Global benchmark Brent rose above $79 a barrel, after rallying by more than 5% last week, while West Texas Intermediate was near $74. US Central Command said on Monday it struck dozens of targets on Sunday to degrade Iran’s ability to attack international shipping passing through the waterway. 

Iran had said on Sunday the strait would be closed “until further notice,” as the Islamic Republic’s forces launched retaliatory drone and missile assaults on American allies across the Middle East, including Jordan and Qatar. In addition, Kuwait said an offshore drilling platform had been hit and damaged.

Crude has rebounded this month as the uncertainty reinserted a war premium into prices, erasing some of the declines seen in May and June after an interim peace deal offered the prospect of more supply. The flare-up risks derailing efforts to rebuild inventories, the International Energy Agency said on Friday — a reminder of what’s at stake for the global economy if the conflict continues.

The latest flare-up remains escalatory but “well short of all-out hostilities,” said Saul Kavonic, senior energy analyst at MST Marquee. “We are likely to see oil prices inch higher for as long as the strikes continue and passage through the strait remains more hesitant.”

Traffic through Hormuz — which normally carried about a fifth of global crude and liquefied natural gas supplies — was almost nonexistent on Monday, extending a slowdown since tensions flared up last week. Even so, the Joint Maritime Information Center said the southern shipping lane coordinated by Oman remains available.

European natural gas also rose on concern the escalation could hamper shipments. Futures added as much as 2.7% after gaining almost 8% last week.  

The re-escalation has dimmed prospects for diplomacy. Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared the “era of one-sided deals is OVER,” while Tehran insisted Washington must honor commitments on Hormuz and the normalization of its oil exports before talks can resume. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, declared the ceasefire “OVER” but said the US remained willing to continue negotiations.

The attack on the Kuwaiti drilling facility at the weekend marked the first direct strike on energy infrastructure in weeks, and if the conflict expanded to target energy infrastructure more broadly, oil could head to $100, Kavonic said. 

In the past month, Persian Gulf producers including the United Arab Emirates marketed additional crude after the interim agreement eased concerns over exports. The Emiratis, in particular, were among the most successful in getting barrels out using shuttle tankers that sail dark, or with transponders off.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

But this crowd had gathered for something else entirely — a chance to glimpse cutting-edge panel and battery technology from one of the world’s top solar manufacturers, China’s Jinko Solar Co.

Economies across Asia have been hit by soaring utility bills in the months since the war in the Middle East upended oil and gas markets, prompting many to rethink power supply. In the Philippines, households and businesses have embraced green alternatives, and created a welcome boon for Beijing’s solar producers  in the process.

It has become China’s single-biggest overseas market for solar panels for the first time this year, outpacing even success stories like Pakistan. Only the Netherlands, a hub for northwest Europe, imports more.

“Electricity bills here are increasing,” said Cesar Arriaga, who lives in the city’s suburbs and came along to learn about how to buy and install panels. “I like the Chinese products not only because they’re cheap, but because they’re technologically competitive.”

China is the source of the world’s most inexpensive and most advanced solar technology, producing about 80% of global supply. But it has also been producing far too much of a good thing — meaning new markets are vital for the industry’s survival.

China’s solar exports to the Philippines more than doubled in the first five months of 2026 from a year earlier, according to Trade Data Monitor. In March alone, imports jumped 262% year-on-year. Filipino buyers have spent more than half a billion dollars on Chinese panels so far in 2026.

Granted, some of that is down to suppliers front-loading shipments ahead of changes to Chinese export tax rebates. But analysts and industry insiders say the trend will prove a lasting one, even amid on-off tensions between the two countries, including disputes in the South China Sea.

One indicator is that demand has now expanded far beyond Manila into regional centers like Davao, where enthusiasts crammed the mall, fueling a leap in revenue. In 2025, Jinko’s sales to the Philippines were equivalent to nearly 1.5GW, handing it a market share of more than a quarter. In the first six months of this year, it has already shipped close to 1GW. The popularity of higher-end N-type modules, particularly effective in hot climates, have raised the company’s average selling price overseas and its profit margins.

“Based on the current pace, we expect a more pronounced market boom and demand change in the Philippines in the second half of this year,” Jinko said in response to Bloomberg queries.

That enthusiasm may well be enough to counter efforts by Manila to tighten control of imported solar equipment. Policymakers have proposed that solar systems and components should be certified by the country’s national standards body to ensure product safety, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. Still, unlike the US and parts of Europe, where governments have imposed tariffs on Chinese solar panels and modules to shield domestic manufacturers, the Philippines has shown little sign of pursuing broader trade barriers.

In large part, that is because both sides stand to benefit from the current boom. Import-dependent Philippines gains access to low-cost renewable technology which is easy to deploy even in an island nation, while Chinese manufacturers can tap a fast-growing export market.

“The Philippines has so much to gain by embracing solar: less pressure on retail electricity price rises, less imported gas and oil, and overall cheaper electricity for customers,” said veteran electricity analyst Dave Jones at energy think tank Ember. “Electricity prices are so high. With customers fearful that prices will rise further, this provides a firm impetus to act now.”

Chinese manufacturers also want to move quickly to tap overseas markets, especially if that means profits for an industry that has been mired in losses for years. While the Philippines remains relatively small compared to China’s behemoth domestic market, rising demand here — alongside other major importers like Pakistan — is providing an important outlet for excess capacity.

Other factors help. The Philippines has long been a key adopter of renewable power, ahead of many others in the Southeast Asian region, with a strong pipeline of wind and solar projects in development as it tries to keep up with expanding consumption. The country has also been active in encouraging foreign players to enter its clean-energy sector by allowing full foreign ownership and easing access to local financing.

“The Philippines is a key renewable market in Southeast Asia, driven by a clear structural need,” said Geoffrey Jahnke, chief operating officer at Peak Energy, which develops clean energy projects in Asia. Demand for electricity continues to rise, and the country is still exposed to imported fuel price volatility and needs more “stable, domestically supplied energy,” he said.

Rising electricity costs have provided a fresh impetus to clean up the grid, given most of that surge is directly linked to dependence on imported fossil fuels. Power prices in the Philippines have jumped at least 14% this year from last year, said Robert Liew, an analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie. The nation now has the costliest residential electricity price in Southeast Asia, and the second-highest commercial price, according to a May report published by Ember. 

To try to cushion the shock from Persian Gulf disruption, the government began offering low interest loans of up to 500,000 pesos ($8,124) for residential clean energy. It has also fast-tracked more than 30 renewable projects.

That means cheap Chinese solar panels are now a viable way for households to save money. Payback for a residential rooftop project can be as short as a little more than three years, down from four years in May 2025, according to Ember.

As a result, the industry is booming, as seen in Davao’s crowded mall, with exports to the Philippines smashing records in March. Average weekly rooftop solar installations have risen 170% since the US and Israel began bombing Iran in late-February, according to New Energy Nexus. 

The only catch is that with customer inquiries surging 582%, demand is running ahead of what the market can physically deliver, held back by supply chain shortages and limited numbers of installers.

“The supply chain was not built to absorb a demand shock of this size,” New Energy Nexus said in an April report.

For producers like Jinko and rival Trina Solar Co., it is still an opportunity that cannot be passed up.

“The market is moving from buying panels as standalone components toward planning solar as part of a wider energy system,” Trina Solar, another Chinese manufacturer, said in response to Bloomberg queries. “We are confident in meeting this demand.”

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The procurement process is underway, with a preferred bidder expected to be selected before the vote, Energy Minister Simeon Brown said in an interview last week. Prices for LNG are forecast to continue to come down as new supply outside of New Zealand becomes available, he said. 

The South Pacific nation relies heavily on hydropower, which leaves it vulnerable to dry years when there is little rain or snow to fill the lakes. There were shortages of electricity and prices spiked in 2024 during one such period, and the government plans to have the shipboard import terminal and regasification plant running by 2028 to mitigate that risk. 

“Every four years we have a dry year,” Brown said, adding that dwindling domestic supplies mean the country needs to look overseas. “If we can’t get the gas out of the ground domestically, we’re going to need it somewhere else. We see it as an insurance against the dry year risk, it’s about resilience, it’s about reliability, and also about affordability.

The electricity companies, known as “gentailers” in New Zealand because they both generate and retail electricity, have to work out how they will pay for the plan, Brown emphasized. “We’ve said it very clearly, it’s their obligation to fund this, because it’s their dry year risk that they must manage.”

“We’re in commercial negotiations for the gentailers to run a commercial funding model for them to pay for it,” he said.

While the long-term solution to the question of energy reliability may include renewable options, Brown emphasized that the LNG import plan was the only solution that could be done quickly, and be in place in just a few years for when there is a repeat of the 2024 dry year. 

“We’re not prepared as a government to leave New Zealand in a position where we effectively have a deindustrialization of our country, because we don’t have the molecules to be able to create electrons to keep the lights on,” he said, criticizing the Labour government’s 2018 ban on offshore oil and gas exploration and lack of planning for the transition to a lower-carbon economy. 

“Gas is critical to the transition. It is a critical transition fuel to enable that transition in a smooth manner,” he said. “We’ve ended up with a very unsmooth transition, which is a direct result of the previous government’s policies.”

The global LNG market had been expected to move into a glut this year, however the shutdown of Qatar’s export plant, the world’s biggest, due to the war in Iran has tightened the outlook. The conflict has also highlighted the dangers of relying on energy from the Middle East.

New Zealand has now built up a substantial coal stockpile at the coal-fired power plant in Huntly in case there is a dry year before the LNG plant is available, Brown said, adding that this provides “a significant amount of additional resilience that we didn’t have going into 2024.”

The opposition Labour Party is opposed to the plan, and the question is likely to be hotly debated ahead of the election later this year. The party’s energy spokeswoman Megan Woods has called it a “knee jerk reaction” to waning gas supplies, which is “excessive and rushed, and rules out viable alternatives.”

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The path along the Omani coastline is still available for transit, the Joint Maritime Information Center said in a note. Describing the threat-level in the strait as still “severe,” it told mariners to expect radio communications with naval forces and be aware of a danger from mines.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced earlier Sunday it wouldn’t allow any vessels to pass the strait until foreign interference ends, accusing the US of seeking to create disruptions. 

American forces struck Iran for a third time in a week overnight, after a Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit nine nautical miles off the Omani coast, causing a fire and forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.

Control of the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas once moved — has been central to US-Iran peace negotiations. A fresh barrage of assaults early Sunday that saw the Islamic Republic target at least five American allies in the region, including Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, are putting a ceasefire that began last month under extreme stress.

There was almost no visible traffic in the strait on Sunday, with only two oil products tankers seen approaching the waterway. 

Crew from the struck container ship were rescued by local authorities, UK Maritime Trade Operations reported, while India said one of its nationals who was onboard is missing.

The IRGC halted a cargo ship after firing a warning shot because it tried to transit the strait on Saturday despite a warning, according to Iran’s IRIB news agency. The Fars agency also reported Iranian forces had “struck and halted a second non-compliant vessel,” though it didn’t provide further details.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Once fully completed in 2028, the two Russian-designed reactors at the Rooppur facility will be able to supply as much as 15% of the country’s electricity. The project is an audacious bet that nuclear power can meet the needs of an industrializing economy without breaking the bank, and other developing nations across the world will be watching closely.

Atomic power has undergone a renaissance over the last few years. While safety risks and heavy cost overruns saw the world sour on nuclear, especially after the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, those concerns are now being surpassed by the need to decarbonize and meet a surge in power demand from artificial intelligence and the electrification of transport fleets.

For developing nations like Bangladesh, atomic energy is less about data centers and more to do with weaning their economies off fossil fuels and reducing their vulnerability to external shocks like the Iran war. With oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf upended by the conflict, long lines at filling stations became routine, homes in the countryside had to cope with hours of daily blackouts, and factory output suffered. 

“The recent geopolitical conflicts — Iran and Russia-Ukraine — have shown that a scarcity of resources hurts poorer countries more than rich ones,” said R. Srikanth, who heads the energy, environment and climate change program at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bengaluru in India. “That strengthens the case for nuclear in emerging economies.”

The 2.4 gigawatt project has been more than a decade in the making, a period marked by a series of upheavals including the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Iran war. Those events are an endorsement of Bangladesh’s strategy of reducing its heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, but they’ve also pushed Rooppur beyond its original timeline of commissioning the first unit by 2023.

The project has been inherited by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who came to power in elections in February, and chimes with his government’s efforts to revive growth after years of dictatorship came to an end in 2024. 

The first reactor is now expected to become fully operational by the start of 2027, with the second one to follow a year later, according to Md. Zahedul Hassan, managing director at Nuclear Power Plant Co. Bangladesh Ltd., the facility’s operator.

Like other developing economies, though, Bangladesh has found that nuclear projects come with expanding costs. Under the main contract with Russian state-owned company Rosatom, the plant will cost around $12.65 billion, including the first few years’ fuel, according to the World Nuclear Association. But in local-currency terms, that cost has now increased by almost a quarter since the project was approved a decade ago, thanks to a sharp weakening of the Bangladeshi taka against the dollar.

“The delay has had a massive financial implication for Bangladesh,” said Md. Shafiqul Islam, a professor of nuclear engineering at Dhaka University. “A timely completion would have not only avoided this massive cost escalation but would have also helped us trim our fossil fuel import bill.” 

Plant operator Hassan, while declining to give details on the estimated cost of generation, is adamant that it will be value for money for the country. 

“If you assess from the point of view of assurance of long-term supplies, safeguards against supply chain issues as well as the cost of generation, it’s very much competitive,” he said. 

Bangladesh is now exploring small modular reactors as a longer-term hedge against energy shocks and is in early talks with suppliers including Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc and Chinese manufacturers, according to Power and Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood.

“The government is looking at plants generating 300 to 400 megawatts, small enough to be built along riverbanks and deployed faster than conventional reactors,” he said. “We will not go for large-scale plants anymore because there are huge liabilities.”

Even the most committed nations will have to deal with the high upfront capital outlay, long construction times, and the risk of delays that increase costs, until new technologies, such as SMRs, mature. The benefits of nuclear power is that it’s low-carbon, reliable and continuous, making it an ideal baseload electricity source to pair with intermittent renewables, like solar and wind, for the energy transition.

“The Rooppur plant will ensure Bangladesh doesn’t need to build any new baseload capacity in the next five to seven years,” said Shafiqul Alam, the lead Bangladesh analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “That’s going to provide the opportunity to accelerate renewables installations and invest in grid modernization.”  

Growing confidence in the country’s abilities, evident from the visitors posing for selfies in front of the plant, has been instrumental in gathering public support for the Rooppur project, Dhaka University’s Islam said. 

Other developing nations may also be driven by similar sentiments, with the perception of modernity about nuclear energy adding to the hype around it, according to Toby Dalton, a senior fellow and co-director for the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

He cautioned that governments need to first put in place all the elements needed to run a nuclear plant sustainably, including a competent workforce, a credible and independent regulator, broad public approval, and mechanisms for handling spent fuel. 

“I worry that the hype that’s been built around nuclear may push countries to make some bad choices,” Dalton said. “I don’t think any developing economy wants to be a laboratory for a technology that hasn’t been proven and demonstrated elsewhere.” 

Another catch is the dearth of options when it comes to buying the technology, a deal that comes with long-term ties. The global nuclear market is controlled by a handful of suppliers, including the US, Russia, China, France and South Korea, that use a limited number of reactor technologies. 

China and Russia dominate the world’s 80 reactors under-construction, most of which are in Asia, data from the World Nuclear Association show. The two countries have aggressively pushed their existing technologies — as well as those years away from maturity — to drive interest and widen their geopolitical influence.

“For developing economies, nuclear power is also a tool for long-term national development, strengthening energy security, driving industrialization and building advanced engineering and scientific expertise domestically,” Russia’s Rosatom said in an emailed response to questions.

The challenge of high capital costs is addressed by the Russian model that provides credit to customers so the upfront costs can be paid back over 20 to 25 years, said Srikanth, at the Institute for Advanced Studies.

For Bangladesh, developments in its South Asian neighborhood have added to the appeal of nuclear. 

India has a plan to expand atomic power capacity eleven-fold to 100 gigawatts by 2047, with Rosatom building four 1-gigawatt reactors at Kudankulam, a small fishing town near the southernmost tip of the country. In Pakistan, China has supplied six reactors that constitute nearly 3.3 gigawatts of generation capacity, according to the World Nuclear Association.

“The Rooppur project has added a sense of pride among local residents,” said Islam, from Dhaka University. “They now think if India and Pakistan can do it, so can we.”

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

In the early stages of the Iran war, concerns over local fuel availability prompted China to curb sales of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to overseas customers. Asia’s top crude consumer later eased those rules, including by granting more export permits earlier this month.

Now a flare-up in violence — along with a US move to revoke a waiver allowing the sale of Iranian oil — threatens an interim US-Iran peace deal and is heightening Beijing’s fears of renewed interruptions to crude and fuel supply, the people said, asking not to be identified as discussions aren’t public. 

At least two major refineries have been asked to maintain or increase run rates, the people said, despite China’s elevated gasoline and diesel inventories and a structural slowdown in consumption of both.

Even prior to the conflict, Beijing maintained strict control of oil-product shipments via a quota system. Export quotas for July won’t be revised, one of the people said.

One consequence of higher run rates, however, will be additional pressure on regional refining margins, with the spread between Asian gasoline prices and Dubai crude already falling to its lowest level since late March.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission, responsible for economic planning, didn’t immediately reply to Bloomberg queries sent outside of regular working hours.

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“In the short term, it’s possible” that the energy crisis worsens, Descalzi said in an interview published on Saturday, while warning that Europe will remain heavily dependent on US liquefied natural gas to rebuild storage before winter. 

Competition for oil and gas is set to intensify as inventories shrink, with Europe in need to buy about 35 billion cubic meters of LNG to reach its 80% storage target before winter, he said. Italy is ahead of European peers, with gas stockpiles already at about 70% of capacity, he added.

Europe should use the “unprecedented succession of crises” — from the Covid-19 pandemic to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the conflict involving Iran — as a starting point to address energy security, Descalzi said.

The Strait of Hormuz crisis has marked a turning point for global energy security, with the risk of disruptions at strategic shipping chokepoints likely to raise transport and financing costs as well as insurance premiums, he said, adding that there is now a “before and after Hormuz.”

Europe should diversify energy sources and supplier nations while continuing to invest in hydrocarbons alongside renewables, carbon capture, biofuels and nuclear power, Descalzi said. He identified North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Southeast Asia as key regions for future supply diversification.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The load, which exceeded the previous peak of 1.508 billion kilowatts set on July 17, 2025, has risen by more than 150 million kilowatts since the start of July, an increase the agency said was roughly equivalent to Japan’s power load. The regulator said it is directing local authorities under province-specific plans to ensure power supplies in both routine and emergency scenarios.

Electricity consumption by internet data services rose 44.6% in the first five months of the year, while charging and battery-swapping services recorded growth of 56.8%, highlighting strong demand from parts of the digital and low-carbon economy, the NEA said. Electricity demand has remained strong this year, while the national energy and power supply situation has generally remained stable, according to the statement. No region has implemented demand-response measures or orderly power-use measures.

As China enters a critical period for securing power supplies during the summer peak season, the NEA said it will strengthen monitoring, weather coordination and power-supply security efforts, while safeguarding residential electricity use, improving the reliability of power equipment and reducing the impact of extreme weather events on daily life.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The Camden, New Jersey-based nuclear supplier had net income of $17.8 million on revenue of $165.3 million for the three months ended March 31, compared with net income of $25.4 million on revenue of $177.7 million a year prior, according to its filing Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Holtec, founded in 1986, makes the massive steel-and-concrete casks used to store deadly nuclear waste, and is the main US company involved in decommissioning shuttered reactors including Indian Point north of New York City. 

But in recent years, as demand for nuclear power has climbed, the company has been shifting its focus. It acquired the Palisades plant when it shut down in 2022, with the intention of decommissioning the Michigan facility. But almost immediately there were calls the restart the plant, one of the earliest signs of the growing demand for carbon-free power from reactors, and the company is now close to bringing it back into service. Holtec is also developing its own reactor technology, and plans to install the first of them at the same site.

Holtec’s small modular reactor project was awarded a $400 million grant from the US Department of Energy in December. The company aims for the reactors to be in commission in the early 2030s.

The company’s shares are owned by two trusts controlled by founder and Chief Executive Officer Krishna Singh, the filing shows.

The IPO comes as nuclear energy has been seeing increased interest from the owners of data centers used for artificial intelligence computing. X-Energy Inc. went public in April and saw its share rise in its debut, but the stock has since fallen 31% below its IPO price. With small modular reactors still not commercially available in the US, some nuclear stocks have pulled back as investors await development progress.

Holtec’s offering is being led by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Guggenheim Securities, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. The company expects its shares to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol HNUC.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

West Texas Intermediate fell 0.9% to settle near $71 a barrel, but still notched a weekly gain of roughly 4%. Brent futures also fell to close near $76 a barrel. 

The two sides are continuing technical discussions, according to a US official, after US forces’ two-day campaign against targets in the Islamic Republic had cast doubt on the prospect. A Qatari delegation arrived in Iran, according to its semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The commodity briefly pared losses, before reversing, in a knee-jerk reaction after US President Donald Trump said in a social media post that “in no uncertain terms... the Cease Fire is OVER!” He also confirmed that talks between the warring sides are set to continue. 

The International Energy Agency warned in a report on Friday that renewed hostilities between the two adversaries risk derailing efforts to rebuild depleted global oil inventories later this year.

There were signs of resilience in the region’s energy flows. The United Arab Emirates boosted crude oil production to an all-time high last month, the most compelling evidence yet of how Abu Dhabi has responded more boldly than any of its Persian Gulf neighbors to the war.

“Overall, the price action is consistent with the narrative that the market doesn’t think the hostilities are going to last,” said Scott Shelton, an energy specialist at TP ICAP Group Plc. “On the flip side, oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz are down significantly from last week while there are signs that China may be increasing runs.”

“But the picture after the war ends looks increasingly bleak when examining balances,” he added.

Observed transits through Hormuz have been reduced substantially by the hostilities. Traders will be monitoring output and sales from Persian Gulf producers including Saudi Arabia, which is due to issue monthly allocations to customers shortly. 

Visible traffic in Hormuz remained thin after appearing to grind to a near halt on Thursday, according to ship-tracking data. At least two oil supertankers, both controlled by the same company, appeared to cross the waterway Friday on a US protected route.

Crude’s volatile week is reflected in shifts in WTI’s prompt spread, which tracks the difference between its two nearest contracts. The spread has flipped from contango, which signals oversupply, to backwardation, which denotes the opposite.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The Nissos Kea popped up inside the Gulf several hours after its Automatic Identification System signal stopped when it approaching the waterway while the Nissos Heraclea made the opposite move, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The two very large crude carriers are run by Piraeus, Greece-based Kyklades Maritime Corp. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The level of observable oil tanker traffic through the strait has slowed in the past 24 hours, after the US and Iran traded missile and drone strikes while an interim peace deal teeters on the edge of collapse. A growing number of tankers had been shuttling through Hormuz ‘dark,’ prior to the renewed hostilities and it’s unclear what impact the latest flare up has had.

Both tankers appear to be engaged in ferrying crude from Qatar, with one loading at the Al Shaheen field and the other appearing to be heading in the direction of Halul Island, the tracking data show. Neither ship broadcast a destination while in the Gulf, although both kept their transponders on for much of their time in the region.

Partial position data from the inbound Greek ship as it crossed Hormuz suggest that it most likely used the southern route through the waterway, hugging the Omani coastline. The outbound carrier was also relatively close to the Oman side before it was going into Hormuz. 

Separately, the US dismissed Iranian claims that only Tehran-designated routes are permitted. 

In a post on social media late Thursday, Central Command said that US forces had helped to facilitate the transit of 380 million barrels since early May. A start date of May 1 would imply a flow rate of 5.4 million barrels a day. Adding Iranian flows would take the figure to well over 6 million barrels a day. 

Several ships using the Omani foute in recent days have come under attack from Iran, with Tehran seeking to limit traffic to a northerly route passing through its waters.

The only supertanker observed taking that path through the strait in the past 24 hours had previously loaded its cargo at Iran’s own Kharg Island terminal in the northern Gulf. It is the most recent of a wave of Iran-linked supertankers seen heading toward Asia from Iran’s ports over the past several days.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The country pumped 4.1 million barrels a day on average in June, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report. That surpasses the peak daily output 4 million a day in 2020 when it had boosted supply during a brief price war over OPEC+ policy, and follows its exit from the group earlier this year.

The UAE’s bold tactics since the war began are becoming increasingly apparent, from using its own large fleet to hiring extra ships controlled by Sinokor Group, a South Korean firm that now runs the world’s largest fleet of oil supertankers. Many of the vessels have operated “dark,” with their digital transponders turned off to get barrels out of the Persian Gulf unseen. 

The vigorous recovery, most of which came before a spate of attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz this week, underlines the country’s unshackling from limits set by the Organization of the the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil traders have been keeping close watch on how high the UAE might take it supply after it left the producer group at the end of April.

The country had already restored its exports to pre-war levels last month, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer in the region, was also getting close as it resumed shipments from the key Ras Tanura terminal inside the Persian Gulf.

The rebounding flows, along with the precarious peace agreement between Washington and Tehran that had allowed a surge of tankers to pass through Hormuz, had helped flip world markets from tightness to signs of oversupply in key regions and erased the war-time rally in crude prices. 

The recovery picture was muddied on Wednesday, however, when President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire effectively void after the two sides traded hostilities in the region. US forces struck sites in Iran for two consecutive days, and Tehran fired upon Bahrain and Kuwait. Brent futures topped $80 a barrel earlier this week, but eased to near $76 a barrel on Friday.

The Gulf’s other major producers also increased output last month, though fell short of pre-war levels, according to the IEA. Saudi Arabia pumped 7.3 million barrels a day in June, 900,000 a day higher that the previous month. Kuwait’s increased to 1.4 million barrels a day on average and Iraq’s to 2 million a day.   

Even as crude flows have risen, refinery activity in the Gulf has been more sluggish to respond, with product exports still less than half the levels prior to the conflict, the IEA said.

(Updates with OPEC context in the fourth paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Longi Green Energy Technology Co.’s facility in Shaanxi province is now operational, marking “a key milestone in the large-scale implementation of its next-generation cell technology,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.

The move follows a spike in silver prices to a record above $121 an ounce in January, nearly triple their level of a year earlier, on a confluence of bullish factors. As one of the world’s largest consumers of the metal, accounting for 17% of global demand last year, the solar industry has been racing to cut costs by turning to alternatives.

Copper, like silver, is prized for its conductivity. And while silver has now retreated below $60 an ounce, the red metal, which has even wider applications in the energy transition, has forged its own all-time highs, climbing above $14,000 a ton in May. 

As well as bullish forecasts for demand, the copper market is reacting to a shortage of ore worldwide, highlighting the potential pitfalls of switching materials when prices are so volatile.

Longi said it was able to get its new plant up and running within three months and that the Alloy Contact Matrix cells it produces are more efficient.

But the launch of the new facility still represents an expansion in a sector already struggling with persistent overcapacity and heavy losses. The industry’s efforts to curb excess supply have had only a limited effect, and authorities recently imposed tighter product standards in a bid to improve energy use and efficiency. 

On the Wire

China’s reflationary momentum showed signs of stalling in June, a reminder that the outlook for domestic prices is fragile as the economy emerges from deflation after an easing of tensions over Iran led to a pullback in commodity costs.

China’s central bank acknowledged the economy is becoming more unbalanced as the boom in artificial intelligence deepens a divide in growth between sectors, though it largely reiterated its existing policy stance.

China’s export-driven industrial momentum likely failed to offset weak domestic demand in the second quarter, said Bloomberg Economics, which sees GDP growth slipping below the low end of its 4.5%–5.0% target for 2026.

China purchased the largest amount of US soybeans since November, extending a wave of buying as agricultural trade between the world’s two largest economies gathers pace.

This Week’s Diary

(All times Beijing)

Thursday, July 9

• China’s inflation data for June, 09:30
• China to release June aggregate finance & money supply data by July 15
• Asia Climate Summit in HK, day 3
• Shanghai Platinum Week in Suzhou

Friday, July 10

• China’s weekly iron ore port stockpiles
• SHFE’s weekly commodities inventory, ~15:30
• China’s monthly CASDE crop supply-demand report
• Shanghai Platinum Week in Suzhou

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Gulf crude production in June was still about 10.5 million barrels a day below pre-war levels, according to Goldman estimates. “While Middle Eastern producers have started reopening their shut-in wells over the last month, Hormuz disruptions could slow down the production recovery,” analysts including Yulia Zhetkova Grigsby said in a July 8 note.

The global energy market has been jolted this week by a resurgence in the conflict between Washington and Tehran, pushing Brent crude futures briefly back above $80 a barrel. Ship traffic through the strait has almost halted after US and Iran traded attacks for a second day, testing a fragile peace deal, which followed a spate of strikes on shipping in the waterway.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the interim peace deal between Washington and Tehran was over, while the US also revoked a waiver allowing Iranian oil sales. Still, negotiations with Iran may continue, he added.

“The recent attacks on tankers highlight still elevated risks of crossing, and shippers may hesitate to cross under the currently unclear ceasefire status, weighing on near-term Hormuz flows,” the analysts said.

Goldman estimates that oil flows through the Gulf have already retreated closer to 70% of normal following the recent attacks on tankers, after having recovered earlier to more than 80% of pre-war flows within the first 10 days after the reopening of Hormuz.

At present, the risks for Gulf flows and prices are two-sided, it said. Shipments are expected to recover by the end of July if the 60-day negotiations continued, along with security reassurances for shippers and a fresh waiver for Tehran’s crude sales, but may drop further if the negotiations fail and attacks on tankers escalate.

Last month, Goldman Sachs was among banks reducing its forecasts for oil prices as flows through Hormuz picked up. Its analysts have also warned of the potential for a crude glut to reappear.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The agreement was announced during the visit of H.E. Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, and Executive Chairman of XRG, to Japan, where he is leading a delegation for meetings with senior government officials and business leaders aimed at deepening bilateral energy cooperation.

The deal is the first long-term LNG supply agreement announced since ADNOC and XRG launched their integrated global LNG marketing and trading platform earlier this week. 

Growing bilateral ties

The agreement also reinforces the strategic relationship between ADNOC and INPEX, which has been an upstream partner in Abu Dhabi for decades through participating interests in several offshore and onshore concessions. The supply deal supports INPEX Vision 2035, under which the Japanese company aims to expand and diversify its LNG portfolio to provide customers with greater supply flexibility.

The LNG will be sourced primarily from the Ruwais LNG project, currently under development in Al Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi. Commercial operations are expected to begin in 2028.

The project is a key component of ADNOC’s global LNG growth strategy. To date, around 90% of the facility’s planned 9.6 mtpa production capacity has already been committed to international customers through long-term agreements across Asia and Europe, underlining strong market demand for the project’s future output.

Once operational, the Ruwais LNG plant will become the first LNG export facility in the Middle East and Africa to operate using clean power. 

ADNOC said the plant will be among the world’s lowest-carbon intensity LNG facilities, using AI and advanced digital technologies to improve operational efficiency, enhance safety, and reduce emissions.

The project consists of two liquefaction trains, each with a capacity of 4.8 mtpa, giving a combined production capacity of 9.6 mtpa.

“This SPA with INPEX marks the first long-term LNG agreement announced following the launch of ADNOC and XRG’s integrated global LNG marketing and trading platform, demonstrating how we are bringing more LNG molecules, greater market access and enhanced commercial flexibility to our customers,” said Nasser Al Muhairi, Acting CEO of ADNOC Downstream Industry, Marketing & Trading and Chairman of Ruwais LNG.

He said the agreement builds on ADNOC’s decades-long energy relationship with Japan while advancing the commercialisation of the Ruwais LNG project.

“As ADNOC and XRG target 47 mtpa of combined marketable LNG by 2035, Ruwais LNG will be a key source of reliable, flexible and lower-carbon supply for customers in Asia and around the world,” Al Muhairi added.

ADNOC Gas announced in November 2024 that it expects to acquire ADNOC’s 60% stake in the Ruwais LNG project at cost, estimated at approximately $5 billion, in 2028. 

Upon completion, the acquisition would more than double ADNOC Gas’ operated LNG production capacity to around 15 mtpa. 

Two oil tankers made their way into the Persian Gulf through Hormuz overnight using a route close to Oman’s coastline, while another headed out by sailing close to Iran. A third ship carrying about two million barrels of crude u-turned midway through a transit along the waterway and re-entered the Persian Gulf. Visible liquefied natural gas traffic has largely ground to a halt.

Global financial markets have a renewed focus on energy flows through Hormuz after President Trump said earlier on Wednesday that he considers the US’s ceasefire deal with Iran to be over. Before the Iran war, about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited Hormuz. Western navies said on Tuesday they expected traffic volumes to drop in the coming days after recent Iranian attacks.

Tracking shipments through the strait is complicated by the fact many vessels are crossing in convoys for security purposes, meaning flows can be lumpy. Millions of barrels a day of oil were also crossing on ships with their satellite signals switched off prior to the deal, another factor muddying the true level of traffic. 

Several tankers were seen beginning or completing Hormuz crossings just hours after three vessels came under attack on Tuesday — the largest number of incidents since an interim US-Iran peace deal came into effect last month. 

Those incidents included attacks on a Saudi supertanker, a Qatari LNG carrier and a ship owned by Sinokor Group, the world’s largest owner of very large crude carriers. It was unclear how the attacks had impacted each company’s approach to Hormuz. 

The US subsequently conducted airstrikes on Iran, in retaliation for the attacks, and scrapped a waiver that had temporarily allowed the sale of Iranian crude. 

“Shipping is considering the latest developments,” said Martin Kelly, head of advisory at EOS Risk Group. “Ships are turning around or opting to use the PGSA route,” he said, referring to the path operated by Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

In the strait, the prospect of fresh strikes could set back a revival of traffic. Already, shipowners are increasingly having to weigh not only whether to cross, but which route to choose, for fear of angering one side or the other.

A corridor that hugs the Omani coast is supported by the US military, but has increasingly come under attack by Iran as it continues to assert its dominance of the waterway. Tehran said at the UN’s shipping body that it has the right to control parts of Hormuz.

The other option is a path that goes closer to Iran’s coast, which requires the country’s approval. That exposes those who use it to compliance and sanctions risks.

U-turns have become increasingly common as shipowners grapple with a changing situation and fluctuating Iranian demands, with some resuming their journeys along the Tehran-approved route. The Lila Vadinar, which U-turned in Hormuz on Wednesday, had entered the Persian Gulf late June and picked up a cargo of Kuwaiti crude, before attempting to leave earlier in the day. 

“The Hormuz reopening story looks more fragile,” Clarksons Securities analysts including Frode Morkedal said in a note. “We do not see a full closure of the Strait as the base case, as both sides have incentives to avoid a broader oil shock and keep the wider framework alive.” 

(Updates throughout with details of latest developments and vessels’ movements.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The world may have as much as 535 gigawatts of installed nuclear power by 2036, up from 372 last year, according to a report Wednesday from BloombergNEF. China had 59 gigawatts of reactors under construction at the end of 2025 and is on track to reach a total of 102 by the end of the decade, a figure that would propel it past the US to become the world’s biggest nuclear nation.

The industry is benefiting from several key trends. The international effort to rein in climate change is boosting demand for carbon-free power from reactors. At the same time, electricity demand is surging, driven by industrial users, increasingly electrified homes, and power-hungry data centers. Meanwhile, rising social acceptance of nuclear power is pushing utilities and governments around the world to reconsider policies that have hindered development. 

Capacity growth will likely be tempered by slow regulatory processes that have historically dragged on new nuclear projects. In the US, where the technology is getting strong support from the Trump administration, there’s only one commercial plant under construction, though BNEF expects the pace to accelerate in the coming decade.

“Nuclear power has essentially been ‘running in place’ since the Fukushima disaster in 2011,” according to the report. “This status quo is set to change.”

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

In its latest quarterly update published on Tuesday, the energy major said production from its Integrated Gas business is now expected to reach between 610,000 and 650,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) during the April-to-June period. This is up from previous guidance of 580,000 to 640,000 boed. Shell’s output was 909,000 boed in Q1 2026. 

The revised outlook comes after Shell continues to manage the aftermath of reduced volumes from Qatar following the regional conflict. Shell's forecast is in line with its LNG Outlook 2026 report, which found that global LNG demand would rise by 65% to nearly 700 million tonnes a year by 2050. 

Increasing production

The company also increased its forecast for LNG liquefaction volumes to between 7.4 million and 7.8 million tonnes, compared with earlier guidance of 6.8 million to 7.4 million tonnes, reflecting stronger operational performance across its LNG portfolio.

Shell said trading results within its Integrated Gas division are expected to be “significantly higher” than in the first quarter, highlighting how increased volatility across global energy markets has boosted returns from its trading business. 

Meanwhile, trading in its Chemicals and Products division is expected to remain in line with the previous quarter’s performance.

Citi raised its second-quarter earnings-per-share forecast for the company by 13%, citing stronger trading performance alongside resilient chemicals and fuels marketing operations. 

Shell shares rose more than 3% following the update, outperforming the broader European energy sector.

Commodity prices also provided a supportive backdrop during the quarter. 

Brent crude averaged around $97 per barrel during the period, compared with $78 in the first quarter, while Europe’s benchmark Dutch TTF natural gas contract averaged about €46 per megawatt-hour, up from approximately €40 per MWh in the previous quarter.

Shell expects improvements in the second quarter, forecasting a working capital inflow between $1 billion and 6 billion following an $11.2 billion outflow in the first quarter, reflecting extreme commodity price volatility.

Market challenges remain

The company also forecast higher indicative refining margins of over $20 per barrel and chemicals margins of around $240 per tonne, but noted that actual margins are projected to be lower due to continued market disruptions.

Despite the improved outlook, Shell continues to face operational issues in the region. 

Production at its Pearl gas-to-liquids facility in Qatar remains partially offline after an attack on Ras Laffan Industrial City damaged one of the plant’s two processing trains earlier this year. The company has previously said repairs could take around a year.

While geopolitical tensions continue to create operational risks, the Middle East remains a strategically important region for Shell, accounting for around 550,000 boed, or 20% of its global oil and gas production. Of this, 10% is linked to Qatar. 

The company has been among major energy firms like bp and TotalEnergies that have benefitted from sharp swings in crude oil and natural gas prices after the conflict involving Iran disrupted regional energy markets. 

Shell’s full outlook is expected to be published on 30 July. 

The platform brings together the marketing activities of ADNOC Gas and international investment company XRG with the trading capabilities of ADNOC Trading. 

The integrated commercial platform is designed to optimise the group’s growing LNG portfolio, improve shipping flexibility, and provide customers with greater access to supply. 

It will aid ADNOC Gas’s expanding production base, including volumes from the Ruwais LNG project, and support XRG’s international gas and infrastructure investments.

Growing global ambitions

ADNOC said the platform is targeting 47 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of combined marketable LNG by 2035, a level that would place it among the world’s leading LNG suppliers. 

The move also reinforces Abu Dhabi’s ambition to establish itself as a major global energy trading hub alongside established centres in Europe, Asia, and North America.

The launch comes as global LNG demand continues to rise, and is expected to reach almost 700 mtpa by 2050. Global LNG trade reached approximately 422 million tonnes in 2025.

“With LNG demand set to grow substantially, the world will need reliable, responsible and trusted suppliers at scale,” said H.E. Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNOC and Executive Chairman of XRG.

“This world-class, integrated commercial LNG platform brings together the full strength of ADNOC’s marketing, trading and shipping capabilities to create a single global hub in Abu Dhabi. It marks a step-change in scale, flexibility and optionality of our LNG marketing and trading platform and will further position ADNOC to meet the world’s growing demand for energy.”

Future supply will be strengthened by the Ruwais LNG project, which is expected to significantly expand the country’s export capacity.

The launch also complements XRG’s broader international gas strategy. The company has expanded its LNG footprint through investments across global supply chains, including upstream gas assets in Argentina and plans to increase exposure to the US natural gas market. 

The Al Rekayyat gas carrier was struck in the early hours of Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. Separately, a person familiar with the matter said that a Saudi crude oil tanker was damaged while leaving Hormuz, without providing further details, while a UK naval group issued a report of a third attack.

The crew of the Qatari gas carrier have abandoned ship, one person familiar with the matter said. It is anchored southeast of Limah, Oman, according to Pakistan’s Hydrographic service, which monitors shipping in the area.

Three separate attacks on ships would mark the highest number since the US and Iran signed an interim peace deal last month, underscoring the continued risks to ships crossing through Hormuz. Tehran has repeatedly said it won’t allow vessels to transit the waterway without its permission. Meanwhile, the US has continued to manage a shipping corridor along the Omani side of the strait, keeping ships away from Iranian waters.

A handful of ships transited Hormuz using both the Iranian and Omani routes on Tuesday. Oil prices rose as much as 3%, while European gas futures added as much as 6%. 

The Qatari vessel, owned by the nation’s state-owned shipping company Nakilat, is the first LNG tanker from the country to come under attack since the war began, and marks a significant setback for its efforts to revive exports after months of near-paralysis.

The incident comes at a delicate moment for diplomacy, with Qatar serving as a key intermediary in negotiations between the US and Iran over ending the conflict. Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said Iran should cease all practices that harm regional security.

Any attacks involving Saudi oil tankers would also raise concerns in oil markets. While the kingdom can export some crude via its Red Sea terminal at Yanbu, it still relies on Hormuz to fully restore flows to normal levels. Saudi ships have been among the slowest in Gulf nations to return to the waterway. Exports have remained uneven, occasionally nearing pre-war levels. 

The Saudi and Qatari vessels were transiting Hormuz without their transponders on, ship-tracking data show, a common measure to avoid attracting attention. 

QatarEnergy, Nakilat, Saudi tanker giant Bahri and the Saudi Energy Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The strike has already raised fresh concerns among shipowners. Al Areesh, another LNG tanker that loaded in Qatar and was headed out of the Gulf, appeared to turn before the strait on Tuesday before sailing in circles, according to shipping data. It had been signaling Pakistan’s Port Qasim as its destination.

Other traffic continued to flow, however. At least two Japan-linked supertankers were sailing through the strait on the Iran-approved route, together with a China-bound liquefied petroleum gas carrier. To the south, a convoy of at least six ships, including three very large crude carriers, appears to be approaching the Omani coastline on the way out of the Gulf.

Hormuz has been a focal point for all sides since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in late February, as shipowners assess the safety of the crossing in order to dispatch vessels in and out of the Gulf. Even after an interim peace deal signed last month, Tehran continues to seek to assert its dominance over the thoroughfare.

Traffic has improved since the agreement, but continues to face challenges and interruptions, as Iran periodically blocks transits on routes it has not approved, or attacks vessels. On Monday, a group of Japan-linked ships appeared to have transited the strait by hewing to an Iran-approved route. 

Still, there is as yet little clarity over a permanent solution to manage the chokepoint amid talks aimed at achieving a lasting peace.

The Iran-approved corridor along the north side of the strait has seen two-thirds of all transits in recent days, according to data from intelligence firm Kpler Ltd., with the rest crossing along the US-managed Oman route.

Out of the 25 ships that transited Hormuz on Monday alone, only three did so on the Omani side with their transponders on, the data show — despite an update from regional naval forces reminding shipowners that the US-managed Oman route remained available for use. 

“The continued use of different shipping lanes suggests that traffic through the strait remains operational, but is fragmented as shipowners adopt different routing strategies based on their individual risk assessments,” said Muyu Xu, senior crude oil analyst at Kpler.

The attack came as President Donald Trump headed to a NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara, Turkey. The US war with Iran is expected to be a major topic of discussion, with Trump having expressed anger at several members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for not doing more to help the US against the Islamic Republic.

Talks between the US and Iran were suspended as Tehran began a mass funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war in late February. Qatar said the next meeting would be scheduled as soon as possible after the funeral ceremonies. Khamenei is scheduled to be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on July 9. 

(Updates with status of Qatari ship from second paragraph.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The Series B funding, led by Prelude Ventures, will help the company scale its first commercial initiative, a 250-megawatt plant being built south of Oregon’s Newberry Volcano, Quaise said Tuesday. Capitalizing on the need for continuous carbon-free power for data centers, Quaise has already signed up a hyperscaler customer for the project’s first 50 megawatts, said Chief Executive Officer Carlos Araque. He declined to identify the customer.

For decades, geothermal was viewed as an expensive and hard-to-access energy source. But technological breakthroughs combined with a surge of AI-driven interest has resulted in the energy source experiencing a bit of a renaissance in recent years. In May, geothermal developer Fervo Energy Co. attracted almost $1.9 billion in a US initial public offering that priced above the marketed range, signaling renewed interest in a previously forgotten sector.

Araque said demand for reliable, always-available clean power has never been stronger, adding that Fervo’s IPO has boosted investor interest in the sector. But, he said, the electricity is still costly. “We can do a lot better than this.”

Houston-based Quaise has said it aims to lower geothermal costs by using a proprietary millimeter-wave drilling technology to access more energy with fewer wells by drilling deeper for hotter rocks. At greater depths, Quaise would replace a drill bit with an energy beam, essentially using microwaves to vaporize rock. The process is designed to reduce the downtime required for switching drill bits and the cost involved in replacing bits, making geothermal a more cost-competitive energy source.

To reach desired temperatures of 300C (572F) to 500C, Quaise will have to drill deeper than Fervo and other enhanced geothermal systems. So far, the company has reached depths of 500 meters at its site in Marble Falls, Texas, and it’s targeting 1,000 meters by the third quarter and 5,000 meters by the end of 2027. At the same time, Quaise plans to complete the first flow test at its commercial site in Oregon by the end of the year, a key step toward attracting money to finance the project.

The funds will cover the company’s program through the end of 2027, at which point it will pursue a Series C funding, Araque said. After that, it plans to follow the Fervo playbook and enter the public market, barring an acquisition or merger, he said.

Founded in 2018, Quaise is one of a number of companies attempting superhot rock geothermal. Competitors include Mazama Energy, which also is operating near Newberry Volcano.

(Adds information about company’s history in final paragraph. An earlier version corrected amount of fundraising and the drilling depth.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

That demand destruction has been evident in Asia in the first half, with consumers using less or switching to alternative fuels, while Europe also saw stronger renewables output, the IEA said in a quarterly report published Tuesday. Together with lower gas usage in the Middle East, that should push global demand down 0.5% this year, even as consumption rises in some regions. 

The Middle East conflict effectively cut off about a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply, with key gas price benchmarks in Europe and Asia up between roughly 40% and 70% since the war began. Importers in places including India, Bangladesh and Vietnam — which previously expected to raise demand — have had to rethink their longer-term gas strategies and look for alternatives. 

“A prolonged supply shock would continue to progressively tighten the global LNG balance, heightening competition for cargoes and extending the prospect of weaker imports across both the Atlantic and Pacific basins,” the IEA said.

While traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz improved since the US and Iran struck an interim peace deal last month, there’s still little clarity over a lasting solution to manage the chokepoint. Fresh attacks on shipping in and around the strait have also tested the truce and highlighted the continued risks to vessels.

Strong growth in new LNG supply, including in the US, partially offset the decline in Gulf deliveries through June, but any delays in the recovery of Middle Eastern exports could tip the global market into the first annual drop in supply since 2012, the IEA said. Otherwise, global LNG supply should remain steady this year, compared with previously expected growth.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

XTX Ventures, the investment arm from Alex Gerko’s algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets Ltd, led the financing round with London-based firm East X Ventures. The deal gives the three year-old energy firm a valuation of €2.4 billion, Proxima Fusion said on Tuesday. 

It’s a key part of the company’s plans to build an energy facility on a decommissioned RWE nuclear power site in Bavaria. In February, Proxima Fusion announced that the demonstrator for this plant, called Alpha, would cost €2 billion, with the company pledging to cover a fifth of the costs and the federal state of Bavaria committing a similar amount.

Francesco Sciortino, Proxima Fusion’s chief executive, said his Munich-based startup expects the remainder of the funds to come from Germany’s federal government and the European Union. “We’ve done what we promised to do,” he said in an interview. “Obviously, we think this a historic opportunity for Germany, for Europe.”

Germany turned against nuclear power following the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, shutting down the final German reactors by 2023. Nuclear fusion, which promises to harness the same process that powers the sun to offer abundant, emissions-free electricity, remains an experimental technology. There are currently no commercial fusion plants.

Yet the field is drawing increased interest as tech companies scour the globe for future sources to power data centers. In 2025, Google agreed to purchase 200 megawatts of power from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an American company developing fusion energy that Google has backed. 

The internet giant joined as a strategic investor in Proxima Fusion, but the companies don’t have any set plans around data centers, according to Sciortino. He declined to say how much Google invested. RWE invested €25 million, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

Sciortino said around €150 million of the newest financing round came from its two investment leads, while existing investors added a similar amount. 

Proxima Fusion last raised funds in 2025, in a €130 million round, and said it has secured more than €650 million to date, including €95 million in public grants. KfW Capital, an investment division of Germany’s state bank, and the European Union’s EIC Fund also contributed to the new financing round. Proxima Fusion said more than 90% of its investors are European.

Its technology is centered on a device called a stellarator, a twisted donut-shaped chamber that uses powerful magnets to contain the super hot gas, or plasma, designed to create nuclear reactions. Sciortino called the approach more stable than others, such as the large tokamak design or newer methods using lasers.

With its latest funding round, Proxima Fusion — which has offices in Munich, Zurich and Oxford — describes itself as the “best-funded” nuclear fusion company in Europe. However, it has less capital than US competitors, including Commonwealth, which has raised almost $3 billion from investors, and Helion Energy Inc, a startup backed by Sam Altman. 

But Sciortino argued that these rivals were formed years before his. “We are faster than anyone else,” he said. “And Europeans should celebrate that for once.” 

(Added RWE’s investment in seventh paragraph)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Brent rose toward $73 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near $69. A  tanker traveling south reported being hit about 8 nautical miles east of Limah, Oman, causing a fire, UK Maritime Trade Operations said. The vessel was Al Rekayyat, a natural gas carrier, according to people familiar with the matter.

Separately, Axios reported Iran fired at least two missiles at commercial ships transiting the strait, citing a US official. Two vessels were hit and suffered damage, but no casualties were reported, it said.

The strait — which links Gulf producers to global markets — has partially reopened following its near-total closure triggered by the US-Iran war, with a convoy of at least eight Japan-linked ships among recent transits. Still, while traffic is recovering, movements remain below pre-conflict levels.

Oil sank 30% in the second quarter as Washington and Tehran agreed to an interim peace deal, easing concerns over supply disruptions from the Middle East. Global benchmark Brent has fully erased the war premium that had built up in recent months, with some leading banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley now warning there’s a risk a glut will return.

“The latest vessel attacks in the Persian Gulf highlight that we are still far away from normalization,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy for ING Groep NV in Singapore. “A contained response from the US may offer some short term support to oil, but given the bearish sentiment and weakness in the physical market, any bounce will likely be short-lived.”

On Monday, Saudi Aramco said it will lower Arab Light to Asia for next month by $11 a barrel to $1.50 below a benchmark. The last two times it sold the grade at a discount were during price wars in 2020 and 2015.

The move by Riyadh follows a decision at the weekend by OPEC+ members including Saudi Arabia to raise output quotas for next month, adding to the prospect of more supply. While those extra barrels remain theoretical, the decision signals a desire to raise production as conditions normalize.

The attacks “reminds investors that the Middle East de-escalation trade is still fragile,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo Markets. “The market may add back a little bit of the Hormuz risk premium, but doesn’t look like we are pricing in a full disruption yet.”

Even so, the broader backdrop remains less supportive, Chanana added. OPEC+ is continuing to raise output, gulf supplies are recovering, and the Brent-Dubai market structure has shifted into contango, she said, referring to a bearish pattern that signals a looser near-term physical market.

Further insight into market conditions will come later Tuesday when the US Energy Information Administration issues its Short-Term Energy Outlook. Last month, the agency raised its 2027 forecast for US crude production by 220,000 barrels a day to 13.83 million after prices had rallied amid the war.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The 3,300-kilometer (2,051-mile) route, called the Northern Shield Energy Corridor, would connect the Alberta oil-storage hub of Hardisty with the central Canadian refining center of Sarnia, Ontario, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters Monday. 

The proposed pipeline would carry about 500,000 barrels of oil a day for domestic use and export markets, and could expand to 800,000 barrels a day. Ontario will also explore creating its own strategic petroleum reserve. 

“By reducing Canadian reliance on oil imports, the Northern Shield pipeline could help stabilize oil prices across the country and strengthen national security,” Ontario and Alberta said in a release.  

The project proposed Monday is similar to the mothballed Energy East oil pipeline floated more than a decade ago but later scrapped. A new cross-Canada oil pipeline would allow Canadian producers to avoid moving crude through the US, as is done on Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5, which crosses the border in Ontario and connects with another line that moves oil to Quebec.

A feasibility study on the Northern Shield proposal is set to be completed by the end of this year, and will explore costs and commercialization options. Ford told reporters that while a private proponent would be welcome, a government-led project can’t be ruled out. 

“I think it’s a great investment, no matter if it’s the government,” he said. “I always prefer looking at the private sector investing.”

Since US President Donald Trump launched a trade war with Canada last year, sending relations to their lowest point in decades, Canadian political leaders including Prime Minister Mark Carney have been looking to diversify exports to other countries and lessen reliance on US infrastructure. Last week, Carney and Smith announced plans to build a new 1 million barrel a day pipeline to Canada’s Pacific coast to boost exports of crude oil to Asian markets. 

The new west coast line will be built by government-owned Trans Mountain Corp., operator of the only existing oil pipeline running from Alberta to a Canadian port on the Pacific.

Ford said the Northern Shield proposal is being discussed with the Major Projects Office, a federal entity that works to provide faster regulatory approvals. 

The proposal is just the latest in a series of new projects announced in the past year that could add more than 2 million barrels a day of capacity to ship crude out of out Western Canada. 

They include Enbridge Inc.’s Mainline expansion, the new Bridger conduit that will run from Alberta to Wyoming, an expansion of the existing Trans Mountain system to add 300,000 barrels of daily capacity.  

The sudden surge of new export conduits has raised questions about whether oil sands producers and their investors have the stomach to boost capital spending to fill the pipes. Oil companies in the region have room to expand, according to Smith, who wants Alberta’s crude output to double. 

“I have absolute confidence that we will be able to do it,” she said during the press conference. “We’ve got to think big and we’ve got to be looking at being one of the top three energy producers and exporters in the world.”

(Adds other pipeline projects in final three paragraphs.)

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.

The maximum amount in the tenders for long-term capacity will be raised to €244,000 ($278,480) per megawatt, up from €173,000, according to an amendment from the ruling coalition and seen by Bloomberg. The move follows complaints from some operators that prices for gas turbines and other components have surged significantly.

Europe’s biggest economy — which has phased out nuclear energy and aims to exit coal by 2038 — needs new gas-fired plants as a back-up when wind and solar are not available. 

A spokesperson for the Economy Ministry declined to comment.

The amendment, which was first reported by German media, is the final change to the bill scheduled to be voted in parliament on July 9. The tenders are scheduled for Sept. 8 and Dec. 29, and still need final approval from the European Union. 

The amendment also allows for capacity that’s not been awarded to again be re-auctioned in a battery tender in May 2027.

LEAG — one of the country’s largest power producers and a major operator of conventional power plants — had been particularly skeptical of the previous auction design. It protested, arguing that at those price levels it wasn’t economical to bid in the auctions and reduce its own coal-fired generation.

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SSE Plc, Equinor ASA and Vargronn, the owners of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm off England’s east coast, filed a judicial review claim against the decision in May to allow RWE AG and Masdar to build the Dogger Bank South project, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the details aren’t public. The filing was made in late June, one of the people said.

The existing project’s owners previously raised concerns that more turbines in that area could block wind and make ones already there less profitable. It highlights one of the numerous challenges faced by the sector, which has struggled with bigger costs and supply-chain snarls, as it shifts from a frontier technology to key source of power in Europe. For RWE and Masdar, the judicial review raises uncertainty about the future of one of their largest projects.

A spokesperson for Dogger Bank South confirmed that a judicial review challenge against the consent process had been lodged. A spokesperson for RWE said that the new farm’s consent was awarded following a rigorous, transparent examination and that the company remains focused on delivering the project. 

A spokesperson for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm said they can’t comment on a matter before the courts. A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero didn’t comment on the judicial review. 

The existing 3.6-gigawatt Dogger Bank Wind Farm is nearing completion of its first phase. Its owners raised concerns during the consenting process for new projects over the so-called wake effect, where one project essentially serves to block wind from another one nearby. 

‘Wake Effect’

The phenomenon can also been seen even within a single wind farm: The first turbine gets the strongest wind and the best production, while the ones behind it see slightly lower wind speeds. Extrapolated over a project’s lifetime, the loss of wind and revenues can be significant. 

Companies have flagged the potential impact of turbine wakes for years, but the stakes are particularly high right now for farms that require billions of dollars of investment at a time when margins are being squeezed. Last year, German authorities cut the capacity available for leasing by 20% amid concerns about crowded seas.

Under UK law, after a complaint is raised, a judge will decide whether or not to grant permission to proceed with a case. If the case does go ahead, evidence and legal arguments will be made in court and a judge will decide whether or not the government was wrong to grant consent to the wind farms.

It’s unclear at this stage whether the legal process will go ahead and if it does, how long it would take. If it were to drag into next year, it could leave RWE and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar facing hundreds of millions of pounds for seabed fees to the Crown Estate during the prolonged development phase.

Judicial reviews are one of a variety of measures that the UK government has sought to reform to speed up new infrastructure projects. A bill passed last year limited the use of judicial reviews to prevent projects from being tied up in the courts for extended periods of time. 

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The company, founded in 2018, is seeking to expand into Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, said Romain de Villeneuve, WeLight’s chief executive officer. It already operates in Madagascar and Mali and is seeking a fifth country to expand to. 

The expansion adds to other steps on the continent to increase access. The World Bank and African Development Bank are spearheading a drive to invest tens of billions of dollars to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030. Many of those will need to be reached with off-grid solutions like mini-grids and the World Bank is backing funds to accelerate the deployment of the technologies.

“We are prepared for the next steps,” said de Villeneuve. “One million connections by 2030. I would like to be a bit earlier.”

The company, in which the International Finance Corp. bought a stake last month, plans to spend $450 million expanding in Nigeria and Congo, which together account for about 170 million of the more than 560 million people without access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Another $200 million will be spent in in Madagascar, Mali and a new country, de Villeneuve said. 

He expects to source half of the finance from dedicated funds for so-called distributed renewable energy such as the World Bank-backed Dares program in Nigeria and the Mwinda Fund in Congo. The rest will come from equity sales, including to existing shareholders, and concessional debt. 

“Private money cannot finance everything,” he said.

Axian Group Ltd., Sagemcom SAS and Norfund AS are the founding shareholders in the company with the IFC the only entrant since 2018. 

Currently WeLight has around 65,000 connections, mostly in Madagascar, and is in the midst of an expansion to about 90,000, the CEO said.

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Businesses have taken advantage of market reforms and invested billions of rand in renewable energy to protect against almost two decades of rolling blackouts and steep price increases that exposed the risks of relying solely on state-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. and deteriorating municipal distribution networks. 

Many of the major companies traded on the benchmark index in Johannesburg — spanning mining, real estate, retail and healthcare, among other sectors — say they're working to boost renewables to lower dependency on Eskom and cut costs, with at least 40 firms in 2026 alone sharing such plans. 

While Eskom has stabilized supply and managed more than a year without scheduled power cuts that throttle demand to prevent total grid collapse and are known as load shedding, homes and businesses are often exposed to prolonged local outages because towns and cities haven’t maintained or upgraded their cables and transformers. 

The migration to private renewables supply is transforming Africa's biggest electricity market from one dominated by a state monopoly into one where companies increasingly choose how and from whom they buy electricity.

“We had 102 years of a monopoly responsible for energy and now it’s a liberalized market where businesses can choose where they get their energy from,” said Andre Nepgen, the chief executive officer of Discovery Green, a renewable-energy trading platform set up by insurer Discovery Ltd. in 2023.

Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., the world’s No. 2 producer of the metal used in electronics and devices that cut vehicle emissions, is among the firms that have had to rethink how they power their operations in South Africa, home to most of the producer’s mines. 

In 2024, it partnered with Discovery Green to obtain clean electricity for its refinery east of Johannesburg through wheeling, which involves buying power from off-site independent producers who then feed it into the national grid, allowing buyers to withdraw an equivalent amount at their location. It’s also exploring solar options for its biggest operation, Rustenburg, as well as the smaller Marula mine.

“Our decision was shaped by a convergence of factors rather than a single trigger” that include a climate imperative, operational realities and costs, Sustainable Development Executive Tsakani Mthombeni said by email. “South Africa’s electricity-supply constraints pose a direct risk to our operations’ safety and production,” with renewables bolstering security, he said, adding that reliability “is non-negotiable.”  

The corporate renewable-energy market that Discovery Green is part of took off after 2021, when the state opened up private power generation and wheeling to tackle chronic shortages. 

Government buying under its so-called Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme initially drove growth in South Africa's renewable industry. The latest expansion, however, has come from companies investing their own capital after the reforms opened the market to private generation and electricity trading.

While supply constraints are among the chief drivers of the move to renewables, the cost of power is a big factor too. The regulator has allowed Eskom to raise tariffs by rates that have far exceeded inflation in recent years to help the company meet its obligations and as the government struggles to rein in non-paying municipalities. Prices have climbed almost 900% since 2008, equating to an average annual increase of about 15% since then. Eskom, meanwhile, still struggles with a long-term debt pile of 358 billion rand ($22 billion).

These hikes have eaten into companies’ profit margins and they need to find cheaper alternatives, said Richard Doyle, managing director of  JUWI South Africa, which builds and maintains solar and wind plants. 

“The cost of buying energy from Eskom is over 2 rand ($0.12)” per kilowatt-hour, Doyle said. “The levelized cost of solar power now is maybe 50 to 60 cents. It is a complete commercial no-brainer for any and all industries now to move towards solar power.”

Predictability is also a major motivating factor, said Nepgen. 

“The certainty element of saying ‘this is my cost and it’s only going to increase by CPI’ is hugely valuable for businesses,” he said, referring to consumer price inflation. “When you’re deciding  on whether or not to open a new facility, if you have uncertainty around your future electricity costs, that might discourage investment, so that CPI hedge really helps.”

South Africa has more than 2,500 renewable-energy projects with 19,677 megawatts of generating capacity registered with the National Energy Regulator compared with under 20 megawatts in 2018, the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association said.

The National Transmission Company of South Africa separately estimates that the nation has about 8,400 megawatts of so-called behind-the-meter private-solar installations that generate power for on-site use and don’t supply the grid. The datasets aren’t comparable and likely overlap in part. Eskom has total installed capacity of about 53,200 megawatts, 85% of which is coal. 

The boom in private generation is redefining Eskom’s role in provision.

With consumers forced to find alternative sources of consistent supply, Eskom’s revenue has declined. And with their switch to lower-cost options eroding demand from the utility, it seeks bigger price increases that further cut clients’ reliance on it, deepening what the utility itself calls a “death spiral.” Eskom didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The South African central bank has brought attention to the knock-on effects of inadequate public infrastructure on financial stability, noting in June that increased substitution with private generation also hurts the coffers of municipalities, many of which on-sell Eskom’s supply. 

The company has responded by launching Eskom Green, a utility-scale renewable-energy developer that targets 6,000 megawatts of capacity by the end of the decade.

The move “is a market signal that renewable energy is now considered essential and is no longer a luxury,” Impala’s Mthombeni said.

After more than a century of relying on a single dominant utility, businesses are gaining more choices about where their electricity comes from and how much they pay for it.

For Eskom, the challenge is no longer simply keeping the lights on. It's adapting to a competitive electricity market where its biggest customers increasingly have alternatives.

“We expect renewable energy to play a central role in stabilizing the country’s energy system,” Mthombeni said. “Renewable-energy technology will not replace the grid, but it will complement it — creating a more diversified, resilient and sustainable energy mix.” 

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