Friday, 16 October 2026

The Gulf is also under pressure. Houthi missiles hit the government's palace complex in Aden on Thursday while strikes on Saudi Arabia continue, and the EU-Gulf summit in Riyadh has been postponed. CNN reports that US strike plans for Iran include the "mother of all bombs" should Trump order combat to resume. A Singapore-registered container ship sank in the Strait of Hormuz after an attack. In the Black Sea, two tankers caught fire in Romanian waters, seven sailors are missing, and a Nato source says the drones were Russian.

Energy costs fed straight into markets. Asian tech stocks plunged on Thursday, with South Korea's KOSPI down 7.6% and Japan's Nikkei nearly 5%, after a US selloff on hot inflation data. US producer prices rose 1.3% in September, far above forecasts, driven by energy costs. The IEA will accelerate the release of its emergency oil stocks beyond the 400 million barrels pledged in March.

Less noticed is the Ebola outbreak. Kenya confirmed a second case on Wednesday, a relative of its first patient, while in Congo confirmed cases have passed 9,000 and the health workers' union has called a nationwide strike. Tomorrow, watch whether EU leaders close the gap on the 2028-2034 budget.