International LNG Prices Rise Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
The February 28 closure of the Strait of Hormuz halted roughly 10 billion cubic feet per day of LNG shipments, representing about 20% of global trade. European TTF futures jumped 35% to $14.80/MMBtu and Asian JKM futures surged 51% to $16.02/MMBtu, while U.S. Henry Hub prices slipped 9% as domestic demand eases. The United States has approved modest export capacity increases—0.5 Bcf/d at Plaquemines and 0.1 Bcf/d at Elba Island—but high terminal utilization limits any substantial offset of the missing supply.
Oil Rallies Toward $120 As Middle East Supply Risks Spiral
Oil prices surged on Wednesday as Brent crude for June delivery rose 6.45% to $118.40 a barrel and WTI jumped 7.20% to $107.10, driven by a tightening U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and the UAE’s announcement that it will leave...
Brent Closes Near Wartime High on Blockade Fears
Brent crude edged toward $90 a barrel on Wednesday, matching levels seen at the start of the Middle East conflict two months ago. The rally was driven by escalating fears that the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global...
Market Watch: June Nymex Slides As It Takes Over Prompt-Month
June NYMEX natural‑gas futures slipped 4.4 cents, settling at $2.647 per MMBtu. The decline reflects continued mild spring weather that suppresses heating demand. Analysts cite robust U.S. production and strong storage builds as key factors keeping prices near multi‑month lows....
Gas and LNG Markets, Apr. 29, 2026
The escalating conflict in the Middle East is reshaping global gas and LNG markets, pushing Brent crude close to wartime highs and sparking fears of supply disruptions. U.S. sanctions targeting Hormuz toll payments add a non‑kinetic pressure layer, while major...
Expand Energy Strikes New Delfin LNG Offtake Deal
Expand Energy announced it will increase its offtake commitment for the proposed Delfin LNG project in the Gulf of Mexico. The company aims to secure a larger share of the plant’s output to benefit from rising global LNG spot prices....
Critical Notices, Apr. 29, 2026
The April 29 Critical Notices roundup highlights several market‑moving items. Expand Energy, the United States’ largest gas producer, signed a new offtake agreement for Delfin LNG, targeting Gulf Coast export terminals to lock in higher overseas prices. Meanwhile, Russia’s Gazprom is...
Fertilizer Prices Have Doubled Since the Strait Closed
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Feb. 28 halted half of the world’s fertilizer feedstock shipments, causing fertilizer prices to more than double. Experts say even a cease‑fire won’t quickly restore natural‑gas supplies, so relief could take months or...
Copper Forecasts Electrify the Market as Small Producers Pursue Growth
Analysts at Chile’s Cesco Week 2026, led by BMO Capital Markets, see copper prices rebounding toward $13,100 per tonne by Q4 2026 and $13,425 in 2027, despite geopolitical headwinds. The bank cites renewed Chinese buying, US arbitrage activity and limited...
Oil Jumps to Highest Level Since June 2022 as War Continues
Oil prices surged to their highest level since June 2022 as the U.S.-Iran conflict and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz tightened global supply. Brent crude rose above $119.50 a barrel before settling near $118, while WTI hovered just...
Brent Crude Breaks the Iran War Highs
Brent crude surged past $100 a barrel on Thursday as geopolitical tension over Iran escalated. A Politico report revealed the White House convened with major oil executives to discuss measures to curb price spikes if the U.S. maintains its blockade...
Valero Energy Earnings To Skyrocket As Crack Spreads Soar Amid Iran War
Valero Energy is set to report Q1 earnings of $3.16 per share, a 255% year‑over‑year jump, despite only a 3.7% rise in sales to $31.38 billion. The surge is driven by a 73% increase in U.S. crack spreads, the strongest margin...
Venezuelan Crude Will Eventually Lower US Gas Prices: Chevron Exec
U.S. gasoline prices have risen to $4.17 per gallon, driven by a 56% jump in global oil prices since the Iran conflict. Chevron is importing about 250,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan crude to its Pascagoula refinery, providing modest relief...
CME Cash Dairy Prices Mixed
Cash dairy prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange showed mixed movement on April 29, 2026. Dry whey remained unchanged at $0.7025, while block butter rose $0.0225 to $1.63 per pound. Butter prices slipped $0.0450 to $1.65 despite strong demand, and...
2 Silver Mining Stocks to Watch Amid Industry Challenges
Silver prices, after a 170% surge in 2025, have stalled at roughly $73 per ounce, reflecting expectations of prolonged high interest rates and inflationary pressures. The Zacks Mining‑Silver industry, despite a 149.7% one‑year gain, ranks near the bottom of Zacks’...
Delayed Publication of Green Steel, Differential to Steel Reinforcing Bar (Rebar) Domestic, Delivered Northern Europe
Fastmarkets has postponed the release of its MB-STE-0926 assessment, which tracks the price differential between green steel and standard reinforcing bar (rebar) for domestic deliveries in Northern Europe. The data point is part of the company’s steel metals pricing package...
Midday Cash Livestock Markets
Midday cash livestock markets showed a modest rally in cattle, with live deals in Texas trading at $255‑$256 and dressed cattle in the North hitting $395‑$400, both roughly $10‑$14 above the prior week. Boxed beef prices slipped, with Choice and...
Aviation Sector Hit by War-Driven Fuel Shock and Network Disruption
The 2026 Iran conflict has sent jet fuel prices soaring to nearly twice pre‑war levels and forced the closure of airspace across Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE, prompting more than 52,000 flight cancellations. Global airline equities have shed...
Strait of Hormuz Nears Third Month of Closure
A Japan‑linked VLCC, Idemitsu Maru, successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz carrying roughly 2 million barrels of Saudi crude, marking the first non‑Iranian tanker to leave the region in ten days. The waterway’s effective closure, now in its third month, has halted...
Brent Oil Tops $118 After Trump Says He Will Blockade Iran Until It Agrees to a Nuclear Deal
Oil prices surged over 6% on Wednesday as President Donald Trump announced a U.S. naval blockade of Iran until Tehran agrees to a nuclear deal. Brent crude rose to $118.33 per barrel and WTI to $106.37, reflecting heightened fears of...
Trump Weighs Long Iran Blockade as Oil Market Fears Grow
President Donald Trump met with U.S. oil executives to discuss how to blunt the impact of a potential months‑long blockade of Iran’s ports, a move aimed at forcing Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The discussion covered production levels,...
Crude Oil Prices Surge over 7%, Extend Gains to 8th Day; Brent Tops $119 — What's Behind This Sharp Rally?
Crude oil prices surged more than 7% on Wednesday, marking an eighth consecutive session of gains and pushing Brent crude above $119 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 7.6% to $107.52, spurred by a sharp 6.2 million‑barrel draw in U.S....
Global Crude Steel Production Forecast Revision: Supply-Side Shocks Drive Jan-Apr 2026 Downgrade
Fastmarkets trimmed its 2026 global crude‑steel production outlook by 42.8 million tonnes, a 2% reduction from the January baseline. The downgrade stems from three supply‑side shocks: tighter capacity enforcement in China, war‑related plant damage in the Middle East, and margin‑driven cuts...
U.S. Gas Prices Climb Further as Effects of Iran War Reverberate
Oil prices rose sharply on Wednesday as the war in Iran continued to disrupt Persian Gulf energy supplies. Brent crude jumped to about $109 a barrel for July delivery, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose above $105 a barrel for...
The Cost of Prop 12
California’s Proposition 12, which mandates larger living spaces for breeding pigs, is now showing measurable economic fallout. USDA data and a North Dakota State University analysis reveal that state consumers have spent roughly $350 million more on pork over the past two...
Russia Says It Has No Plans to Leave OPEC+
Russia’s Kremlin says Moscow will not exit the OPEC+ alliance even after the United Arab Emirates announced its departure effective May 1. The statement, made by spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, underscores that Russia sees no viable path to raise output amid ongoing Ukrainian...
Gold, Silver Rates Today: Comex Gold Slides $86/Oz, Silver Drops $1.5/oz Ahead of US Fed Decision, Oil Surge
Gold and silver futures on the COMEX fell sharply on April 29, with gold dropping $86 to $4,522 per ounce and silver slipping $1.50 to $71.71, their lowest levels in a month and since early April respectively. The decline was...
Thailand Walked Into Its LNG Trap With Its Eyes Open – Long Before Hormuz
Thailand’s state power utility has spent roughly $2 billion on availability payments to gas‑fired plants that produced little or no electricity over the past three years. Those fixed fees now add about 0.63 baht per kilowatt‑hour to the 2026 tariff, representing almost...
Scoop: Trump Huddles with Oil Execs as Iran Stalemate Drags On
President Donald Trump convened a meeting at the White House with top oil and gas executives, including Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, to address the energy fallout from the ongoing Iran conflict. Attendees also included senior White House staff and Treasury...
Senator to File Bill Ending Morocco Duties: Correction
U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R‑Kansas) will introduce the Lowering of Input Costs for American Farmers Act, which would eliminate countervailing duties on phosphate imports from Morocco. The move aims to cut phosphate fertilizer prices by more than 20%, roughly $150...
MISO Capacity Prices Fall as New Supply Outpaces Demand Growth
MISO’s latest Planning Resource Auction saw capacity offerings rise 3.4% to 141 GW, driven largely by 5.6 GW of new accredited resources, more than half of which were solar. Prices plunged across the region, with annualized capacity prices dropping to $116‑$126 per...
Tanker Experts Digest Impact of UAE Exit From Opec
The United Arab Emirates announced its departure from OPEC, but experts say any impact on the global tanker market will be delayed. Even if the UAE ramps up oil exports immediately, the ongoing war in Iran limits short‑term market shifts....
LPG Under Recoveries Likely at ₹80,000 Crore in FY27: ICRA
ICRA warns that India’s LPG under‑recoveries could hit ₹80,000 crore (about $9.6 billion) in FY27 as West‑Asia supply disruptions push international prices higher. The agency also projects the fertiliser subsidy to climb to ₹2.05‑2.25 lakh crore (roughly $26 billion) amid raw‑material cost inflation and an...
UK Refineries Asked to Maximise Jet Fuel Production Amid Supply Fears
The UK government has asked the nation’s four remaining refineries to maximise jet‑fuel output as the Iran‑Israel conflict threatens to choke supply through the Strait of Hormuz. Energy Minister Michael Shanks warned that global jet‑fuel shipments have dropped to less...
Why China May Benefit From the UAE’s Opec Withdrawal Amid Iran War Oil Crisis
The United Arab Emirates will leave Opec on May 1, ending its role as the bloc’s third‑largest producer, which accounts for roughly 12% of total output. Analysts expect the move to give China greater flexibility to source more Emirati crude, potentially...
Middle East Diesel Spike Wipes Out 30 Per Cent of Log Volumes at NZ Ports
A diesel price surge driven by the Middle East conflict has slashed New Zealand’s log exports by more than 30% as contractors halt harvesting. Fuel now costs around NZ$4 per litre (≈US$2.40), wiping out margins for family‑owned logging firms that have...
Diesel Prices Decline Nationally While Gasoline Costs Rise Across U.S. Markets
Diesel prices slipped nationally this week, with the EIA reporting a 5‑cent drop to $5.351 per gallon, while gasoline climbed 8 cents to $4.123 per gallon. The West Coast saw the steepest diesel decline at 9 cents, whereas the Rocky...
Malaysian Fuel Prices April 30-May 6, 2026 – RON95 up 10 Sen, RM3.97; RON97 to RM4.90; Diesel Unchanged
Malaysia's Ministry of Finance announced weekly fuel prices for April 30‑May 6, 2026. Unsubsidised RON95 climbs 10 sen to RM3.97 ($0.87) per litre and RON97 rises 5 sen to RM4.90 ($1.08). Diesel B10 and B20 remain at RM5.12 ($1.13) per...
US Natural Gas Glut Shields Economy From Iran War Energy Crisis
The Iran war has driven natural‑gas prices sky‑high in Europe and Asia, but a massive supply glut in the U.S. Permian Basin has pushed domestic gas futures below $3 per MMBtu and even into negative territory, with prices hitting –$9.60...
California Almond Bearing Acreage Shrinks for the First Time in 30 Years
California’s bearing almond acreage slipped to an estimated 1.386 million acres for the 2026 crop year, marking the first decline since 1995. The drop of 15,227 acres follows four straight years of overall acreage contraction and 47,588 acres of orchard removals...
Macquarie Strategists Predict USA Crude Inventory Drop
Macquarie strategists forecast U.S. crude inventories will drop by 2.0 million barrels for the week ending April 24, following a 1.9 million‑barrel build the prior week. The model also anticipates a sizable 7.1 million‑barrel draw from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and modest increases in...
Gold Loses Lustre on Middle East War
Gold prices surged to a record‑near $5,600 per ounce in January but fell back to an average of $4,873 per ounce in the first quarter, as the World Gold Council reported a 5% drop in investment volumes. Heavy outflows in...
Japan’s Ferrous Scrap Exports Dip in March
Japan’s ferrous scrap exports slipped in March, falling 5.1% month‑on‑month to 597,000 tonnes and 7.5% year‑on‑year. The decline was driven by a sharp ¥7,000/t ($44/t) rise in domestic scrap prices, prompting suppliers to favor local mills. Exports to Vietnam rose...
Thai Influencer Sells Premium Durians for Dirt Cheap to Avoid Rotting Amid Surplus
Thai influencer Pimrypie used a four‑hour live stream to sell premium Monthong durians at as low as $3 per fruit, far below the usual $21‑$24 price, in an effort to prevent a looming surplus. The broadcast attracted 700,000 peak viewers...
Red Meat Tops List of Domestic Food Price Inflation Items
Australia’s March CPI showed headline inflation jump to 4.6% year‑on‑year, the fastest pace since September 2023. Red‑meat prices, led by beef and lamb, surged 11.8% and were the biggest driver of food‑price inflation, while coffee rose 10.7%. Overall food inflation held...
Global Oil Dynamics Enter Volatile Phase After UAE Decision: Peter McGuire
The United Arab Emirates announced a surprise departure from the OPEC+ alliance, cutting roughly 12% of the bloc’s production capacity. The move caught markets off guard, prompting immediate price spikes as West Texas Intermediate hovered around $100 per barrel. Analysts,...
Singapore’s Gold Demand Jumps Record 42% in Q1 Amid Geopolitical Risks, Volatile Prices
Investor demand for physical gold in Singapore surged 42% year‑on‑year to 3.5 tonnes in Q1 2026, the highest on record. Global bar and coin demand also rose 42% to 473.6 tonnes, while Asian‑listed gold ETFs added 84 tonnes, outpacing other regions. Prices peaked near...
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks Drop as Oil Holds Firm over $110; UK Growth Slashed
The FTSE 100 opened lower, slipping 0.2% to 10,316 as oil prices stayed above $110 per barrel and the UK’s growth outlook was sharply cut, with the Treasury estimating a £35 bn (≈$44.5 bn) hit from the Iran war. Major corporates reported mixed...
Crude Shock: Ajay Bagga on How $90 Oil Could Dent India Inc's Earnings and Test Government's Fiscal Nerve
India’s crude import bill could jump from $150 bn to $200‑$225 bn as oil prices surged from $63 to $114‑$116 per barrel, pushing the annual price outlook to around $90 per barrel. Market veteran Ajay Bagga warns the extra $50‑$75 bn cost will strain...
UAE, Saudi Bypass Hormuz to Boost Crude Supplies to India
India’s crude imports averaged 4.4 million barrels per day in April, 15% below February’s peak, as the country offsets Hormuz‑related disruptions by tapping alternative routes. Saudi Arabia lifted shipments to 697,000 bpd by diverting oil from Ras Tanura to the Yanbu Red Sea...