US lifts sanctions on Russian diesel after Trump-Putin call Trump rules out Iran strikes before midterms as Iran attacks tankers beyond Hormuz Saudi Arabia reports three dead at Riyadh airport as UN envoy says Yemen is back at full-scale war Panama counts damage after 7.7 earthquake, canal unaffected Ukraine-US talks open in Florida as Kyiv's grid fails Congo Ebola cases pass 8,700 as Kenya tightens border controls after first death US sanctions the International Criminal Court as a whole EU says China accepts deep cuts to hybrid car exports after Beijing talks Ethiopia and Eritrea trade accusations of aggression as fighting spreads in Tigray Drone strike kills about 30 at Sudan displacement camp Bond selloff persists as Pimco warns of 6% Treasury yields Hurricane Isaias reaches Gulf coast as offshore oil and gas output is shut in Ukraine hits second Yandex data centre and disrupts Moscow air traffic Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize, Israel denounces choice UAE says flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Tel Aviv terminal OpenAI revenue about $20bn below reported figure, unsettling AI stocks Iran war fuel shock hits airlines and freight as UN cuts growth outlook Pentagon plans to livestream firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Trump opens White House inquiry into Fed governor Lisa Cook ICE agent shoots man in car with child in New York India shuts down parts of Delhi to block youth protest over voter-roll purge Anthropic says rogue AI agents tried to access government sites Gaza ceasefire 'exists in name only', more than 100 NGOs say Arrest warrant issued for Eduardo Bolsonaro as runoff polls show tight race SpaceX spectrum deal hits telecom stocks Montenegro detains Rybar administrator Zvinchuk and moves to expel him UN raises concern over police as French student protests go on Indonesian haze closes Malaysian schools as super El Niño identified US suspends Microsoft, Adobe and others from green card programme SoftBank seeks up to $100bn from Gulf investors for AI China adds provincial stimulus as yuan reaches four-year high Palestinian Authority to postpone legislative elections Nvidia-backed Firmus pulls $5bn IPO in Sydney South Africa withdraws asylum directive after anti-migrant violence Settler attacks hit West Bank olive harvest Labour holds Starmer's former seat against Greens Europe weighs response to Russian shadow war Oversight committee orders special audit of BND Apple cuts iPhone 18 Pro orders on soft demand Airtel Money slips below IPO price in London debut US moves to disrupt hacking infrastructure run by China's Integrity Tech Group Japan declares cyber space emergency as attacks soar Italy passes Meloni's electoral reform Merz outraged after Schröder attends Putin's birthday Erik Prince's forces suffer losses in Congo Sponsors withdraw from Vilnius disinformation conference amid reported US pressure US lifts sanctions on Russian diesel after Trump-Putin call Trump rules out Iran strikes before midterms as Iran attacks tankers beyond Hormuz Saudi Arabia reports three dead at Riyadh airport as UN envoy says Yemen is back at full-scale war Panama counts damage after 7.7 earthquake, canal unaffected Ukraine-US talks open in Florida as Kyiv's grid fails Congo Ebola cases pass 8,700 as Kenya tightens border controls after first death US sanctions the International Criminal Court as a whole EU says China accepts deep cuts to hybrid car exports after Beijing talks Ethiopia and Eritrea trade accusations of aggression as fighting spreads in Tigray Drone strike kills about 30 at Sudan displacement camp Bond selloff persists as Pimco warns of 6% Treasury yields Hurricane Isaias reaches Gulf coast as offshore oil and gas output is shut in Ukraine hits second Yandex data centre and disrupts Moscow air traffic Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize, Israel denounces choice UAE says flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Tel Aviv terminal OpenAI revenue about $20bn below reported figure, unsettling AI stocks Iran war fuel shock hits airlines and freight as UN cuts growth outlook Pentagon plans to livestream firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Trump opens White House inquiry into Fed governor Lisa Cook ICE agent shoots man in car with child in New York India shuts down parts of Delhi to block youth protest over voter-roll purge Anthropic says rogue AI agents tried to access government sites Gaza ceasefire 'exists in name only', more than 100 NGOs say Arrest warrant issued for Eduardo Bolsonaro as runoff polls show tight race SpaceX spectrum deal hits telecom stocks Montenegro detains Rybar administrator Zvinchuk and moves to expel him UN raises concern over police as French student protests go on Indonesian haze closes Malaysian schools as super El Niño identified US suspends Microsoft, Adobe and others from green card programme SoftBank seeks up to $100bn from Gulf investors for AI China adds provincial stimulus as yuan reaches four-year high Palestinian Authority to postpone legislative elections Nvidia-backed Firmus pulls $5bn IPO in Sydney South Africa withdraws asylum directive after anti-migrant violence Settler attacks hit West Bank olive harvest Labour holds Starmer's former seat against Greens Europe weighs response to Russian shadow war Oversight committee orders special audit of BND Apple cuts iPhone 18 Pro orders on soft demand Airtel Money slips below IPO price in London debut US moves to disrupt hacking infrastructure run by China's Integrity Tech Group Japan declares cyber space emergency as attacks soar Italy passes Meloni's electoral reform Merz outraged after Schröder attends Putin's birthday Erik Prince's forces suffer losses in Congo Sponsors withdraw from Vilnius disinformation conference amid reported US pressure

Symbolic image: Iran war fuel shock hits airlines and freight as UN cuts growth outlook

Symbolic image

Iran war fuel shock hits airlines and freight as UN cuts growth outlook

5 sources

Delta Air Lines cut its profit forecast on Friday because jet fuel will cost it an extra $6bn this year. Tanker rates have also soared.

Delta lowered its 2026 earnings-per-share guidance to $5.10-$5.60 from $6.50-$7.50 in July, despite record third-quarter revenue of $17.6bn, up 16%. Its fuel expenses rose 69%, and US jet fuel hit $4.71 a gallon on Thursday as a brief revival in Strait of Hormuz shipping appeared to be fading, the FT reports. Chief financial officer Erik Snell said the cut was entirely due to fuel and that prices could stay higher for longer. Unlike European carriers, US airlines do not hedge jet fuel, which leaves them more exposed.

Airlines brace for a hard winter

easyJet and Lufthansa are cutting winter capacity, and Cirium data show the industry removed 6mn seats from October to December schedules in September alone. Ryanair's Michael O'Leary calls the situation "a full-blown crisis" and expects high fuel prices until at least 2028. IAG's Luis Gallego expects smaller carriers to struggle, after Spirit Airlines collapsed in May and airBaltic last month.

Tanker shortage drives freight costs

TASS, citing Bloomberg, reports that chartering a tanker from the US to China costs about $80mn, $6mn more than a Falcon 9 launch. Vitol chief executive Russell Hardy is quoted as saying there is not enough shipping to go around, as the Hormuz situation drives the shortage.

Reserve oil and a lower growth outlook

Reuters headlines report that Germany will release up to 15 million barrels of oil under a G7 plan, and that the UN trade body expects world economic growth to slow to 2.6% in 2026.