Three mid-sized tankers are scheduled to deliver US oil to Japan from late April through May, with two already transiting the Panama Canal and moving into the Pacific Ocean, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The third, Aframax Seaways Yosemite, is nearing the canal from the Caribbean.

US oil is typically delivered to Japan on very-large crude carriers, which have the capacity to carry 2 million barrels, but are too big to traverse the Panama Canal and need to sail around Africa’s southern tip to get to Asia. There are at least four VLCCs currently taking this route to Japan from America, according to the ship-tracking data.

The use of the smaller tankers signals the urgency of some Japanese refiners that are seeking to secure supplies. While the vessels can get to the Asian nation much quicker — about 30 days through the Panama Canal compared with around 50 days via Africa — they only carry a fraction of the crude of a VLCC.

An Aframax can haul as much as 800,000 barrels of crude, while a Suezmax can carry around 1 million barrels. The Otis, one of the tankers that have cleared the Panama Canal and is scheduled to deliver oil to Chiba on Japan’s west coast later this month, is a suezmax class vessel.

Japanese refiners have purchased bumper volumes of US crude since the Iran war started in late February, snapping up millions of barrels for delivery across June and July as concerns about Middle East supply rippled through the market. The nation has also relied on ship-to-ship transfers of oil far from the Middle East to secure supplies and keep its tankers out of the conflict zone.

The outlook for a potential end to hostilities in the Middle East could mean the use of smaller tankers to carry US crude to Japan is fleeting, although refiners and market participants remain cautious about a temporary ceasefire. Under the terms of the deal, the crucial waterway of the Strait of Hormuz is supposed to reopen, which may see more oil flows from the Gulf.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The vital waterway has been virtually closed since US and Israeli strikes at the end of February prompted Iran to tighten its control, triggering an unprecedented energy-supply crunch. Unable to guarantee the safety of thousands of seafarers and their cargoes, vessels have instead been loitering on either side, and traffic has slowed to a trickle.

Then, hours before a deadline set by President Donald Trump ran out during the US evening on Tuesday, the two sides agreed a ceasefire in exchange for a reopening. 

Key details remain uncertain: Iran says it has agreed to two weeks of safe passage in coordination with its armed forces and within “technical limitations”, while Trump announced a “COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING”. It is also unclear if the two have settled on transit payments, or when the truce takes effect.

Trump said in a separate social media post that the US would be “helping with the traffic build up” and “hangin’ around” to ensure smooth flows.

For shipowners, however, the initial news has been enough to prompt tentative optimism. The Japanese Shipowners’ Association, a major industry group, was among those which said it would check the details of the US-Iran agreement, and then relay information to members. 

Most, however, warned that more clarity would be required for ships to move, and even in the best case flows would take time to resume in earnest. In peacetime, some 135 ships transit daily, a figure that has shrunk dramatically.

“You don’t switch global shipping flows back on in 24 hours,” said Jennifer Parker, adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia Defence and Security Institute. “Tanker owners, insurers and crews need to believe the risk has actually reduced — not just paused.”

Ships that transport energy make up a large part of the fleet that’s stuck inside the gulf, data from Kpler show. There are currently 426 tankers hauling crude oil and clean fuels, plus 34 liquefied petroleum gas carriers and 19 liquefied natural gas vessels. The remainder are carrying dry commodities, like agricultural or metal products, or containers.

Ceasefire plans are a necessary step, but only an initial one, said Lewis Hart, head of marine in Asia at insurance broker Willis Towers Watson. “Even within a two‑week window, we expect activity to restart in a measured manner rather than all at once,” he said.

Traders and shipowners will now be closely monitoring which ships start making their way to transit the strait in either direction — especially those that would not normally have Iranian protection — and how they fare. As of Wednesday morning, more than 1,000 vessels are waiting on both sides in clusters around Dubai and Khor Fakkan.

“It’s good to see that the market is reacting the way it is, but this is day one of a tentative ceasefire,” Michael Pregent, a former US Intelligence advisor, told Bloomberg Television. “We are likely to see the regime control who moves through, who is charged what, and who is denied.”

The first two ships to attempt an exit since the announcement appear to be sailing as a pair toward Iran’s Larak and Qeshm islands on Wednesday morning, ship-tracking data show. One of them is the Tour 2, a US-sanctioned Suezmax that’s flagged to Iran. 

Sailing next to the tanker is a Greek-owned bulk carrier, NJ Earth, whose voyage history within the Persian Gulf suggests either spoofing to hide location or interference by electronic warfare. There were no contact details listed on database Equasis for its owner, NJ Earth Marine Ltd., and manager, NJ Trust Marine Ltd. 

Movement of LNG ships will also be particularly closely monitored, as no loaded carrier has made it through the strait since the war began and one recent attempted transit ended in a last-minute U-turn. About 20% of global LNG traffic went through Hormuz last year.

According to an International Maritime Organization tally at end March, some 20,000 civilian seafarers are stuck onboard these ships and the other utility and support vessels. Those crew members have been facing dwindling supplies, fatigue and psychological stress, the United Nations agency warned.

(Updates with latest Trump comments in fifth paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Brent fell as much as 16% before trading around $94 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate slumped the most in almost six years and was last near $96. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire is subject to Iran reopening the strait, and will allow an agreement “to be finalized and consummated.”

Iran accepted Pakistan’s ceasefire proposal, with safe passage through the strait possible in coordination with the nation’s armed forces for two weeks, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. Israel also agreed to the pause in fighting, according to a White House official.

The current plan includes allowing Iran and Oman to charge fees on ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, the Associated Press reported, citing a regional official. The US will help with traffic buildup in the waterway, Trump said. US and Iranian delegates are invited to meet in Islamabad on Friday to further negotiate a “conclusive agreement,” Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X.

“It would take something truly tremendous for us to get back down below $80 a barrel,” Jason Schenker, president and chief economist at Prestige Economics LLC, told Bloomberg TV. “But almost anything going wrong in these ceasefire talks could very quickly put us back above $100.”

Refined product prices also fell, with benchmark European diesel futures dropping as much as 23% — their biggest decline in more than four years. Futures tied to Abu Dhabi’s flagship Murban crude dropped 19%, the most since the contract’s launch in 2021.

The near-complete closure of the vital waterway — which normally sees the transit of about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas — has roiled energy markets, with WTI still up more than 40% since the conflict started at the end of February. The curtailment of shipments is expected to leave more than 9 million barrels a day of oil output from key Middle Eastern producers shut in during April, according to US government estimates.

“This was a market that had been starved of good news,” said Josh Gilbert, an analyst at eToro Ltd. “We’ve seen an instant selloff in crude, pulling back 16% to under $100 as markets price in the prospect of the Strait of Hormuz reopening. It goes to show how much geopolitical risk was baked into crude, and how quickly it can unwind when there’s a credible path to de-escalation.”

The de-escalation saw volumes surge. Around 240,000 Brent contracts changed hands in the first hour of trading of the global benchmark, while a typical session may see just a few thousand lots within that time period.

Physical traders remain cautious, waiting for clearer signs the ceasefire will hold before seeking cargoes from the Gulf. Meanwhile, shipowners said they needed to see vessels safely exit the region before sending in tankers. At present, there are more than 800 ships that have been trapped by the war.

“Oil can fall further as key details of a ceasefire deal are provided to the market,” said Vivek Dhar, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “How much Iran pushes its hand will be closely watched and may limit further material falls in oil prices.”

Trump’s ceasefire announcement came about 90 minutes before his initial deadline for Iran to reopen the strait or face a massive bombardment. The lead-up was marked by military escalation and bellicose threats from the US president, including a post saying “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

Earlier in the day, American forces struck sites on the Islamic Republic’s Kharg Island similar to those that were hit in a round of attacks last month, but didn’t target energy infrastructure, according to US officials.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The amount of solar power generated without being delivered to customers rose to 9.2% in January and February, from 6.1% in the same period last year, according to the National New Energy Consumption Monitoring and Early Warning Center. For wind, curtailments rose to 8.5%, from 6.2%.

Those rates are pushing up against the ceiling raised by the government in 2024 — a clear signal that the grid is struggling to absorb all the extra power from the rapid growth in renewables. 

Two years ago, the authorities allowed curtailments to rise to 10% from 5% for energy-rich regions, enabling record-breaking installations through 2024 and 2025. But persistent grid congestion and an oversupply of renewable power during off-peak hours has made the curtailment rate an increasingly urgent issue, threatening the financial viability of projects. 

Large renewables hubs in sparsely populated inland regions like Tibet and Gansu, which rely on power lines stretching thousands of kilometers to China’s eastern megacities, face the worst curtailment rates.

There are seasonal factors behind the drop off in renewables utilization early in the year, according to Guosheng Securities Inc. It’s often windier in winter, while the daily window for solar generation is narrower. There’s also less industrial demand for electricity over the Lunar New Year holiday.

The situation is particularly concerning for solar power, which has already seen weaker installation growth this year. The slowdown could mark a turning point for the industry. The top solar lobby forecasts annual installations could fall to as low as 180 gigawatts, from the record 315 gigawatts delivered in 2025.

China has two levers to pull to keep the clean energy boom on track. It needs to keep spending more to expand and upgrade the grid, which the government has recognized as a priority in its latest five-year plan. More immediately, energy storage systems can plug the gap. Although the exponential growth in that market is expected to tail off given the amount of capacity already built, some companies are still projecting shipments to more than double this year. 

On the Wire

China’s yuan hit a three-year high as the pause in Middle East hostilities eased geopolitical tensions. 

Zimbabwe is considering ending a ban on lithium concentrate exports if miners agree to pay an extra tax on shipments and set up additional processing plants by the start of next year.

China will set up a sweeping new mechanism to ensure the security of its supply chains, targeting espionage and allowing Beijing to retaliate against foreign entities if they impose curbs on trade.

China’s central bank bought the most gold in more than a year in March, demonstrating that a key pillar of support for the precious metal remains intact as prices come under pressure amid the Iran war.

This Week’s Diary

(All times Beijing)

Wednesday, April 8

• CCTD’s weekly online briefing on coal markets, 15:00
• EARNINGS: Huayou Cobalt

Thursday, April 9

• China to release March aggregate finance & money supply data by April 15
• China’s monthly CASDE crop supply-demand report

Friday, April 10

• China’s inflation data for March, 09:30
• China’s weekly iron ore port stockpiles
• SHFE’s weekly commodities inventory, ~15:30

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Co-located with Hannover Messe, the world’s leading exhibition for industrial and manufacturing innovation, this initiative is a strategic response to one of the world’s defining challenges: strengthening industrial competitiveness through access to secure, resilient and affordable energy.

Under the theme ‘Securing Energy. Powering Economies.’, Europe Energy Week positions energy as a key enabler of economic development, industrial growth and long-term competitiveness. It will convene ministers and leading CEOs from across the energy, industrial and technology sectors to support the delivery of energy systems that can meet the demands of industrial growth.

Europe Energy Week will host a live on-stage programme at Hannover Messe’s Energy Day on 22 April 2026, bringing together industry and energy leaders. The session will open with a podcast, ‘The Energy Appetite of the Future: Industry, AI and the Race for Power’, featuring Gregor Gysi, Member of the German Bundestag, and Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, former Federal Minister of Economics and Federal Minister of Defence.

This will be followed by a panel discussion on “Energy Needs for Industrial Competitiveness in a High-Demand, High-Tech Future,” with confirmed speakers including Stefan Mecha, CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and Stéphane Michel, President Gas, Renewables and Power at TotalEnergies SE.

Energy security in a changing global landscape

In a period of heightened geopolitical uncertainty and shifting energy dynamics, the resilience and performance of energy systems have become central to economic stability, placing energy security at the heart of national competitiveness.

This challenge is shaped by a clear global reality: the world cannot power tomorrow’s economy on yesterday’s grid. Global energy demand is expected to increase by 30% by 2040, driven by industrial growth, electrification and rising digital consumption. At the same time, Europe requires more than $3.5 trillion of investment to build resilient energy systems capable of supporting long-term competitiveness.

Through its co-location with Hannover Messe, Europe Energy Week creates a direct interface between energy systems and industrial demand, connecting energy producers, infrastructure operators, investors, technology providers and industrial users in one platform.

Hannover Messe attracts more than 130,000 visitors from over 150 countries and 4,000 exhibitors, including over 30,000 attendees focused on energy solutions. Building on this scale, Europe Energy Week is expected to convene more than 40,000 industry professionals and 500 exhibitors, creating a high-impact platform at the intersection of energy and industry.

Europe Energy Week will combine a large-scale exhibition with strategic and technical conference programmes, bringing together ministers, policymakers, CEOs, engineers, utilities, infrastructure operators, industrial leaders and investors – including more than 700 senior speakers – to drive decision-making, enable collaboration and support system-wide delivery.

Industry leaders on the launch

Speaking on the launch of Europe Energy Week, Christopher Hudson, President, dmg events, said: “Europe is entering a decisive period for its industrial and energy systems, and growing energy demand is placing increasing pressure on energy systems to deliver reliably and at scale.

“Meeting this challenge depends on how effectively supply, infrastructure and capital are aligned to support industrial growth. Europe Energy Week has been created to enable that alignment, bringing together the full energy value chain with the industries that depend on it, and helping move from strategy to delivery.”

Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Managing Board and CEO of Deutsche Messe AG, added: “Hannover Messe has always evolved in line with industry priorities, and energy is now central to Europe’s industrial development. This partnership with dmg events positions Europe Energy Week at the intersection of industrial demand and energy systems, ensuring that investment, infrastructure and technology choices are aligned to support long-term growth.”

In the lead-up to April 2027, dmg events and Deutsche Messe AG will work closely with industry, government, finance and technology leaders to ensure Europe Energy Week delivers relevance, scale and commercial impact, aligning energy systems with real-world demand.

With its launch alongside Hannover Messe, Europe Energy Week is set to become a defining platform at the intersection of energy and industry, enabling Europe to strengthen resilience, scale infrastructure and compete in an increasingly complex global landscape.

For more information and to register, visit https://www.europeenergyweek.org/.

The 68% surge in crude prices since the US and Israel commenced attacks on Iran roughly five weeks ago is incentive enough to compel American oil executives to ramp up output, according to observers as diverse as Citigroup Inc., Enverus Inc. and government analysts at the Energy Information Administration.

Shale explorers require oil prices somewhere between $62 and $70 a barrel to turn a profit on new wells, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. As of Tuesday morning, the US benchmark traded around $115. 

“Elevated prices are certainly going to increase production in the United States,” Mike Sommers, chief executive officer of industry lobby group the American Petroleum Institute, said during a Bloomberg Television interview. “You are going to see that over the course of the next few months.”

Billionaire wildcatter Harold Hamm was the first prominent shale boss to publicly commit to lifting production last week when his Continental Resources Inc. boosted its capital budget and output target. Even among rivals that have yet to sign on to pumping more crude, hedging has been rampant to lock in elevated pricing for the barrels they’re already planning to extract. 

The Trump administration has repeatedly called on US companies to increase crude output, often to no avail because management teams were loathe to sink capital into new wells when oil prices weren’t high enough to meet profit thresholds. 

But that’s all been turned on its head since the biggest oil-market disruption in history kicked off with the Feb. 28 attacks on Iran and subsequent closure of almost all vessel traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

It may take months to begin to see the uptick in production from shale fields in places like the Permian Basin on West Texas and New Mexico because of the lead time required to drill, frack and turn on new wells, according to forecasters Enverus and Rystad Energy.

The production boost will initially come from wells that have been drilled but await fracking, according Alex Ljubojevic, head of US supply at Enverus. Those are known as drilled-but-uncompleted wells, or DUCs. 

“You will definitely see operators that can, bring forward those DUCs just to get those volumes online,” Ljubojevic said. 

The process of drilling and bringing a new shale well online can take as long as nine months, which means the futures curve is more important than current prices for planning purposes. On that curve, West Texas Intermediate crude futures for October delivery have averaged almost $76 since the conflict erupted and topped the $84 mark two weeks ago. 

To be sure, daily injections of a few hundred thousand barrels would pale in comparison to the scale of supply disruption underway because of the Hormuz shutdown, which JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimates will reach 13 million barrels a day this month. 

And the response from the US is likely to be more muted that in 2022 — when Russia invaded Ukraine — because so many fast-growing small producers have been acquired by large corporations, Ljubojevic said.

Exxon, Chevron

“You don’t have all these little independent privates going out there seeing price and just responding to it,” he said. “That’s a really big thing.” 

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., two of the biggest Permian Basin drillers, have a “higher probability” than peers of increasing shale output, according to Jason Gabelman, an analyst at TD Cowen. Exxon already had aggressive growth plans through 2030 while Chevron had previously guided to a production “plateau” after years of rapid increases. 

“Our take in the first couple of weeks was that operators will look for a signal that price growth or high prices will be sustained before committing any capital into drilling new wells,” Matthew Bernstein, vice president for North America oil and gas at Rystad, said during an interview. “Now, a month into the conflict, I think we’re starting to see that signal emerge.”

(Updates oil price in the third paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

This follows high-level diplomatic engagement, including a telephone conversation on March 26 between Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. On Tuesday, Anwar said he told the Iranian leader during the call that the stranded Malaysian vessels “will cause difficulty,” and was assured that instructions would be issued to facilitate their safe passage.

Malaysia has maintained cordial diplomatic ties with Iran. Anwar has acknowledged Tehran’s right to defend its sovereignty while calling for a rapid resolution to the conflict. 

Iran has cleared seven Malaysian tankers to traverse the Strait of Hormuz, which has become a flashpoint of the war in the Middle East. The vessels — which won’t be subject to a toll that Iran charges to ships passing through the vital waterway — include those owned by Malaysian energy giant Petroliam Nasional Bhd., shipping firm MISC Bhd. and Sapura Energy Bhd., the Star newspaper reported in March. 

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on details of the vessel that sailed through the Strait of Hormuz and the others.

“Malaysia remains firmly committed to the principle of freedom of navigation, safety and security of maritime passage, in accordance with international law,” the ministry said in a statement Tuesday. Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamad Hasan spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on March 24.

Despite global uncertainties and the prospect of “price disruptions,” Malaysia doesn’t face an oil supply crisis, with its own production and long-standing import agreement with Australia, Anwar said on Tuesday.

The effective closure of the strait, which typically carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows, has roiled markets and triggered a broad energy crisis. Two loaded LNG carriers that had seemingly aborted an attempt to exit the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz are now headed toward Qatar.

President Donald Trump said any agreement to end the Middle East conflict must guarantee freedom of navigation through the strait, making the reopening of the key oil chokepoint a “very big priority” in ongoing talks with Iran. He also warned that if Tehran fails to meet his Tuesday 8 p.m. Eastern Time deadline, the US could launch sweeping strikes on Iranian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants.

(Updates with Anwar’s comment in second paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Trump said Monday that talks with Iran are “going well” and that reopening the strait as “a very big priority.” The president in recent weeks has said an agreement on the strait wasn’t among his core prerequisites for ending the conflict. 

“We have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oil and everything,” he said at a White House news conference.

Trump laid bare the consequences Iran would face if it doesn’t reach a deal by his Tuesday 8 p.m. Eastern Time cut-off, saying the US military could destroy “every bridge in Iran by 12 o’clock tomorrow night.” Power plants would be rendered “burning, exploding and never to be used again,” he said. 

Attacking civilian infrastructure is barred by the Geneva Conventions, but Trump said he was “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes. 

“I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours, if we wanted to,” he said. “We don’t want that to happen.” 

The president’s self-imposed deadline marks the latest pivotal moment in the war, now in its second month, which has killed thousands and triggered the largest-ever disruption to the global oil market. The president has struggled to find an off-ramp to the conflict — increasingly unpopular with Americans who are seeing average gasoline prices above $4 a gallon.

Iran has warned that it would respond to the kind of strikes Trump is threatening against civilian targets by ramping up its own attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf — a move that could heighten the global fuel squeeze and amplify damage to the world economy.

The president’s comments on the strait appeared to be at odds with past remarks from his administration about whether he’d be willing to end the war with the strait still closed. Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t list reopening Hormuz as a core US military objective.

Oil prices rose as Trump threatened more strikes, renewing traders’ fears that flows through the strait would remain curtailed for longer. Global equities — after gaining Monday on ceasefire hopes — fluctuated as uncertainty about the war kept investors on the sidelines.

Singapore’s top diplomat warned the economic fallout from the war could worsen and investors have yet to adjust. “I’m quite sure the markets are not fully pricing the worst-case scenario,” Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told Bloomberg Television at an Investment Management Association of Singapore conference. 

At the press conference, Trump mixed threats with an upbeat assessment of diplomatic conversations, even though Tehran earlier rejected a ceasefire proposal and instead demanded a permanent end to the war.

Trump said Vice President JD Vance is involved in the conversations and also mentioned special envoy Steve Witkoff, who had sought an agreement with Tehran before the US and Israel began the war in late February.

“I can tell you that we have a active, willing participant on the other side,” Trump said. “They’re negotiating, we think in good faith — we’re going to find out.”

Trump said it was “highly unlikely” that he’d move the deadline again.

Earlier Monday, Iran refused to agree to ceasefire terms relayed via Pakistan, which has been mediating efforts to end the conflict. 

Leaders in Iran have instead called for a permanent end to the war, reconstruction efforts and the lifting of sanctions, in addition to protocols for ensuring safe passage through Hormuz, according to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. 

The agency reported Monday, citing a spokesman for the nation’s joint military command, that Iran’s offensive against the US and Israel wouldn’t be affected by Trump’s threats.

Iran has said it would only allow strait operations to resume when it is compensated for damage from the war. Tehran has continued striking energy targets in neighboring Gulf countries, including Kuwait’s oil headquarters. 

Axios reported that Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey are pushing to secure a potential ceasefire — lasting about 45 days — to head off threatened American strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure and retaliation by the Islamic Republic against countries in the region.

In an expletive-laden post on Sunday, Trump amped up his threats to destroy Iran’s power plants and blow up “everything over there” before announcing his new deadline. The move adds to a series of extensions since he began issuing similar ultimatums on March 21 to force Iran to reopen the strategic waterway.

The president initially called his news conference to tout the success of a pair of daring US missions over the weekend to rescue two airmen whose jet was shot down in Iranian airspace. Trump said the operations involved more than 175 aircraft and hundreds of military personnel.

Yet that incident, combined with Trump’s threats, cut against the aura of invincibility the president and his advisers have sought to project.   

Trump and other officials appeared to contradict each other over the threat posed to American planes flying in the country. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military controls the skies in Iran. But Trump and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine said US aircraft involved in the rescue operation had been hit by enemy fire. And Trump later said the two pilots’ fighter jet was shot down by a shoulder-fired missile.

The president also lamented that he would like to take Iran’s oil for the US but that the American public wants to wind down the conflict.

“I’m a businessman first,” Trump said when asked about the trade-off between seizing the oil supplies and public opinion. “And I’ve said, why don’t we use it — to the victor go the spoils? And we don’t have that.”

(Updates with markets and comment on worst-case scenario from paragraph 10.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Brent traded above $111 a barrel after adding 0.7% in the prior session, while West Texas Intermediate was around $116 after closing at its highest since June 2022. Trump said Monday that talks with Iran are “going well,” even as he listed reopening the Strait of Hormuz as “a very big priority.”

The US president laid bare the consequences Iran would face if it doesn’t reach a deal by his 8 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday cut-off, saying the US military could destroy “every bridge in Iran by 12 o’clock tomorrow night.” Power plants would be rendered “burning, exploding and never to be used again,” he said, which would be a breach of the Geneva Conventions.

Iran has warned that it would respond to such strikes by ramping up its own attacks on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf — a move that could heighten the global fuel squeeze and amplify damage to the world economy. The war — which is now in its sixth week — has roiled crude markets, triggering a severe supply shock.

“If Trump does move into ‘decimation’ mode and Iran follows through with ‘more crushing’ and ‘more extensive’ retaliatory attacks, we expect to see momentum building above $110, toward $120,” said Robert Rennie, head of commodity research at Westpac Banking Corp. “However, if Trump extends, again, then we remain in the current $95-$110 range for now.”

As the war grinds on, there are signs of deepening concern about near-term supply. WTI’s prompt spread — the difference between its two nearest contracts — at one point traded near $15.50 a barrel on Monday, near the biggest premium on record. The widening was ushered in by firming expectations of tighter US supplies as overseas buyers rush to purchase American crude.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Taiwan Power Co., the government-owned utility that’s the main electricity supplier, will procure coal-fired power from the Mailiao plant from May after Units 1 and 3 are ramped up, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.

Global energy markets have been upended by the war between the US, Israel and Iran, which has cut flows of liquefied natural gas and crude oil. That’s forced governments to lean more on the dirtiest fossil fuel for power generation. In Asia, Japan, South Korea and Bangladesh have all increased their reliance on coal, while in Europe, countries including Poland may boost usage of coal gas. Germany, meanwhile, may reactivate a mothballed coal plant.

Taiwan — which houses some of the world’s top chipmakers — typically relies on LNG for about half its electricity generation and bought about one-third of its supplies from Qatar last year. A shutdown in the largest LNG export plant in Qatar spurred by the conflict, coupled with the near-complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has sent the island scrambling for alternatives.

While the island has managed to secure LNG supply through May, and also has arrangements for about half of its June requirements, additional spending on oil and gas is estimated to cost billions of dollars.

The move to increase coal-fired power aims to address LNG supply risks, while mitigating the impact of high gas prices on electricity rates, the ministry said in a statement. Taiwan’s domestic gas supply remains sufficient, and all power generation units are operating as scheduled, it added.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Its American unit BKV Corp. is considering greenfield construction and acquisitions of gas-fired power plants to add about 1,000 megawatts of power generating capacity, said Sinon Vongkusolkit, Banpu’s chief executive officer. Banpu will focus on new power projects and acquisitions in Texas, where the company operates twin gas-fired power plants through its US publicly traded subsidiary.

The US’s climbing electricity consumption is driven in part by the rapid expansion of data centers supporting artificial intelligence and cloud computing. That trend is expected to continue over the coming years, tightening supply in some regions and creating opportunities for new entrants and capacity expansion.

“The US power business will be a core earnings driver, supported by sustained demand from data centers and AI,” the 36-year-old CEO said in an interview. “Valuations have increased, but the long-term growth outlook continues to justify investment.”

The company has one business focusing strictly on coal, and a more general power operation that includes coal, gas and renewable energy.

Banpu has been steadily shifting away from its legacy coal business toward cleaner and more stable earnings streams, including gas-fired power and renewable energy. 

A surge in coal demand triggered by the Middle East’s oil and natural gas supply disruptions, however, is providing Banpu an unexpected tailwind in its coal business, even as the company accelerates its transition toward a more diversified energy portfolio by increasing renewable energy investments. Thailand’s largest coal producer has prepared to ramp up its production at mines in China, Indonesia and other countries as several new customers have contacted the company for the potential purchases, he said. 

Banpu’s two power plants in Texas were acquired in 2021 and 2023, with total combined capacity of about 1,500 megawatts each. They mainly sell power into the state’s electricity market. It also operates power projects in China, Laos, Vietnam and Australia with total capacity of 3,000 megawatts, according to its website. 

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

ADNOC Gas recently experienced an incident at the Habshan complex due to falling debris following a successful interception by air defence systems. Tragically, one contractor lost his life, and several colleagues were injured during the evacuation of the site. On behalf of the Board, the Chairman, His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and wished the injured a swift recovery. The affected area has been isolated, and customer supply remains uninterrupted across other ADNOC Gas facilities. The company is conducting a thorough assessment of the damage.

Positive outlook and strong performance

His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Chairman of ADNOC Gas’ Board of Directors, commented: “In 2025, ADNOC Gas delivered record results amid an evolving global energy landscape shaped by rising electricity demand, industrial growth, and the rapid scaling of AI-enabled technologies. Natural gas remains essential to powering economic progress and digital infrastructure, and ADNOC Gas strengthened its position as a reliable and affordable supplier supporting the UAE and international markets. Backed by disciplined capital allocation and world-class operational reliability, we advanced strategic growth projects, including Rich Gas Development Phase 1, our largest-ever FID, while maintaining our commitment to predictable shareholder returns, including our policy of 5% annual dividend growth through 2030. As global gas demand continues to expand, ADNOC Gas is uniquely positioned to build on this momentum and deliver sustainable value for the future.”

In 2025, ADNOC Gas delivered a record net income of $5.2 billion despite a 14% year-on-year (YoY) decline in average Brent prices to $69 per barrel, demonstrating the resilience of its business model and the strength of its domestic gas portfolio. EBITDA from the domestic gas business increased by 10% YoY, supported by 4% YoY sales volume growth and improved commercial terms.

The Company also strengthened its capital markets positioning during the year by completing the largest secondary share offering ever on the ADX and in the UAE, raising $2.84 billion through the placement of 3.1 billion shares. As a result, ADNOC Gas was subsequently included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the FTSE Emerging Index, attracting more than $750 million in passive inflows and further diversifying its global investor base.

ADNOC Gas has set a dividend target of $24.4 billion for 2025 to 2030. Beginning in the third quarter of 2025, the company transitioned to quarterly dividend payments, providing shareholders with more frequent and visible returns.

For the 2025 financial year, the total dividend of $3.584 billion comprises an interim cash dividend of $1.792 billion, paid in September 2025; a quarterly dividend of $896 million, paid in December 2025; and a final dividend of $896 million, to be paid in May 2026.

The 2025 dividend is in line with the Company’s 5% annual dividend growth policy and is fully supported by strong free cash flow generation, exceeding the 2025 dividend commitment by more than $500 million.

The tankers are gathered in several locations, including West India, off the coast of Sri Lanka, the northern entrance to the Strait of Malacca, and the waters east of Singapore, according to an analysis of tracking data from Bloomberg and Kpler. None of the tankers is carrying LNG, the data shows.

Qatar was forced to shut production at the world’s largest LNG export plant following an Iranian drone attack in early-March, upending the global market and leaving its vast fleet of tankers without orders. Parts of the facility at Ras Laffan were damaged following another attack later in March.

The idled ships illustrate the scale of the disruption, which has sent shockwaves through the LNG industry and forced some nations to cut consumption. LNG traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway that links the Gulf with global markets — has been brought to a near-standstill by Tehran since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in late February.

At present, there are more than 800 LNG tankers in operation worldwide, according to the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

OPEC's Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), comprising Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Algeria and Venezuela, held its 65th meeting via videoconference on Sunday. 

The JMMC reviewed current market conditions and emphasised the essential role of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) in supporting the stability of global energy markets. In this context, the Committee highlighted the critical importance of safeguarding international maritime routes to ensure the uninterrupted flow of energy.

It also expressed concern regarding attacks on energy infrastructure, noting that restoring damaged energy assets to full capacity is both costly and time-consuming, thereby affecting overall supply availability. Accordingly, the Committee stressed that any actions undermining energy supply security, whether through attacks on infrastructure or disruption of international maritime routes, increase market volatility and weaken the collective efforts under the DoC to support market stability for the benefit of producers, consumers, and the global economy.

In this regard, the Committee commended the DoC countries that took the initiative to ensure the continued availability of supplies, particularly through the use of alternative export routes, which have contributed to reducing market volatility. The JMMC will continue to closely monitor market conditions and retains the authority to convene additional meetings or request an OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, as established at the 38th ONOMM held on 5 December 2024. 

Separately, OPEC+ also agreed ‌to a modest rise of its oil output quotas by 206,000 barrels per day for May, although the figure will largely remain academic while key OPEC members being unable to raise production due to the Middle East conflict.

The Jewel, an Aframax-class vessel, started a cargo loading on Saturday, according to shipping information seen by Bloomberg News. 

Loadings at Ust-Luga, a key oil-export outlet in Russia’s west, stopped at the end of March as Ukraine stepped up attacks on energy infrastructure along the Baltic coast. 

Russia’s oil-pipeline operator Transneft didn’t immediately respond to a request for a comment outside normal business hours. 

Ukraine continues its attacks on Russia’s Baltic oil infrastructure, with facilities damaged in the port of Primorsk earlier on Sunday. Ukraine’s moves are aimed at curbing Russian export revenue at a time when global energy prices have rallied because of the war in the Middle East.

Still, if Russia resumes stable crude flows from Ust-Luga, it could bring some relief to global markets rattled by Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The Ocean Thunder crossed the Strait of Hormuz after Iran exempted its “brotherly” neighbor from shipping restrictions a day earlier.

Transits through the critical waterway have been picking up in the past week, with data on Saturday showing the highest seven-day rolling average since the war began. Yet traffic remains at a trickle compared with prewar numbers.

It’s not yet clear whether the dispensation for Baghdad will apply to all ships calling at Iraqi ports, or how it will be enforced. At its broadest, the exemption could free up about 3 million barrels a day of oil exports from the country and allow it to restart production from shuttered fields — as long as shippers are willing to send their tankers into the Gulf.

A total of 16 ships have crossed the strait since Saturday morning, with 11 exiting the Gulf and five entering from the open seas, vessel-tracking data show. In normal times, about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait every day.

Iran has moved to tighten its control over the waterway, setting up a tolling system and directing most vessels to take a specific route close to its border. In the past day, all recorded transits of large ships went through that narrow northern passage, situated between the Iranian islands of Larak and Qeshm.

The most significant recent crossing is that of the Ocean Thunder, a vessel managed by Turkey-based Onn Denizcilik ve Danismanlik, according to the Equasis maritime database.

Tanker-tracking is hampered by electronic interference with ships’ signals, and some vessels disable their AIS transponders in high-risk waters, further reducing the timeliness and reliability of tracking data.

Outbound Transits

Five bulk carriers and three oil-product tankers exited the Persian Gulf on Saturday, with two oil tankers and a liquefied petroleum gas carrier following on Sunday morning. Four of the bulkers came from Iranian ports, with two signaling that they’d been delivering food.

The Ocean Thunder passed through Iran’s “toll booth” between the Qeshm and Larak islands. The products carrier Ratta followed the same route after leaving the Saudi port of Al Jubail, tracking data show. The LPG carrier Green Asha was also observed making the outbound crossing on Sunday, heading for India.

In addition, two very small Indian cargo ships have been noted leaving the Gulf, hugging the coast of Oman. Neither vessel has an IMO number and they are not included in the transit count.

With vessels “going dark” in high-risk waters, transit counts may initially appear lower and may be revised upward as delayed data becomes available.

Inbound Transits

One chemicals tanker, one LPG tanker, two bulk carriers and a container ship entered the Gulf on Saturday. The chemicals tanker, one bulker and the container ship are linked to Iran and sanctioned by the US.

The Iran-linked bulker and container ship headed for the port of Bandar Abbas at the top of the Strait of Hormuz, while the other three vessels all entered the Gulf along the Iranian route.

NOTES:

Because vessels can move without transmitting their location until they’re well away from Hormuz, automated positioning signals were compiled over a large area covering the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea to detect those that may have departed or entered the Persian Gulf.

When potential transits are identified, signal histories are examined to determine whether the movement appears genuine or is the result of spoofing — where electronic interference can falsify the apparent position of a ship. 

Some transits may not have been detected if vessels’ transponders haven’t been switched back on. Iran-linked oil tankers often steam from the Persian Gulf without broadcasting signals until they reach the Strait of Malacca about 10 days after passing Fujairah in the UAE. Other ships may be adopting similar tactics and won’t show up on tracking screens for many days.

This tracker will be published during heightened tensions involving Iran, and aims to capture traffic for all classes of commercial shipping.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

More vessels are crossing, including those with no clear links to Iran or China, as nations negotiate with Tehran to get their ships through. Transits over the past day were led by liquefied petroleum gas carriers, including one headed to India and others with Iranian affiliations. 

A total of 13 ships have crossed since Friday morning, with 10 exiting the Persian Gulf and three entering from the open seas, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Still, that’s a trickle compared with the numbers before the war began on Feb. 28. In normal times, about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait every day. 

Iran has moved to tighten its control over the waterway, setting up a tolling system and directing most vessels to take a specific route close to its border. In the past day, all recorded transits went through that narrow northern passage, situated between the Iranian islands of Larak and Qeshm.

Recent crossings include a French container ship and a Japanese-owned LNG tanker, seemingly the first such transits since the war began. It’s not clear whether those journeys were a result of diplomatic outreach or negotiations by shipping companies and their intermediaries.

Tanker-tracking is hampered by electronic interference with ships’ signals, and some vessels disable their AIS transponders in high-risk waters, further reducing the timeliness and reliability of tracking data.

Outbound Transits

Five bulk carriers and one oil-product tanker joined the four LPG tankers in exiting the Persian Gulf since Friday morning. Three of the bulkers and the fuel tanker sailed on Saturday morning. Apart from the Indian LPG vessel, the others are linked to Chinese or Iranian interests.

With vessels going dark in high-risk waters, transit counts may initially appear lower and may be revised upward as delayed data becomes available.

Inbound Transits

Two LPG carriers and one fuel tanker with Iranian affiliations were among the inbound transits recorded since Friday morning.

NOTES:

Because vessels can move without transmitting their location until they’re well away from Hormuz, automated positioning signals were compiled over a large area covering the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea to detect those that may have departed or entered the Persian Gulf.

When potential transits are identified, signal histories are examined to determine whether the movement appears genuine or is the result of spoofing — where electronic interference can falsify the apparent position of a ship. 

Some transits may not have been detected if vessels’ transponders haven’t been switched back on. Iran-linked oil tankers often steam from the Persian Gulf without broadcasting signals until they reach the Strait of Malacca about 10 days after passing Fujairah in the UAE. Other ships may be adopting similar tactics and won’t show up on tracking screens for many days.

This tracker will be published during heightened tensions involving Iran, and aims to capture traffic for all classes of commercial shipping.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Meloni started her tour from Jeddah, according to an Italian government official. She is the first leader of a European Union or North Atlantic Treaty Organization country to visit the region since the Iran war started, the official said, adding that Meloni will also meet with representatives from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the trip.

The focus of her visit is to share views on the war, maritime security, opening the Strait of Hormuz, and the humanitarian situation in countries affected by the conflict, according to Italian diplomats. Meloni will also relay the message that Italian energy firms, including state-backed Eni SpA, remain committed to investing in the region, they added. 

The premier traveled to the region on Good Friday with a goal of strengthening the partnership with Gulf energy producers after Iran attacked them in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes, the diplomats said. She us seeking to get a full picture of their positions on the war, they added.

The trip would also help Meloni fortify energy links with the Gulf, the government official added, a key source for oil and gas for Italy. The Bank of Italy on Friday lowered its GDP growth estimates for 2026 and 2027, citing the impact of the war on prices and the economy. 

Italy has sent aerial defenses to the Gulf to help counter Iran’s assaults, and there were some similar requests pending, the diplomats said, but these were constrained by the war in Ukraine.

Rome has also remained in contact with Iran throughout the fighting, which started on Feb. 28, and is pushing for a ceasefire in a mediated resolution to the conflict.

Energy Prices

The war has roiled global energy markets, with the strait of Hormuz closure choking off global supply, a disruption that’s affected Italy particularly. Meloni flew to Algeria last month in an effort to secure more gas from the North African nation. Spain has made similar moves.

Earlier on Friday, Meloni’s government extended Italy’s fuel tax cut through May 1, committing about €500 million ($577 million) in added funds to blunt the impact of higher energy prices caused by the Iran war. 

For that period, consumers and businesses will continue to see a €0.25 per liter reduction in taxes at the pump, Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said. The new measures add to a similar-sized package that was set to expire on April 7.

“We’re talking about an emergency here,” Giorgetti told reporters in Rome. “The overall situation is objectively worrying for the economy,” Giorgetti added, referring to the war in Iran, with effects on monetary and fiscal policy for the countries affected.

Meloni’s government has limited headroom to intervene, given a mammoth public debt load and European Union fiscal rules. If the Iran war persists it will become “inevitable” that the EU revises the 3% deficit ceiling on member countries, Giorgetti said.

The lack of flexibility was underscored on Friday, when Italy’s statistics institute said the country had breached the European Union’s deficit ceiling in 2025. The budget shortfall reached 3.1% of domestic product last year, further compressing fiscal headroom for the government as it contends with the energy shock and attempts to respond to a key referendum defeat last month.

Several European nations, including Spain and France, have also passed energy measures or signaled that they were considering them in response to price shocks caused by the war. 

(Updates with context, Bin Salman meeting and additional detail starting from the first paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Abu Dhabi suspended operations at its largest natural gas processing facility, after a fire broke out due to debris from a projectile interception. It is the second time operations have been halted at the Habshan facility since the war broke out. No injuries were reported. 

Hours earlier, a drone attack caused a fire at Kuwait’s Mina Al Ahmadi oil refinery, with a capacity of 346,000 barrels a day. Kuwaiti media said there were no immediate reports of casualties and teams were working to put out the blaze. Authorities also said a power and water desalination plant was attacked early on Friday, damaging some components. 

Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted several drones in the early morning.

On Thursday, Trump posted a video of a destroyed bridge and said there would be “much more to follow” if Iran didn’t agree to a deal to end the conflict, now almost five weeks old and which has caused a global energy crisis.

Iran remained defiant, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying strikes on civilian structures “will not compel Iranians to surrender.” The country has shown little sign of accepting Trump’s demands for peace and has laid out its own conditions — most of them unacceptable to the US and Israel.

CNN reported that about half of Iran’s missile launchers are still intact — despite more than 12,000 US and Israeli strikes on Iran since they began the war in late February — and that thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran’s arsenal. The assessment may include launchers that are currently inaccessible even if they are not destroyed, CNN said, citing three sources familiar with the matter.

Trump signaled this week he may be willing to pull US forces out of the conflict in two to three weeks, even if the vital Strait of Hormuz is still effectively shut. US allies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia are stepping up efforts to ensure the waterway — through which one fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally flow — is reopened soon.

More than 40 of them met virtually on Thursday to discuss plans, in a signal to Trump of their concern about the crisis triggered by the closure, with prices of energy and other commodities soaring in the past month.

The group was clear the US needed to include a solution for Hormuz in any ceasefire talks with Iran, people familiar with the discussions said. Still, the meeting showed the coalition of countries deem it necessary to begin preparations for having to reopen the strait without the US. Nations such as France and the UK have said military options are unlikely to work and that a ceasefire is needed.

The strait remains all but shut. Iran appeared to tighten its grip on Thursday when its media reported that the government is drafting protocol with Oman to monitor shipping traffic. That would require shippers to pay tolls to Iran, according to the country’s deputy foreign minister. Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait from Iran, is yet to comment on the reports.

The passage is officially in international waters and any attempt by Iran to assert control over traffic will be strongly opposed by Western powers and Gulf Arab states.

A trickle of ships is managing to pass through. A container ship signaling French ownership has recently exited the Strait of Hormuz, in what appears to be the first known transit by a vessel linked to Western Europe since the war began, Bloomberg reported.

The United Nations Security Council will likely vote on Friday on a resolution that would support a range of measures to reopen Hormuz.

Bahrain, supported by Jordan and Arab Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates, is proposing the resolution, according to the UAE. It would provide “a clear legal basis for all states to mobilize and support safe passage,” the UAE said in a post on X.

In the oil market, WTI crude — the main benchmark for the US — settled above $110 a barrel for the first time since 2022 on Thursday. Fuel continued to edge higher worldwide, with diesel prices in Europe rising above $200 a barrel.

Oil markets are closed for Easter holidays on Friday.

Trump has oscillated between casting diplomatic efforts as productive, and threatening further destruction — including on civilian and energy infrastructure. Earlier this week, he threatened to target Iran’s energy facilities and water desalination plants if the strait stays shut — a move that could constitute a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

He previously said Iran has until April 6 to reopen Hormuz or have its power plants destroyed. It’s unclear if that deadline is still in place.

The president is under increasing pressure from Americans to ease the energy shock, which has seen gasoline pump prices in the country surge to more than $4 a gallon on average. That’s the highest level in almost four years.

Trump has insisted prices will drop quickly once the war is over. He says the conflict was necessary to prevent Iran getting a nuclear bomb — something Tehran has always denied it wants — and to destroy its stockpile of missiles.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to step down immediately. The Pentagon didn’t give a reason.

A prolonged conflict carries political risks for Trump and his Republican Party as the November midterm elections approach. Polls show a significant numbers of Americans disapprove of military operations against Iran and a rising number are concerned about the economic impact of the war.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far, almost three-quarters of them in Iran, according to government organizations and the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Just over 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting a parallel war against Iran-allied Hezbollah.

(Adds details on Abu Dhabi’s gas facilities.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The Habshan gas facility was halted after debris fell in the area from the interception of an incoming attack, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a post on X. At Habshan, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. operates the UAE’s main facility for collecting and processing gas from the emirate’s fields and distributing it for domestic use.

Habshan also has oil facilities and is the starting point for Adnoc’s crude pipeline to Fujairah, a key port that sits outside the Strait of Hormuz. 

Hours earlier, Kuwait’s Mina Al Ahmadi oil refinery was also struck, with units in operation at the time catching fire. Authorities also said a power and water desalination plant was attacked early on Friday, causing damages to some components.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The company is exploring possible locations including Texas, Virginia and the northeastern US, the spokesperson said on Friday, confirming an earlier report by the Nikkei newspaper. No final decision has been made, the spokesperson added.

Artificial intelligence and the data centers behind it are driving a surge in US power demand, with tech firms turning increasingly to gas-powered facilities as a stable source of electricity. Osaka Gas President Masataka Fujiwara said in an interview in November that the company is targeting more investment in such plants in the US.

The US and Japan are also planning to build a $33 billion gas-fired power plant in Ohio as part of a trade deal between the two nations. At least 13 Japanese firms, including SoftBank Group Corp., are tied to that project.

The latest initiative by Osaka Gas is separate from the trade deal, the spokesperson said.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Tokyo Gas Co., which supplies gas and electricity to the nation’s capital, suspended acceptance of new clients for industrial power use from March 6, a company spokesperson said. With the ongoing conflict affecting procurement costs, the company has yet to decide when it will resume taking on new customers, the spokesperson said.

Eneos Power Corp., the power-retail unit of oil refiner Eneos Holdings Inc., has also temporarily stopped taking requests from new clients for industrial use, according to its website. A company spokesperson declined to comment further.

The temporary restrictions apply only to industrial electricity users. Both companies are continuing to take on new clients for comparatively low-voltage household use.

The US-Israeli war with Iran has resulted in the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that’s normally a transit point for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. This, along with the destruction of key energy infrastructure in the region, has affected the Japanese power market, which relies heavily on fossil-fuel imports to generate electricity.

Japan’s power retailers have suspended acceptance of new clients before, for example when the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent fuel prices skyrocketing. Such measures can threaten efforts by factories and other large power consumers from securing enough electricity.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Jera and Commonwealth entered the long-term agreement last year, which would’ve seen the proposed Louisiana-based export project supply 1 million tons of LNG annually for 20 years. The notification of the deal’s termination was dated April 1 and filed on behalf of Commonwealth Energy. The agreement was terminated effective March 3, the letter said, without giving a reason.

Spokespeople for Commonwealth LNG and Jera did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The planned Commonwealth LNG project is under development by private equity-backed Kimmeridge Energy Management LLC, whose managing partner Ben Dell said last week that a final investment decision is expected in April. The project has other long-term offtake agreements with purchasers including Glencore Plc and Malaysia’s Petronas.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, says the bloc is assessing “all possibilities” to tackle long-term effects of the Middle East conflict, including releasing more oil from strategic reserves.

“This will be a long crisis ... energy prices will be higher for a very long time,” Jørgensen told the Financial Times. The Dane also warned that for some more “critical” products, the EU could “expect it to be even worse in the weeks to come”.

Preparing for tough times

His message comes amid energy market disruption caused by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on Gulf infrastructure. Prices have soared alongside fears of long-term supply shortages, potentially higher inflation, and slower economic growth.

While Jørgensen explained the EU was “not in a security of supply crisis, yet”, Brussels was devising plans to tackle “structural, long-lasting effects” of the war.

Jørgensen continued. “It certainly is our analysis this will be a prolonged situation, and countries need to be sure that they ... have what they need.”

Governments have been creating strategies to support consumers. The commissioner said the EU was “preparing for the worst scenarios”, including rationing critical products such as jet fuel or diesel, although it was “not there yet”.

“Better to be prepared than to be sorry,” he said, also reiterating there would be no change to EU legislation to end Russian LNG imports this year.

The politician said relying instead on the US and other partners to provide additional supplies was acceptable, as they operate in “the free market”.

Potential relief levers 

Jørgensen also spoke about loosening jet fuel regulations to permit more US imports and allowing more ethanol blending for automotive fuel.

He again said the EU was “not there yet” but was examining all possibilities.

“It’s clear the more serious the situation gets, the more, of course, we will also have to look into legislative tools,” he said.

Jørgensen would also “not exclude” another release of strategic energy reserves “if the situation becomes more dire”, without revealing the bloc’s “exact analysis” on when that might be required.

EU countries actioned the largest release of strategic oil reserves in history last month, in a bid to tame soaring prices.

Jørgensen added: “We need to keep our possibilities open, and if this is indeed, as I project, a long-lasting crisis, we need those tools also at a later stage. It needs to be done at the exact right time, and it needs to be proportionate.”

The average rate for 30-year, fixed loans was 6.46%, the highest since early September and up from 6.38% last week. 

The housing market is entering its traditional peak time of the year for transactions, but concerns about the economy threaten to hold back both buyers and sellers. Spiking energy prices from the war in Iran have sparked inflation fears, while the growth of artificial intelligence stirs job insecurities. Home prices also remain out of reach for many Americans.  

Capital Economics downgraded its already bearish 2026 forecast for sales of previously owned homes, citing the recent jump in mortgage rates that’s been fanned by the war and higher yields for benchmark Treasury bonds.

That rise in loan costs has reduced purchasing power for new borrowers, who’d face significantly bigger monthly bills than they would have in late February, when rates dipped below 6%. 

“This fast-changing mortgage math, combined with general economic uncertainty, could keep more buyers on the sidelines as the typically busy spring market gets into full swing,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst for Realtor.com.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev told the state-run TASS news agency that the second ship is being loaded.

The Donald Trump administration had blocked all major oil shipments to the island for more than three months, when it finally let through a Russian vessel on March 30 carrying 100,000 tons of crude. 

Trump called the exception a humanitarian gesture, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it didn’t represent a fundamental change in the US maximum pressure campaign against the communist-run island. 

Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert and managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors, said oil markets are too fragile, with the ongoing war in Iran, and Washington is likely too focused elsewhere, to try to block this new tanker. 

“Energy markets are too volatile to think that the US is going to escalate with Russia and Cuba,” Erickson said. “This is the consequence of a distracted and over-stretched foreign policy.” 

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.