NiseriN European gas moved up after Trump warned of potential strikes on key Iranian infrastructure if Tehran fails to meet U.S. demands, raising the risk of further disruption to global energy flows. European natural gas futures climbed to €50.7 per MWh, extending their rebound from an over three-week low. With Europe’s gas storage critically low at roughly 28%, the region remains highly vulnerab...
NiseriN European gas moved up after Trump warned of potential strikes on key Iranian infrastructure if Tehran fails to meet U.S. demands, raising the risk of further disruption to global energy flows. European natural gas futures climbed to €50.7 per MWh, extending their rebound from an over three-week low. With Europe’s gas storage critically low at roughly 28%, the region remains highly vulnerable to supply shocks. The low buffer amplifies the risk of price spikes if supply disruptions persist, particularly given Europe’s structural dependence on LNG imports after the fallout of Russian pipeline flows. Trump warned that Iran could be “taken out” if it failed to meet the deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He further warned that failure to do so would prompt U.S. strikes on Iranian power plants and other infrastructure. Iran rejected the ultimatum and the mediated proposal for a temporary ceasefire. Previously, in March, European natural gas prices skyrocketed to a three-year high after Qatar halted LNG output. ETFs: ( UNG ), ( BOIL ), ( KOLD ), ( UNL ), ( FCG ) More on Gas Weather Drops U.S. January Oil Production Euro Comes Out Swinging: Can The 'Trump Reversal' Sustain EUR/USD's Upside Bias? Commodities: Iran Hits UAE And Bahrain Aluminum Plants Strait of Hormuz traffic highest in weeks, but Qatar LNG vessels make U-turn European markets remain shut for Easter; Iran tensions cloud outlook
MCCAIG/iStock via Getty Images By Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist | Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy Energy – Oil climbs on Trump escalation threat Oil prices rose after US President Donald Trump signalled that an escalation of strikes on Iran could come as soon as Tuesday, renewing fears that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz could remain constrained for longer. Brent tra...
MCCAIG/iStock via Getty Images By Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist | Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy Energy – Oil climbs on Trump escalation threat Oil prices rose after US President Donald Trump signalled that an escalation of strikes on Iran could come as soon as Tuesday, renewing fears that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz could remain constrained for longer. Brent traded above $111/bbl in Tuesday’s morning session, while WTI was around $116/bbl after it closed at its highest since June 2022. Physical market tightness remains evident, with the NYMEX WTI prompt spread widening to a backwardation of $16.19/bbl, compared with $8.22/bbl at the end of March. “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said at a press conference on Monday, referring to an ultimatum to Iran set to expire at 8:00pm on Tuesday. He added that free passage of oil through Hormuz must be part of any deal to end the war. Iran has reportedly told mediator Pakistan that it rejected a ceasefire proposal, demanding a permanent end to the war, sanctions relief, reconstruction efforts, and formal guarantees on safe passage through Hormuz. US allies, including Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey, are said to be pushing for a temporary ceasefire of around 45 days, as Trump extended his deadline for Tehran to reopen the strait. Traffic through Hormuz remains heavily reduced. 15 ships transited the strait with Iran’s permission over 24 hours (according to semi‑official Fars News), around 90% below pre‑conflict levels. Iran said on Saturday that Iraq would be exempt from its curbs, while Iraq’s state oil marketer SOMO said vessels carrying Iraqi crude are now able to transit the strait. Meanwhile, OPEC+ raised output targets by 206k b/d in May, a largely symbolic move as the war continues to constrain output and shipments from several key members. The increase marks a continuation of the gradual unwinding of the 1.65 mb/d cuts introdu...
Europe's Climate Policy Forces Industry Into Retreat; Even Its Critics Are Folding Submitted by Thomas Kolbe In the media business, five months is an eternity. And it does indeed seem like an eternity has passed since Christian Kullmann, CEO of the German chemical giant Evonik, sharply criticized European climate policy at the end of October. At the time, Kullmann gave an interview to Süddeutsche ...
Europe's Climate Policy Forces Industry Into Retreat; Even Its Critics Are Folding Submitted by Thomas Kolbe In the media business, five months is an eternity. And it does indeed seem like an eternity has passed since Christian Kullmann, CEO of the German chemical giant Evonik, sharply criticized European climate policy at the end of October. At the time, Kullmann gave an interview to Süddeutsche Zeitung , in which he called—if not for the outright abolition—then at least for a significant weakening of the EU-wide CO₂ emissions trading system, given the dramatic state of the economy. Kullmann rightly pointed out that there is probably no stricter CO₂ regime anywhere in the world than in the EU. And since the climate, as we know, has no borders, he argued it makes little sense to disadvantage domestic cutting-edge technology in this way. He explicitly referred to the costly CO₂ trading system, which drained a staggering €21.4 billion from the German economy last year alone—under the banner of climate policy through this relatively new mechanism. Five months after these remarkable statements—briefly breaking the long-standing silence of German industrial leaders—the question must be asked whether there is anywhere else in the world a comparable project to the EU’s CO₂ regime. With the United States abandoning its policy of artificial energy scarcity, its war on conventional energy production, and heavy-handed regulation of its own industrial base, the EU now stands alone in its ideological campaign against economic rationality. No one else seems willing to join the chorus of Europe’s climate apocalypticism. This European isolationism may elsewhere be perceived as a form of late-stage counter-colonization—a return flow of capital from remorseful Europeans willing to accept self-imposed sacrifice to help other regions get back on their feet. Around the world, this selflessly naive “degrowth suicide” is welcomed, as it delivers not only so-called climate support from Eur...
LG Energy Solution Ltd. reported preliminary first-quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates, as waning electric-vehicle support in key markets like the US weighed on results despite strong demand for energy storage systems. South Korea’s largest battery maker reported an operating loss of 207.8 billion won ($138.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, according to a regulatory filing ...
LG Energy Solution Ltd. reported preliminary first-quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates, as waning electric-vehicle support in key markets like the US weighed on results despite strong demand for energy storage systems. South Korea’s largest battery maker reported an operating loss of 207.8 billion won ($138.1 million) in the three months ended March 31, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. That fell short of analyst estimates of a 140.5 billion won loss. Excluding US tax credits for advanced manufacturing, the loss would have been 397.5 billion won, the Seoul-based company said. Revenue fell 2.5% to 6.6 trillion won. Final results are due later this month.
European shares dropped as military strikes continued in the Middle East and US President Donald Trump issued new threats ahead of his deadline for a deal with Iran. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 1% at the close in London, after having earlier risen as much as 0.8%. The media sector outperformed with Universal Music Group NV surging 11% after Pershing Square offered to buy the entertainment ...
European shares dropped as military strikes continued in the Middle East and US President Donald Trump issued new threats ahead of his deadline for a deal with Iran. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 1% at the close in London, after having earlier risen as much as 0.8%. The media sector outperformed with Universal Music Group NV surging 11% after Pershing Square offered to buy the entertainment company. Tech was led lower by ASML Holding NV, which fell 4.1% after US lawmakers proposed tighter restrictions on exports of chipmaking tools to China. Trump threatened widespread destruction in Iran in a social media post on Tuesday, framing his 8 p.m. Eastern Time deadline to reach a deal as “one of the most important moments” in global history. The New York Times reported that the Islamic Republic has now stopped negotiations. “Markets simply cannot look further in the future than the next Trump social media post, which makes investors’ life incredibly difficult,” said Joachim Klement , head of strategy at Panmure Liberum. If the deal doesn’t materialize, we could see “a final capitulation leg down in European equity markets, which so far is still missing in this correction,” he added. Meanwhile, investor confidence in the euro-area economy dropped to the lowest in a year due to the Iran war, casting doubt on the region’s nascent recovery. Yet, many traders fear the European Central Bank will have to increase interest rates to counter the inflation threat, with Governing Council member Pierre Wunsch saying several hikes were possible if the war drags on. In other individual stocks, Leonardo SpA fell 8%. Italy is set to name a replacement for the firm’s chief executive officer as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter. For more on equity markets: Europe Is Losing an Edge That Was So Hard to Build: Taking Stock M&A Watch Europe: Pershing Square Offer for UMG, Bureau Veritas US Stock Futures Little Changed; Alignment Healthcare Gains You want more...