The Ateela 2 Oil Tanker boat navigates the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Asghar Besharati | Getty Images Oil was struggling for direction Thursday as traders weighed OPEC 's lower demand outlook for this year, while the International Energy Agency flagged greater volatility ahead. International benchmark Brent crude futures for July were down 0.21% at $105.42...
The Ateela 2 Oil Tanker boat navigates the sea on April 28, 2026 on Qeshm Island, Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Asghar Besharati | Getty Images Oil was struggling for direction Thursday as traders weighed OPEC 's lower demand outlook for this year, while the International Energy Agency flagged greater volatility ahead. International benchmark Brent crude futures for July were down 0.21% at $105.42 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for June fell 0.16% at $100.87 per barrel. Both had started the day marginally higher. OPEC cut its demand growth estimates for 2026 to about 1.2 million barrels per day, from 1.4 million bpd previously, in its latest monthly update. OPEC production fell by 1.7 million bpd in April and has declined more than 30%, or 9.7 million bpd since the start of the Iran war in late February. OPEC's latest update is expected to be the last one to include data from the United Arab Emirates, which exited the cartel on May 1. The International Energy Agency 's on Wednesday also highlighted the impact of the Iran war on oil supply. "More than ten weeks after the war in the Middle East began, mounting supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz are depleting global oil inventories at a record pace," the IEA said. With more than 14 million bpd of supply cut, the overall loss from Gulf producers is now over a billion barrels, the IEA said, adding that greater price volatility is likely as peak summer demand approaches. "The duration of elevated fuel prices remains a subject of intense discussion and is closely tied to ongoing geopolitical developments surrounding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the potential damage to oil and gas infrastructure in the Middle East from further conflict," ING analysts said in a note. U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping will also be closely watched by traders. Former US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told CNBC's " Squawk Box Asia " Wednesday that China want...
Trump Says Cuba Is Seeking Help: 'We Are Going To Talk' Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times, Cuba wants help, and the United States will hold talks with the communist island nation, President Donald Trump announced in a Tuesday post on Truth Social. He did not specify when those talks would take place. “No Republican has ever spoken to me about Cuba, which is a failed country and only headi...
Trump Says Cuba Is Seeking Help: 'We Are Going To Talk' Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times, Cuba wants help, and the United States will hold talks with the communist island nation, President Donald Trump announced in a Tuesday post on Truth Social. He did not specify when those talks would take place. “No Republican has ever spoken to me about Cuba, which is a failed country and only heading in one direction—down! Cuba is asking for help, and we are going to talk!!! In the meantime, I’m off to China!” Trump wrote in his post. The president has made Cuba a focus of his second term, increasing pressure on Havana in the form of sanctions, an oil blockade, and repeated comments from himself and others in his administration about how Cuba is next after the U.S. military captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Cuba, in January. As he left for his trip to China , Trump declined providing any further information to reporters at the White House. “Cuba is not doing well. It’s a failed nation, and we'll be talking about Cuba at the right time,” Trump said. Asked about any planned talks with the country, a White House official said, “Within a short period of time, they will fall, and we will be there to help them out.” Trump has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions against the Cuban regime to choke the leadership out and push it toward making a deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, announced some of those sanctions on May 7. On May 1, Trump signed a presidential action broadening sanctions on the communist government, imposing them on individuals, entities, and affiliates of the regime. It also targeted anyone complicit in human rights violations or corruption. “[Cuba’s policies] constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat,” Trump’s order said. “Not only are these policies, practices, and actions designed to harm the United States, but they are also repugnant to the moral and political values of free and democr...
In apology, William Paul said he had had ‘too much to drink’ and the things he said ‘don’t represent who I really am’ Republican senator Rand Paul’s son William apologized on Wednesday for a drunken tirade at a bar in Washington DC, in which he reportedly told a Republican congressman he “hates Jews and hates gays”. “Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who...
In apology, William Paul said he had had ‘too much to drink’ and the things he said ‘don’t represent who I really am’ Republican senator Rand Paul’s son William apologized on Wednesday for a drunken tirade at a bar in Washington DC, in which he reportedly told a Republican congressman he “hates Jews and hates gays”. “Last night, I had too much to drink and said some things that don’t represent who I really am. I’m sorry and today I am seeking help for my drinking problem,” William Paul posted on social media under the handle TastyBrew1776. Continue reading...