Six months into the U.S.-Iran war, the conflict is hardening into a stalemate that could last well into 2027, with energy markets held hostage, inflation elevated and neither side willing – or able – to back down. The war, which has killed thousands and inflicted extensive damage across the Middle East, has undergone a profound transformation. It began on February 28 as a joint U.S.-Israeli effort to cripple Iran militarily, aiming to eliminate Tehran’s nuclear program, weaken its proxy network [Read more]

Five commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, little changed from a day earlier but well below the 10-day average of 15, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday. Two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas and one tanker carrying bitumen exited the Gulf via the strait, while two empty product tankers entered the waterway from the Gulf of Oman, initial data from shiptracker Kpler showed at 0408 GMT. On Monday, four commodity vessels transited the waterway, the data [Read more]

Oil prices dropped about 2% on Wednesday, adding to the previous session's losses, on fresh hopes the Strait of Hormuz could reopen after Iran said it had resumed talks with neighbour Oman on managing the strategic waterway. Brent crude futures fell $1.78, or 2.0%, to $86.80 a barrel by 0027 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.49, or 1.8%, at $80.87. Both benchmarks lost more than 3% on Tuesday. "The market continues to react to developments surrounding [Read more]

Iran said it had restarted talks with neighbor Oman to manage the Strait of Hormuz as it faces heightened economic pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump in the wider conflict. Iran and Oman have been in on-and-off talks for weeks about controlling traffic through the strategic waterway, which handled one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war began in February. Most shipping has been shut down since then. The two countries said on Tuesday that they discussed [Read more]

The global economy has weathered the Iran war energy shock better than feared, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday, but she raised concerns about deteriorating fiscal conditions in some countries shown by rising bond yields and a stalled disinflation process. Georgieva told reporters in a briefing ahead of next week's Group of 20 finance leaders meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, that there was a "tug of war" between the negative Gulf energy [Read more]

The U.S. Secret Service is aware of a video broadcast by Iranian state television discussing a potential plot to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. "The U.S. Secret Service is aware of the video and investigates anything that can be perceived as a threat toward our protectees. Out of concern for operational security, we do not discuss matters of protective intelligence," Secret Service spokesperson Nate Herring said in an email. A [Read more]

A contract that SLB and Venezuela's state-run PDVSA signed last week has granted the U.S. oil services and technology company access to oilfield data from the country with the world's largest crude reserves, three sources close to the negotiations said. The deal will allow SLB to organize and upgrade PDVSA's vast but outdated databases following years of neglect and a recent cyberattack, according to the sources. Venezuela has not published routine oil statistics in more than a decade and the [Read more]