Ireland launches €250M relief package as heating oil prices double
Heating oil prices in Ireland surged from about $545 to over $1,090 per fill within a month amid the Middle East conflict. The government responded with a €250 million ($273 million) relief package that includes excise cuts and a diesel rebate, though experts say a national energy‑security strategy is still lacking.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Oil majors acquire $164M of Alaska oil leases

The episode covers the rapid escalation of Iran's attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure following Israel's strike on an Iranian gas field, which sent Brent crude above $116 a barrel and spiked European gas prices over 20%. Host Luke Vargas and WSJ Asia editor Peter Landers discuss the potential for a cycle of retaliation, the impact on global oil and gas markets, and how the U.S., Russia, and Asian economies are responding to supply disruptions. The conversation also touches on the widening Israeli‑Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon and its geopolitical ramifications, including diplomatic pressure on Japan regarding the Strait of Hormuz.
Abaxx Singapore has been admitted as a Local Associate Member of the Singapore Bullion Market Association. The move underscores the launch of its kilobar‑native, physically deliverable gold futures contract and a pilot that uses digital title to mobilize vaulted gold...

Oil prices have surged above $100 a barrel, up from $60 earlier this year, as the Hormuz Strait bottleneck intensifies amid the US‑Israeli conflict with Iran. The spike mirrors the 2022 oil‑gas crisis, prompting governments to adopt emergency measures like...

Oil prices surged over 5% on Thursday, with Brent breaching $113 per barrel after Iran struck Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG hub and threatened the South Pars field shared with Israel. The attacks reignited regional energy‑supply fears, sending European gas up more...

Average US gasoline prices have surged 37% since the January lows, rising to the highest since 2022. The absolute price level, $3.88, is still within the range of normal from a historical perspective. But it's rising at an rapid clip,...
Oil prices jumped to roughly $115 a barrel after fresh attacks on Middle Eastern energy infrastructure, while European natural‑gas futures surged more than 20% following reports of extensive damage at Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG plant. The price spikes triggered broad equity...
The Daily Gold released an updated analysis of the ongoing precious‑metal correction, zeroing in on junior gold miner exposure via the GDXJ ETF, the broader gold market, and the silver‑focused SILJ ETF. The note highlights that gold has stalled near...
Reserves shouldn’t be for cushioning prices at this point… you may never know with the madmen bombing everything in the Middle East, there may be no fuel coming in at all… the reserves are for such times…. If it was...
The fertilizer crisis brewing because of Hormuz is going to be felt predominantly by people in some of the poorest nations on earth. Americans will only barely notice. Why? 1. The US, China, Europe, and other rich regions apply so much...

A Common Wealth think‑tank report proposes decoupling fossil‑gas prices from UK electricity pricing, estimating household bill reductions of up to £203 per year. In 2024 gas set the wholesale electricity price 85% of the time despite supplying only about 25% of...
North Sea Dated jumps above $112/bl as Europe absorbs delayed supply shocks from the Mideast war. https://www.metalnomist.com/2026/03/north-sea-dated-benchmark-hits-highest.html
Coffee prices, which surged to record highs in early 2025 due to adverse weather and U.S. tariffs, are now sliding toward $2 per pound as production forecasts improve. Analysts at the National Coffee Association convention warned that the commodity could...

The latest US weekly oil report shows crude inventories rising by 3.2 million barrels, while exports climbed to 4.1 million barrels per day. Imports slipped 0.5 million barrels, marking the lowest level since 2022. Refinery utilization surged to 92%, approaching...
Oil prices surged from $100 to $110 a barrel after Israel attacked Iran's largest gas processing plant, while the Fed kept rates steady and Powell delivered a neutral press conference. The S&P 500 dropped 91 points, slipping below its 200‑day...
Gold is forming a double‑top pattern despite strong support levels, prompting questions about its safe‑haven reliability. The article argues that gold’s protective role is linked to hedging against currency debasement, not crisis‑driven risk aversion. In market turmoil, liquidity dries up,...
Concerns mount over rate hangover after wartime tanker boom ends ▶️Global seaborne crude liftings volume plunged last week; alternatives to MEG are replacing only half of lost VLCC tonne-mile demand, according to Vortexa ⏩️Oil at ses is down ⏩️Nobody will keep oil at...

Brent is up 70% in the past month. This prices Strait of Hormuz tanker traffic at half its capacity indefinitely. With the Saudis diverting lots of oil to the Red Sea and Iran continuing to export, we're already almost at...

Minister Julie Collins warned that fertiliser shortages could hit Australian growers by late May or June if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. While current stocks cover the early cropping season, 95% of Australia’s urea—65% shipped through the Persian Gulf...
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI(Reuters)-India, a leading importer of fertilisers, is in talks to increase purchases from Russia, Belarus and Morocco as Middle East tensions and China's export curbs risk tightening supplies ahead of the summer planting season - government and industry sources
European gas buyers need to panic ... now. Brutal for the more price elastic EM buyers here.

Gold fell below the $5,000‑per‑ounce threshold, reaching $4,836, its lowest level since mid‑February, as inflation worries dampened expectations of U.S. rate cuts. Spot gold slipped 3 % while silver also dropped about 3 %, reflecting broader risk aversion. Rising energy costs tied...

European natural gas prices keep on rising and have now more than doubled )+134%) in just four weeks from €29/MWh on 17 February to €67/MWh today. Geopolitical tensions and wars always drive up gas prices. Not a bug in the system....
MUST READ: Coal remains king — even in 2026. "... Across Asia, a sharp drop in liquefied natural gas supplies is pushing major importers back toward coal, undermining LNG’s long-held role as a stable energy anchor..." https://t.co/MZqvZYa8RD

Crude prices rose on Wednesday as Iranian strikes hit the South Pars gas field and Asaluyeh processing facilities, shifting market concerns from shipping‑lane disruptions to direct infrastructure risk. Brent closed above $107 a barrel, while WTI settled at $96.32, widening the...

US national debt just hit ~$39T fueling fiat debasement fears. Gold's parabolic run to $5,000+/oz & silver to $120+/oz? Classic safe-haven hedge against exploding debt, uncertainty, central bank buying & weak dollar. $gld $slv https://t.co/IcA8Eo0nGL

European gas prices surge 30% after Qatar said the world’s largest LNG export plant was damaged in an Iranian attack (Still TTF futures are far from the record highs of 2022) https://t.co/FC5b6KjHpJ
Spot natural gas prices fell on Wednesday as warmer weather forecasts for the eastern United States are expected to curb heating demand. The modest price decline outweighed a slight uptick in demand driven by a heatwave in the western region....

World 1.5MBPD displaced by EVs in 2024 China in 2025 Oil market not about the 100 mbpd we use, but the 1-2 mbpd YOY change Oil markets break on variations > 1-2MBPD China's vehicle fleet electrification has just removed 250ML/day of China's demand...
Asia's Russian fuel imports poised to hit all-time high due to Middle East disruption https://t.co/VUFUxd0Npq

Precious metals experienced another round of selling pressure on Wednesday, with gold and silver posting significant declines after a hotter‑than‑expected inflation report. Palladium suffered the steepest drop, highlighting the breadth of the sell‑off that now extends over two and a...
It isn't just about higher crude anymore , as various petroleum based products are soaring. We discussed this on the latest Facts vs Feelings, complete with St Patrick's Day gear and some I'm Shipping Up To Boston 🎶 🎵 https://t.co/zEoEFfsk2d
This won't lower gasoline prices. The issue is overall global supply and not acute domestic shortages caused by transportation shortfalls.
ING strategist Francesco Pesole says a hawkish revision of the Federal Reserve’s Dot Plot could lift the U.S. dollar, especially as oil prices remain elevated amid the Iran conflict. Markets price only one rate cut by year‑end and could react...
Basically gold and silver have been ramping for months and months and months while everyone cited Truflation and deflation being the risk, when it finally became undeniable by both the fed and fed funds futures, new longs wonder why they...

Brent crude is trading around 110 while WTI (US-benchmark) is under 100 per barrel. The current Brent-WTI spread is hovering around $12, the widest it has been since April 2020 https://t.co/Ll4QYHc69V

The episode examines how the US‑Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have triggered a sharp supply shock for naphtha in Asia, inflating spreads, freight and war‑risk premiums while Europe and the US Gulf Coast remain buffered....
Good morning Asia, Brent rising but also watch products as we consume products not crude. For Asia, Qatari gas is very key & for some like Pakistan, that is 100% of supply. For others, still a big challenge, such as India. Even...
So much of this game is just trying your best not to learn the same lesson over and over again. The most recent re-learned lesson for me… common sense is nearly always a better foundation for a trade than expert wisdom...

Australia’s bitumen stocks are dwindling as Middle‑East conflicts disrupt supplies from Asian refineries, prompting the Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AFPA) to warn of possible depletion within weeks. Exporters have invoked force‑majeure clauses, cancelling contracts and driving price forecasts above a...

Do you remember when oil prices topped $150/barrel in the wake of the Libya strikes in 2011? And stayed above that price for most of the next two years? OK, you may not remember it because you probably weren't thinking about...

Breakdown in COMEX Copper joins Gold, Silver and Platinum in weakening as real yields turn back higher and Bund yields on the verge of a major multi-year breakout @IBDinvestors Investors Business Daily @marketsurge charts of Freeport McMoran $FCX fell also to...
Crude oil prices slipped modestly on Wednesday, with WTI for April delivery down 0.19% to $96.39 a barrel, as traders booked profits after a prior rally. Iraq announced the resumption of oil exports from Kirkuk, limiting shipments to 250,000 barrels...

The heatmap below shows that the oil futures curve remains heavily backwardated, indicating that the energy market believes that the current oil shock is a temporary supply problem that will get fixed. That’s probably correct but the question is how...

U.S. CRUDE OIL imports into the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) surged to the highest for almost six years last week as refiners and traders prepared for a possibly prolonged disruption of exports from the Persian Gulf. Crude imports into the...

This is a remarkable chart. Oil surges like the one we’ve seen recently have consistently preceded recessions. Chart by @thierryborgeat https://t.co/GpMNhNl06Y

Qatars industrial complex housing the world’s largest LNG export plant suffered “extensive damage” after an Iranian missile strike 🇶🇦 ⚠️ The plant provides 20% of global LNG supply, and was shut earlier this month. But a delayed restart (due to...
In my latest @ColumbiaUEnergy Energy Explained blog post, Neelesh Nerurkar & I argue that restricting US oil exports, once again reportedly being discussed in DC, would backfire—offering little relief to US consumers while imposing more significant economic and geopolitical costs
Not looking good. Crude exports down between 25% and 67% from the Middle East, depending on country
Oil companies going to make reasoned judgements about prices before boosting production a ton
Powell: "Near term measures of inflation expectations have risen in recent weeks likely reflecting the rise in oil prices causes by supply disruptions in the Middle East"