News

Remember global imbalances? They're back. In a fractured world increasingly marked by self-interest and protectionism, the prospects for a coordinated response among the major economic powers to fix them and avert a crisis look remote. The U.S. current account deficit - and the corresponding surpluses of China, oil producers, the euro zone, and other advanced economies - has been widening since the COVID-19 pandemic, reversing a decade of steady decline after the global financial [Read more]

U.S. crude stocks rose while gasoline and distillate inventories fell last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose by 3.1 million barrels to 464.7 million barrels in the week ended April 3, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 701,000-barrel rise. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 24,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said. Oil futures pared earlier losses following the report. [Read more]

The Iranian navy threatened ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without Tehran's permission with destruction, adding that transit through the waterway remained shut, according to several shipping sources. "Any vessel trying to travel into the sea... will be targeted and destroyed..." the message said. (Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Renee Maltezou, Yannis Souliotis, and Arathy Somasekhar; Editing by Sharon Singleton) [Read more]

* GCC growth forecast cut to 1.3% for 2026 due to lower hydrocarbon revenues * Kuwait and Qatar economies expected to contract this year * World Bank warns of lingering risks for the region DUBAI, April 8 - The World Bank has slashed its 2026 growth forecast for Middle East economies as a consequence of the war between the U.S.-Israel and Iran, and warned of pervasive risks in a report published on Wednesday. President Donald Trump late on Tuesday announced a two-week ceasefire in [Read more]

Saudi Arabia's crucial East-West oil pipeline, currently its only outlet for crude exports, was hit in an Iranian attack and other facilities in the kingdom were also targeted, an industry source told Reuters on Wednesday. The pipeline was diverting around 7 million barrels per day (bpd) from the kingdom's oil heartland in the east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu after Iran effectively shuttered the Strait of Hormuz, trapping huge volumes of oil and gas and sending world energy markets [Read more]

Iran could open the Strait of Hormuz in a limited and controlled way on Thursday or Friday ahead of a meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official, involved in the talks, told Reuters on Wednesday. "If an understanding on a framework for talks is reached, the strait could be opened "limited, under Iran's control," the official said. "Coordinating with Iranian military will be mandatory for all ships. Still the ceasefire is fragile, however, we prefer [Read more]

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said any country supplying Iran with military weapons will face immediate 50% tariffs with no exemptions, announcing the duty in a social media post one day after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire with Tehran. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Sharon Singleton) [Read more]