Qatari mediators return to Tehran as US strike fears grow before midtermsBinance loses $6.3bn in record crypto theft, North Korea blamedTech rout deepens as Amazon and Intel results stoke AI spending fearsLimpet mines hit Hormuz tanker as Iran blames ships for using unauthorised routesUkraine resumes refinery strikes as Russian attacks kill about 20Hundreds leave Oleshky under truce as Europe fears exclusion from talksOil and gas stay high as eleven EU states release oil reservesStudy links 3,560 Indonesian deaths in September to fire smoke as Singapore widens haze probeSpain blames control-centre errors for Toledo train crashCoalition talks begin in deadlocked Israel as foreign-funding probe widensSaudi Arabia reports Houthi drone near Mecca as Taiz and Aden sufferProtests over prices and youth prospects reach Italy and Germany after French unrestNovaya Gazeta to close after eviction and loss of donationsBank of Japan holds rates but says 2% goal reached, as Fed and ECB signal hikesTech stocks slide after Blackstone flags junk rating for AnthropicJustice Department widens Alaska and California election probes as Trump restores ralliesAfrican health ministers keep borders open as Ebola spreadsDrone strikes on displaced-persons camp in Ethiopia's Amhara kill 14 to 16BP profit jumps as Middle East war lifts refining marginsUS moves to bar Chinese testing labs and curb telecoms as China denies Nvidia spy reportAI demand lifts chip and electronics firms across AsiaIsrael blows up homes in Hebron as siege forces 5,000 to fleeEl Salvador sends more than 2,000 troops to Haiti after ambushNigerian probe finds 33 detainees died in civil-defence custodyFrench economy contracts 0.1% as German growth beats forecastsG20 foreign ministers divided over wars; group photo cancelledCanada and EU launch 'Alliance for the Future' at Montreal summitKim demands drone expansion as Seoul vows firm response to border breachesXi urges EU and Germany to stay anchored in partnership as trade curbs loomUN bodies warn of war crimes and ethnic cleansing fears in Gaza despite ceasefireSerbia's Student List pushes to review institutions after election winSenior RSF commander defects as investigation maps wartime rape in SudanBrčko mourns four EUFOR members killed in Italian helicopter crashChina's party plenum ends with purge of 33 and PLA anti-graft expansionVolkswagen pauses electric Golf as Audi profit falls 87% and guidance is cutMayon volcano erupts in the Philippines, evacuations orderedMachado returns to Venezuela urging 2027 elections as Rodríguez promises a vote without a dateChina stages military patrols and coastguard drills in disputed South China SeaFlávio Bolsonaro flees to Miami and draws ridicule as Trump reportedly will not back his claimHong Kong officials apologise over Tai Po fire, survivors say it came too lateRussia-Africa summit in Moscow ends as Putin turns to bilateral talksPolish president turns back from Senegal as Constitutional Court chief is suspendedIrish government to assess possibility of unity with Northern IrelandDockworkers strike in ports across 22 countries over arms shipmentsQatari mediators return to Tehran as US strike fears grow before midtermsBinance loses $6.3bn in record crypto theft, North Korea blamedTech rout deepens as Amazon and Intel results stoke AI spending fearsLimpet mines hit Hormuz tanker as Iran blames ships for using unauthorised routesUkraine resumes refinery strikes as Russian attacks kill about 20Hundreds leave Oleshky under truce as Europe fears exclusion from talksOil and gas stay high as eleven EU states release oil reservesStudy links 3,560 Indonesian deaths in September to fire smoke as Singapore widens haze probeSpain blames control-centre errors for Toledo train crashCoalition talks begin in deadlocked Israel as foreign-funding probe widensSaudi Arabia reports Houthi drone near Mecca as Taiz and Aden sufferProtests over prices and youth prospects reach Italy and Germany after French unrestNovaya Gazeta to close after eviction and loss of donationsBank of Japan holds rates but says 2% goal reached, as Fed and ECB signal hikesTech stocks slide after Blackstone flags junk rating for AnthropicJustice Department widens Alaska and California election probes as Trump restores ralliesAfrican health ministers keep borders open as Ebola spreadsDrone strikes on displaced-persons camp in Ethiopia's Amhara kill 14 to 16BP profit jumps as Middle East war lifts refining marginsUS moves to bar Chinese testing labs and curb telecoms as China denies Nvidia spy reportAI demand lifts chip and electronics firms across AsiaIsrael blows up homes in Hebron as siege forces 5,000 to fleeEl Salvador sends more than 2,000 troops to Haiti after ambushNigerian probe finds 33 detainees died in civil-defence custodyFrench economy contracts 0.1% as German growth beats forecastsG20 foreign ministers divided over wars; group photo cancelledCanada and EU launch 'Alliance for the Future' at Montreal summitKim demands drone expansion as Seoul vows firm response to border breachesXi urges EU and Germany to stay anchored in partnership as trade curbs loomUN bodies warn of war crimes and ethnic cleansing fears in Gaza despite ceasefireSerbia's Student List pushes to review institutions after election winSenior RSF commander defects as investigation maps wartime rape in SudanBrčko mourns four EUFOR members killed in Italian helicopter crashChina's party plenum ends with purge of 33 and PLA anti-graft expansionVolkswagen pauses electric Golf as Audi profit falls 87% and guidance is cutMayon volcano erupts in the Philippines, evacuations orderedMachado returns to Venezuela urging 2027 elections as Rodríguez promises a vote without a dateChina stages military patrols and coastguard drills in disputed South China SeaFlávio Bolsonaro flees to Miami and draws ridicule as Trump reportedly will not back his claimHong Kong officials apologise over Tai Po fire, survivors say it came too lateRussia-Africa summit in Moscow ends as Putin turns to bilateral talksPolish president turns back from Senegal as Constitutional Court chief is suspendedIrish government to assess possibility of unity with Northern IrelandDockworkers strike in ports across 22 countries over arms shipments
Bota
Symbolic image: Oil climbs as US-Iran fighting disrupts Hormuz tanker trafficSymbolic image

Oil climbs as US-Iran fighting disrupts Hormuz tanker traffic

3 sources

Crude rose sharply on Friday as fighting between the United States and Iran disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, with WTI near $85 and Brent above $88 a barrel. Bloomberg reports oil is heading for a monthly gain of about 21 percent.

What happened

  • Iran's Fars agency says the Revolutionary Guard halted two tankers at the strait; four more changed course.
  • Kpler ship-tracking data show two very large crude carriers loaded in the Gulf passed Hormuz on Friday.
  • Fighting intensified during July after a temporary truce between Washington and Tehran collapsed.
  • Yemen's Houthis became more actively involved; Saudi forces joined US operations against Iran-backed groups in Iraq.
  • Falling US crude stocks and a Ukrainian strike on the Volgograd refinery added pressure, per Trading Economics.

The view from outside

US outlets frame the month through corporate winners: Bloomberg reports a record quarterly profit at Chevron and the company's expectation that large fuel margins persist, while the New York Times reports oil profits at their highest in years.

What could happen next

  • Unclear how far shipping is actually blocked: Tehran's account and Kpler tracking data diverge.
  • No sign of a restored US-Iran truce since the temporary one collapsed this month.
  • Saudi participation in US operations in Iraq could widen the theatres affecting shipping and prices.
  • Whether Europe refills its lagging gas stores before winter is open, according to the New York Times.
How the camps see it

  • Iran: Tehran asserts control over passage through Hormuz, with the Revolutionary Guard stopping tankers according to the Iranian agency Fars.

  • United States: Washington continues military operations against Iran and Iran-backed groups after the temporary ceasefire collapsed.

Also involved

Regional participantsEuropean consumers

To the edition