Geopolitics And Regional Stability News

Oil company Saudi Aramco has told at least two European refining customers they will receive no crude oil next month following an attack on Saudi Arabia's key pipeline to the Red Sea, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.European refiners typically buy Saudi crude under term contracts that guarantee monthly supplies, but Aramco has informed customers that next month's deliveries will not proceed, the report said.Saudi Arabia earlier informed…

Oil prices eased about 2% on Thursday to a one-week low, after reports of additional Saudi crude cargoes through Oman eased supply concerns, though prices stayed above $100 a barrel on fears the Middle East conflict could widen.Brent crude futures were down $2.67, or 2.5%, to $103.13 a barrel at 12:03 p.m. ET (1603 GMT), after touching their lowest level since September 10. US West Texas Intermediate futures were down $1.61, or 1.6%, at $100.82 a barrel, their lowest since September 11.

Higher energy prices resulting from the Iran war could add nearly €7.4 billion ($8.5 billion) to Spanish manufacturers' costs through the end of 2026, an industry lobby group said on Wednesday.Of the extra costs stemming from current prices, gas would account for €4.2 billion and electricity for €3.2 billion, with 70% of the impact expected between September and December, the Alliance for the Competitiveness of Spanish Industry said in a statement.The group, which represents 60% of Spain's gross industrial product, urged authorities to maintain existing support and introduce stronger measures

Global energy markets face a lengthening period of tight supply and price volatility as the industry's ability to offset disruptions from the Middle East is dwindling, senior executives from Shell and Equinor said on Wednesday.Attacks on oil tankers in the Middle East helped push crude prices towards $110 a barrel this week for the first time since May.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched a new attack on Saudi Arabia on Monday and Gulf Arab states postponed planned talks with Iran, underscoring fears that the Middle East conflict could spread further and threaten global oil supplies.U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wanted to reach a deal with Washington, signalling a possible diplomatic opening despite the widening regional tensions."The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A.

Oil prices jumped over 4% to a 16-week high on Monday after new strikes on Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure and attacks on ships in the Middle East compounded energy supply concerns.Brent futures rose $4.68, or 4.5%, to $109.29 per barrel at 10:15 a.m. EDT (1415 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $4.21, or 4.2%, to $104.26.That kept both benchmarks in technically overbought territory for more than a week and put Brent and WTI on track for their highest closes since May 19.Arab states in the Gulf called off a meeting with Iran planned for Monday…

Brent crude futures breached $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since late July after Iran and the U.S. struck tankers in the biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the war began, threatening to worsen the ongoing impairment of energy supplies from the Middle East.Front-month Brent crude futures were up $3.04, or 3.1%, at $100.95 a barrel as of 1:39 p.m. EDT (1739 GMT), after touching a high of $101.58. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $2.75, or 3%, at $95.78 a barrel…

Global trade in goods has strengthened from June despite geopolitical and policy-related uncertainties, the World Trade Organization said on Wednesday, signaling resilience in merchandise flows even as risks remain elevated.The September reading of the WTO's barometer tracking merchandise trade growth was 102, an improvement from the June barometer of 101.7, with growth remaining above trend.The WTO publishes its Goods Trade Barometer four times a year. It covers export orders…

Chicago wheat futures jumped on Tuesday as hopes faded for a U.S. diplomatic effort to end the war in Ukraine, which has disrupted Black Sea grain shipments, analysts and traders said.Corn and soybean futures chopped up and down as traders adjusted positions ahead of Friday's U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand report.The most-traded wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was 4-3/4 cents higher to $7.38-3/4 per bushelas of 11:00 a.m. CT (1600 GMT). It had jumped as high as $7.63 in earlier overnight trade.CBOT corn fell 2-3/4 cents to $5.34 a bushel…

Oil prices rose to a six-week high on Tuesday after Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen attacked Saudi energy facilities, setting oil installations ablaze and threatening a major expansion of the six-month-old Middle East war.Brent crude futures rose 70 cents, or 0.7%, to $97.70 a barrel at 10:56 a.m. EDT (1456 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.21, or 1.3%, to $92.69. That puts Brent on track for its highest close since July 23 and WTI on track for its highest close since June 4.The Houthis attacked four cities in the south of U.S.-ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday…

Russia hammered Ukrainian ports, industrial sites and retailers' distribution facilities with missiles and drones in an hours-long attack on Kyiv and other cities that was partly repelled, Ukrainian officials said on Thursday.Commuters went to work in the capital to the boom of air defences firing at waves of drones after an overnight barrage that Ukraine's military said included an unspecified number of ballistic missiles and 258 drones."Overnight, Russia carried out a massive strike against Ukraine…

Iran and Oman are still working on the details of an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source said on Wednesday, after Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the two countries had agreed how to share the waterway and its revenues.The elite force's spokesperson, echoing Tehran's official stance, also said the strait would not open unless the U.S. met Tehran's conditions under an interim ceasefire agreement that was struck in June before unravelling. Those conditions include an end to the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday no talks were taking place with Iran and none were scheduled, and he insisted that the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting an earlier Iranian assertion that the critical waterway remained shut to shipping.The receding prospects of a deal to end the nearly six-month conflict drove up oil prices again on Tuesday, while stock markets sagged and borrowing costs for major economies including the U.S. hit multi-decade highs, amid concerns…

Iran has decided to shift its policy from defensive to "fully offensive" due to the deadlock in efforts to agree a permanent end to its war with the United States, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday.Progress towards peace talks and a resumption of oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt, with no sign that the warring parties are moving towards ending the conflict that the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28."Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region…

Companies from Africa, Europe, the US and Latin America offered strategies for steering through a challenging period of complex geopolitics, price volatility and supply chain congestion at a session of The Heavy Lift Group's (THLG) 74th Annual Conference.Moderated by Colin D'Abreo, VP Director Rhenus Project Logistics Global, panellist Iris Mueleians, Managing Director of Germany's Ried Group, told an international audience that customer priorities focused on securing local know-how to manage risk…

Transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to grind to a near standstill on Friday after two more ships were attacked there and the United States said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely.A senior Iranian source said on Wednesday that there had been no progress in talks to build on a June agreement to end the war. Since the ceasefire renewed in the June deal broke down, Iran has resumed attacks on ships it accuses of trying to transit the strait without its…

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia will respond in kind if European countries start to seize Russian merchant vessels and the commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet said his forces were ready to "inspect and detain" foreign vessels from what he called hostile states.The comments, which Putin made as he oversaw navy drills in Russia's far east, come as the EU tries to ratchet up pressure on Russia's so-called shadow fleet, expanding sanctions against hundreds of vessels and detaining some ships and their crews for checks.

The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed as long as the U.S. does not change its behaviour and accept Iran's conditions to end the war, the newly appointed secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said on Tuesday.His comments are the strongest indication so far that any deal in talks with Oman over the waterway would not immediately reopen it to shipping if the U.S. does not also abide by its commitments in a memorandum of understanding towards ending the conflict…

OPEC oil output rose further in July, a Reuters survey found, as Gulf members restored supplies that were shut due to the Iran war and effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.Output by the 11-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries rose by 1.17 million barrels per day month-on-month to 19.85 million bpd, the survey found.That extended the recovery from May, which was the lowest monthly figure since at least 2000, according to Reuters surveys, and also well below…

Oil prices jumped 3% on Monday after Iran said the U.S. must lift sanctions on Tehran, pay reparations and meet a number of other conditions before the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.Brent crude futures were up $2.48, or 3%, at $86.03 a barrel by 10:44 a.m. EDT (1444 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up $2.43, or 3.1%, at $80.61.Both benchmarks fell more than 7% last week on hopes that Iran and Oman were close to reaching a deal that would result in a reopening of the strait…

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Friday it was being significantly impacted by what it described as unprovoked attacks on its people and assets, as it sought to continue meeting customer requirements in an "exceptionally challenging environment."ADNOC said in a statement that 15 of its vessels had been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict, including three this week, leaving one crew member dead and 20 injured.The Strait of Hormuz…

U.S. imports of Middle Eastern crude are set to hit about 600,000 barrels per day in August, the highest since the Iran war began, as a brief opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the rerouting of Saudi oil through the Suez Canal pushed barrels toward American ports, ship-tracking data showed.Nearly a dozen ships loaded with Middle Eastern crude were headed to U.S. ports as American refiners and traders moved swiftly to snap up barrels that exited the strait when a memorandum of understanding signed by U.S.

Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on the geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, and a joint announcement is being finalised, provided certain third parties did not interfere, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday.Baghaei added that any such agreement between Iran and Oman would not, by itself, guarantee security in the strategic waterway.The proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz…