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* Interim deal's wording fuels rival U.S.-Iran interpretations over who manages transit * Tehran once viewed shutting the waterway as a last resort * Iran won't start nuclear talks before Washington accepts its authority over the strait By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall DUBAI, July 8 - Control over the Strait of Hormuz has become a "golden weapon" to Iran, for which it is willing to risk new escalations with the United States, and is a bigger priority than a nuclear programme for [Read more]

Global investors had a stark reminder of how quickly the oil market can reignite concern about inflation and volatility, after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that an interim agreement with Iran to end the war "is over". Inflation-sensitive assets such as bonds and gold tumbled in the face of a 5% surge in oil. "It's a big wake-up call for markets," said Aneeka Gupta, director of macroeconomic research at Wisdomtree. The expectation had been "that we were likely to start [Read more]

The possible collapse of U.S.-Iran peace talks and the stop-start flow of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz are a nightmare scenario for Gulf nations desperate to return to normal after a bruising multi-month conflict. What was meant to mark the start of a fragile recovery following the June 17 memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington is instead evolving into a period of chronic instability, with each new incident reinforcing doubts over the security of one of the world's [Read more]

Some war underwriters have advised shipping companies to pause voyages through the Strait of Hormuz while others are reviewing their policy terms after renewed vessel attacks threatened a return to war between Iran and the U.S., insurance industry sources said on Wednesday. Tuesday's attacks on three tankers in the critical waterway prompted Washington to revoke a licence allowing Iran to sell oil and launch strikes on Iranian targets overnight. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that an [Read more]

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday after the U.S. launched a wave of military strikes on Iran in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. In the latest blow to the fragile ceasefire agreement, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out a joint missile and drone operation against key U.S. military sites in Bandar Salman, Bahrain's Fifth Naval District and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and shot down [Read more]

U.S. energy firms exported a record 8.73 million barrels per day (bpd) of total petroleum products in the week ended July 3, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly Petroleum Status Report on Wednesday. That topped the prior weekly all-time high of 8.22 million bpd in early May, the EIA said. (Reporting by Siddharth Cavale- and Scott DiSavino in New York) [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to attack Iran again after saying an initial ceasefire deal with the Islamic Republic was "over", though he has not made clear whether Washington would be returning to full-on war with Iran. Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara, Trump slammed Iranian officials for what he described as not sticking to the deals they negotiated and warned that the United States will likely engage in additional strikes on Wednesday night after U.S. [Read more]

U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell in the week ending July 3, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose by 3 million barrels to 411.4 million barrels last week, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.4 million-barrel draw. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 52,000 barrels last week, the EIA said. Refinery crude runs fell by 172,000 barrels per day last [Read more]