WTI crude was trading at $89.23, up $0.25, or 0.28%. The week started with a sharp rally as supply fears spiked, then shifted into a mix of profit-taking and cautious buying as traders weighed the risk of a longer disruption against the chance of renewed talks. At the center of everything was the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global oil, and the question of how long those…

Empty supertankers have left Asia en route to the U.S. via the Cape of Good Hope in one of the biggest queue of vessels ever seen at sea, as Asian buyers rush to load U.S. crude to replace part of the supply lost in the Middle East. "Tankers are forming what looks like a fleet, an unbroken line heading to the U.S.," Kpler's analyst Matt Smith has told Nikkei. "The queue of VLCCs bound for the U.S. is the biggest we've ever seen, highlighting a squeeze in oil supply," the analyst noted. Asia is starved of crude as its biggest suppliers, the oil…