US and Iranian negotiators in New York are exploring a phased path out of war that would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran, sources close to the talks said. The strait has become the central bargaining chip in efforts to end the nearly seven-month US-Iran conflict, with Iran seeking relief from the US blockade that is choking its economy and Washington seeking free passage for ships on the global oil supply route now blocked by [Read more]

Saudi Arabia intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Thursday, thwarting attacks on the southern province of Taif and Yanbu area on the Red Sea, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said. It was not clear whether there was any damage or casualties in either Taif and Yanbu, the main alternative route for Saudi oil, after a widespread emergency alert was issued for areas including Jeddah and the holy city of Mecca. The attack on Yanbu followed an improvement in [Read more]

World financial markets remained on edge on Thursday after concerns about the Iran war and inflation pain had triggered the sharpest selloff in US Treasuries and other benchmark government bonds since last year's Liberation Day turmoil. Bond yields were nudging higher again in Europe as oil prices moved back above $105 a barrel and as traders waited for what could be a tense meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Washington later. The 10-year US [Read more]

Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that the country would hold elections as part of a transition to "full democracy," but did not give a specific date for the vote. "I want to make this very clear at this General Assembly: there will be elections in Venezuela," said Rodriguez, who came to power after American forces captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in a January raid. In her remarks, Rodriguez said the government had initiated talks [Read more]

The two US senators from Maine, the state most reliant on home heating oil, asked President Donald Trump this week to tap the country's emergency stash of the fuel as diesel prices soar to record levels and push up household bills. "We write to request that you release home heating oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to protect Mainers from the very high prices that are imposing a difficult financial burden," Senators Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent who [Read more]

A US diesel export ban could become a self-defeating exercise that would do little to ease high US fuel prices but could worsen supply and economic disruptions around the globe, analysts said. US President Donald Trumpreportedly said on Tuesday he backed the idea of a ban. Average US diesel prices have jumped to a record $6.5107 a gallon, according to AAA. Diesel is critical to the global economy because it powers transportation, farm equipment and the machinery used to make and move [Read more]

US ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures fell more than 6% on Wednesday after Politico reported the administration of US President Donald Trump is preparing a plan to ban diesel exports for 90 days. The October futures contract was last trading at $4.7512 a gallon, down 3.9%. Diesel prices have shot to record highs in the US and Europe as wars in Iran and Ukraine have sharply cut exports from some of the biggest producers such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Trump said [Read more]

For years, 5% on the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield was viewed as the point at which global financial markets would start hitting turbulence. That threshold is beginning to look less like a ceiling and more like a waypoint. This month's breach of 5% - something that has happened only briefly in recent decades - has forced investors to contemplate an unsettling question: What if 6% is the new number that should be keeping them awake at night? The latest move above 5% has not lasted [Read more]

By Andrew Mills Sept 23 - US President Donald Trump’s UNGA sidelines meeting with Gulf leaders this week delivered a familiar bit of Trumpian theatre: after boasting that US naval escorts had shepherded more than a billion barrels of Gulf oil, he turned to Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and quipped: “That’s not a lot to Tamim, but it’s a lot to most people.” It was classic Trump — the same long-running rich jokes he’s deployed in past Oval Office meetings and White House photo [Read more]

The US might consider leaving the International Energy Agency if there is no alignment on climate issues, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday. "We're either going to reform the IEA or we will leave the IEA. My strong preference is that we reform it," Wright said at an event in New York hosted by the Wall Street Journal. The Paris-based IEA has provided research and data to industrialized governments for more than half a century to help guide policy around energy security, [Read more]