The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded higher on Monday as comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell assuaged investors' concerns about a possible interest rate hike. President Donald Trump also signaled that an end to the war against Iran could be drawing near.
The 30-stock index added 215 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%.
U.S. oil prices also rose to start the week, with West Texas Intermediate futures up 3% at above $102 per barrel. Brent crude futures were marginally lower, trading above $111 a barrel.
Fed Chair Powell said Monday that even with rising energy prices, he sees inflation expectations as "well anchored beyond the short term." While he did say that the central bank could "eventually maybe face the question of what to do here," he stressed that it's "not really facing it yet, because we don't know what the economic effects will be."
The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped following those remarks. The benchmark yield was last down 11 basis points at 4.33%.
Meanwhile, Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday that the U.S. is "in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran," adding that "great progress has been made."
However, the president also said that if a peace deal is not reached "shortly" and the Strait of Hormuz is not "immediately" reopened, the U.S. will "conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet 'touched.'"
This comes after Trump said Sunday that Tehran had accepted most of the U.S.' 15-point plan to end the war and that Iran has agreed to allow an additional 20 oil ships to cross the Strait.
Traders have worried in recent weeks that higher energy prices could hurt the economy. But David Wagner of Aptus Capital Advisors is "not too worried," saying that a sudden spike "can rattle investor confidence and stoke inflation fears, but the shock typically dissipates as the economy and the markets adapt."
"The basics remain very strong," the head of equities told CNBC, noting that earnings growth for the S&P 500 on a year-over-year basis is "still kicking well above [its] historical growth rate." He added, "People are trying to make it a growth scare, and it's not."
Wall Street is coming off a losing week, with the Dow and Nasdaq tipping into correction territory. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all posted their fifth straight weekly declines.
The market will be closed on Friday in observance of Good Friday, although the March jobs report is still scheduled for release that morning.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/29/stock-market-today-live-updates.html
Ras Laffan, Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production hub, bombed by Iran. Courtesy of Reuters/Yonhap News
The war between the United States and Iran has halted one-third of the world's helium (He) production, threatening the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. Analysts predict a particularly significant impact on South Korean semiconductor companies, which primarily source helium from the Middle East.
According to The New York Times (NYT) on the 27th (local time), the helium scarcity caused by the Middle East war is expected to affect global semiconductor production.
Helium, a colorless and odorless gas at room temperature, is widely used across industry and science and is considered an essential material for semiconductor chip manufacturing. It is used to cool silicon wafers during the circuit-etching process and to remove toxic residues left on the wafers.
Helium is a byproduct of natural gas processing and is primarily produced in the United States and Qatar.
Qatar produces about one-third of the global supply through its refining facilities in the Ras Laffan industrial complex. Iran's attack on Qatar's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility destroyed the helium production plant, which is expected to take about five years to repair.
While there is helium that was shipped before the war broke out, temperature-sensitive liquid helium can only be stored for about a month and a half. A tangible helium shortage is projected to be felt within a few weeks.
Disruptions to major semiconductor chip production at companies like Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Taiwan's TSMC could have a chain effect on smartphone manufacturing and the construction of artificial intelligence (AI) servers.
TSMC told the NYT regarding the helium shortage, "We are closely monitoring the situation and do not expect a significant impact at this time." Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix reportedly declined to comment.
According to the international credit rating agency Fitch, about two-thirds of the helium imported by South Korea last year came from Qatar. This suggests that Korean companies could be hit harder.
During past helium shortages, cash-rich semiconductor manufacturers secured priority access by offering the highest prices, leading to supply shortages in other helium-dependent sectors such as pharmaceuticals and medical imaging.
Powell will participate in a moderated conversation at Harvard University's economics course and will likely talk about the ongoing Iran war and its effects on inflation.
Written by Sunil Dhawan
March 30, 2026 12:16 IST
Market directions will be influenced by the outcome of the Iran war, with oil prices and the dollar's movement serving as key indicators. (The New York Times)
All eyes will be on US Fed chair Jerome Powell’s speech today. Powell will be speaking at 10:30 a.m. ET on March 30 at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Powell is scheduled to take part in a moderated conversation at Harvard University’s course on principles of economics.
Powell is expected to talk about the ongoing Iran war and its impact on inflation, as oil prices have risen more than 40% since the war began. Brent trades at $115, up over 60% since the war began.
“Should oil remain elevated, this does not bode well for stocks, as high oil prices function as a tax on nearly every aspect of economic activity, and stocks are reflecting this. For equities to gain a foothold, oil prices must drop,” says Aaron Hill, Chief Market Analyst, FP Markets.
The Dow has entered the correction zone after falling 10% from its most recent peak. Since the war began, the S&P 500 and Dow indices have been down nearly 8%. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.3% to 100.16.
It’s not clear yet how much of the price increase has permeated goods and services. The Iran war began on February 28, so will the March US CPI data reveal the real impact? It is unlikely.
The March US CPI data is expected in mid-April, but because inflation takes 6-8 weeks to be reflected in prices, the April US CPI data, which will be released in May, will be critical to the future rate path.
Meanwhile, Powell is expected to maintain his position that incoming data should be considered before deciding whether to cut interest rates. Unlike the situation before the war, markets now expect the US Fed to cut rates only once in 2026, rather than twice this year.
As of now, all options are on the table, including a rate hike. There are some market experts who believe the US Fed might not just refrain from cutting rates but even go for a hike, in case inflation reignites in the economy.
Powell, whose tenure as Fed chair expires in May, has stated that he will not resign his position as a member of the Fed’s board of governors until the investigation into the management of the central bank’s renovations is fully closed. The Senate Banking Committee plans to hold a hearing on Kevin Warsh’s nomination to chair the Federal Reserve by the week of April 13, reported Reuters.
Iran War Latest
Tensions heightened as President Donald Trump suggested the possibility of seizing oil in Iran, specifically targeting Kharg Island, reminiscent of a recent US military operation in Venezuela.
The US is preparing for extended ground operations in Iran following the arrival of additional troops, while Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have engaged in the conflict, targeting Israel.
Data Releases
The U.S. jobs report for March is set to be released on Friday, amid increasing scrutiny of the labor market following a reduction of 92,000 jobs in February. Additionally, private sector hiring data for March will be available through the ADP report on Wednesday. The US stock market will be closed on Friday, April 3, on account of Good Friday.
Which way the Iran war turns will set the direction for the markets. Keep an eye on oil prices and the dollar’s movement to determine the direction of the wind.
Losses are falling precisely between policy wordings
By Matthew Sellers
Mar 31, 2026
The marine war risk market was the first to move. Within hours of the United States and Israel launching coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, P&I clubs issued notices of cancellation for the Persian Gulf. War-risk premiums for vessels attempting the Hormuz transit surged in some cases twelve-fold. A $20 billion government-backed reinsurance facility was assembled, with Chubb named as lead underwriter, in an effort to restore market confidence and get oil tankers moving again.
That is the story most insurance professionals have been following. It is not the whole story.
Beneath the headline disruption to marine and energy lines, the Iran war is generating a second, quieter crisis - one defined not by losses that are clearly covered, but by losses that fall precisely in the gaps between policy wordings. Business interruption triggers that require physical damage. Cyber exclusions that nobody can apply with certainty. Travel policies that left a million stranded passengers with nothing. Trade credit exposures that most commercial clients never thought to buy.
For brokers and underwriters who have spent recent years pricing geopolitical risk as a tail event, the tail has arrived. The question now is how many of their clients are actually covered for it.
The cyber problem nobody can solve
Of all the non-obvious consequences of the war, the cyber coverage question may be the most consequential - and the least tractable.
Iran has a long-documented history of state-affiliated cyber operations, and the outbreak of hostilities has prompted warnings across Western governments about the risk of retaliatory attacks on critical infrastructure, financial institutions and major corporations. Demand for cyber insurance has surged in response.
The problem is that many cyber policies include wartime or force majeure exclusions that could render claims invalid if an attack can be attributed to state-sponsored actors. Whether a given attack is genuinely state-directed, as opposed to conducted by Iranian-linked actors without formal government sanction, is a forensic question that may take months or years to answer - long after the policy response window has closed.
The Lloyd's market alone has 48 approved cyber exclusion wordings, each drafted differently. The result, as policyholder disputes lawyers have noted, is a chaotic coverage picture in the event of widespread attacks. The mechanism by which a policyholder would even begin to establish attribution has never been tested in practice.
For brokers, the practical implication is urgent. Every commercial client carrying a cyber policy should have its war exclusion wording reviewed now - before any claim arises - to understand what standard of evidence would be required to establish or rebut a state-sponsored attribution, and whether that standard is achievable.
Twenty-one thousand flights, and most passengers had nothing
The aviation disruption that followed the February 28 strikes was immediate and staggering in scale. Airspace closed across large parts of the Middle East within hours. Dubai and Doha - ranked first and tenth in the world for international passenger traffic - became effectively inoperable as transit hubs. More than 21,000 flights were cancelled in the days that followed, stranding tens of thousands of travellers across multiple continents.
Demand for "cancel for any reason" travel insurance surged eighteen-fold in the days following the strikes, according to data from online insurance marketplace Squaremouth.
The surge was too late to matter for most of those affected. Standard travel insurance policies exclude coverage for disruptions tied to acts of war and military action - a provision that is longstanding, widely understood within the industry, and almost entirely unknown to ordinary consumers until the moment it becomes relevant. Cancel for any reason coverage must in most cases be purchased within 14 to 21 days of an initial trip deposit. Once a military action has become a known event, it cannot be insured against retrospectively.
The result was a consumer protection failure of significant scale. Airlines were legally obligated to offer refunds for cancelled flights, and many offered flexible rebooking terms. But for the broader costs of disruption - hotels, missed connections, stranded cruise passengers, non-refundable land arrangements - the insurance mechanism that consumers believed existed simply was not there.
The travel insurance market's challenge going forward is partly one of product design and partly one of disclosure. Neither is straightforward.
The business interruption gap
For commercial lines, the dominant coverage question is not marine - it is business interruption, and specifically the growing volume of losses that do not meet standard policy triggers.
When Maersk suspended Hormuz transits on March 1 and began rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, the additional cost per ship was approximately $1 million in fuel, plus 10 to 14 additional days of transit time. For cargo owners with time-sensitive supply chains, missed delivery windows, spoiled perishables and breach-of-contract penalties, the financial damage is real and substantial.
Most of it is not insured.
Standard business interruption policies require physical loss or damage as a trigger. A rerouted voyage that arrives late but delivers undamaged cargo is, in policy terms, a pure delay - and pure delay falls outside cover. The same applies to precautionary shutdowns of energy infrastructure across the Gulf states, where companies have paused operations not because of a physical strike but because of proximity to conflict. The business interruption exposure from such shutdowns can be enormous. The coverage, in many cases, is not.
Legal analysis from Pillsbury Law characterised the issue plainly: losses from physical damage, denial of access, seizure and detention, sanctions and pure delay all require different policy responses, and many policyholders have yet to map their actual disruptions to the relevant coverage categories - much less identify the gaps.
Trade credit: the line nobody was watching
Before the war, trade credit insurance was one of the quieter corners of the specialty market. Claims were manageable, pricing was stable, and the line had absorbed recent geopolitical shocks - the Red Sea disruptions, the Russia-Ukraine war's effects on commodity flows - without significant systemic stress.
The Hormuz closure is different in scale. The strait carries approximately 20% of global oil flows and a significant share of LNG. Prolonged disruption is beginning to create default risk up and down supply chains as payment terms are missed, contracts are frustrated, and counterparties face liquidity pressure from rising energy costs.
Howden Re's head of global specialty treaty, Phil Bonner, described the situation as one in which what was previously a stable, dependable line is now moving firmly into strategic focus, as insurers and reinsurers reassess counterparty exposure and supply chain dependencies.
The most significant gap is not among large multinationals, which typically carry trade credit cover as part of sophisticated risk programmes. It is among mid-market commercial clients for whom trade credit insurance has rarely been on the broker agenda - and who are now discovering that their receivables are exposed in ways they had not considered.
The attribution of war and terrorism
Across multiple lines - marine, property, political violence, aviation - the same definitional problem keeps surfacing. In fast-moving geopolitical conflicts, the boundary between war, terrorism, sabotage and cyber incident becomes contested territory, and that contest is fought in policy language.
Legal analysis from Mills & Reeve noted that many insureds in the Gulf had purchased only terrorism or lower-level civil unrest coverage, leaving them potentially uninsured for war-related losses. The political violence policies that were meant to fill the gap left by standard property war exclusions do not necessarily dovetail cleanly with those exclusions - particularly where the specific peril purchased does not match the cause of loss.
Morningstar DBRS, in a commentary on the war's insurance implications, noted that terrorism and political violence incidents can trigger claims simultaneously in property, marine, aviation and business interruption policies - and that distinguishing between terrorism, sabotage, cyber incidents and acts of war may become increasingly difficult, increasing the potential for coverage disputes.
Those disputes are not theoretical. They are already beginning.
The GPS spoofing problem
There is one further consequence of the conflict that has received almost no attention outside specialist underwriting circles, but which has the potential to generate significant coverage disputes.
In the period before the February 28 strikes, there had been a series of GPS spoofing incidents in the region - deliberate manipulation of navigational signals that caused vessels to lose accurate positioning data, contributing to collision and grounding risk. Similar spoofing has been documented in the Baltic and Black Seas in connection with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
A physical grounding or collision resulting from GPS spoofing sits in genuinely contested territory between a war peril, a cyber peril and a conventional hull claim. Insurers across those three lines are not aligned on which policy responds, and the wording analysis required to answer the question in any given case is both complex and likely to be disputed.
As the conflict continues, the volume of such edge cases will only grow. The marine and cyber markets have not yet had to adjudicate a major GPS spoofing claim under war conditions. The analytical frameworks for doing so are not established.
What brokers should be doing now
The common thread running through each of these coverage questions is the same: the losses are real, the damage is happening, and the standard policy architecture was not designed for the specific shape of this conflict.
Legal and insurance analysts have begun to outline what a practical response looks like. Every business interruption programme should be mapped against its actual triggers to identify where delay-only losses will fall outside cover. Every cyber policy should be reviewed for the precise wording of its war and state-sponsored exclusions, and clients should understand what attribution evidence would be required to invoke or resist those exclusions. Every commercial client with Gulf supply chain exposure should be asked whether they carry trade credit cover - and if not, whether they understand what is now at risk.
The broader market question - whether the insurance industry's product architecture is adequate to a world in which geopolitical conflict generates losses that are diffuse, correlated, and definitionally ambiguous - is one that will take years to answer through policy reform and litigation.
The claims, however, are not waiting.
An oil products tanker sails at the Sultan Qaboos Port in Muscat, Oman, on March 21, 2026.
The world economy is being held hostage by the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Gasoline, jet fuel and diesel prices have skyrocketed. Stock markets have tumbled, and recession odds have climbed.
After weeks of trying and failing to reopen the critical waterway off the coast of Iran, President Donald Trump has floated a new idea: walk away and let others clean up the mess.
Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will “automatically open” after the US military exits the war. “Let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it,” Trump told the paper.
Trump has told aides he’s willing to end the US military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
“Go get your own oil!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday.
Trump told reporters later in the day that gas prices, which hit $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, would come down soon. “All I have to do is leave Iran, and we’ll be doing that very soon, and they’ll be come tumbling down,” he said.
Yet energy market experts tell CNN that ending the war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz is unlikely to fix the energy crisis.
“It’s a terrible idea,” Dan Pickering, founder and chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners, told CNN in a phone interview. “This would be a job half-finished that creates more long-term problems than it solves in the short term.”
While a US exit could cause oil prices to tumble in the near-term, Pickering said he’s “afraid” the world will ultimately pay much more for crude if a “bad actor” like Iran is left in control of the Strait of Hormuz.
“It’s hard to see how throwing in the towel in the strait solves anything. It would basically be surrendering the strait to Iran and guaranteeing higher energy prices because Iran would be free to attack vessels and charge tolls,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “It would be a catastrophic failure.”
It’s possible that Trump floated the idea to persuade allies to step up support to reopen the chokepoint, or even as a head fake before a potential US ground invasion.
Some investors dismissed the talk of the US exiting without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
“This doesn’t add up. It’s a petulant outburst, kind of like crossing your arms when your mom says you can’t go to a party,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Financial.
Oil market veterans stress that the supply disruption – the biggest on record – requires a resolution to the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil typically flows.
“There is no way to tilt the scales of global economics and pretend it’s not a problem,” said De Haan.
‘Inextricably linked’ to the world market
It’s true that the United States is more insulated than countries in Asia and Europe, which more directly rely on the Strait of Hormuz for oil.
That’s in part because the United States is the biggest oil producer on the planet, pumping an all-time record of 13.6 million barrels per day last year.
A gas station in the Manhattan borough of New York on March 31, 2026. Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images
However, the United States is not an island unto itself. Supply disruptions thousands of miles away from middle America are being felt by consumers at the gas pump.
“We’re inextricably linked to the global price,” said Vikas Dwivedi, global oil and gas strategist at Australian investment bank Macquarie Group.
US imports oil, gasoline
US refiners don’t rely on domestic oil alone to churn out the gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other energy products that power the economy. Those decades-old refiners typically blend the very light US oil with heavier crude pumped overseas.
Hundreds of thousands of barrels of foreign oil are imported into the United States each day, mostly along the East and West Coasts.
And to meet intense internal demand, the United States imports significant amounts of gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other energy products.
“Both California and the New York region depend on product imports and will therefore face shortages once Asia and Europe begin to face them,” said Claudio Galimberti, chief economist at research firm Rystad Energy.
‘We’ll end up paying more’
If the Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed, buyers in Asia, Europe and elsewhere are likely to turn to US barrels.
The 40-year ban on selling US crude overseas was lifted in late 2015, allowing US oil exports to spike from around 400,000 barrels per day then to about 4 million now, according to federal data.
A pump jack in a field on March 18, 2026 in Barstow, Texas. Oil prices have risen as the recent conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israeli forces heightens global concerns over energy costs. Brandon Bell/Getty Images
However, analysts caution that higher foreign demand could lift US energy prices domestically, further eroding the discount that US oil currently trades at.
“US producers aren’t going to say, ‘We can’t give you the oil because we need to keep prices cheap here in the US.’ They will sell that barrel to them every time,” said Bob Yawger, commodity specialist at Mizuho Securities.
Security fears
If Iran keeps control of the Strait of Hormuz, investors would continue to view the trade chokepoint as dangerous and uncertain.
To compensate for that risk, they’d demand an extra return — known as a geopolitical risk premium — that would keep upward pressure on prices around the world, including at US gas pumps.
“There would be a significant geopolitical risk filtering through the market because Iran could do it again,” said Andy Lipow, president of US-based consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates.
Perhaps all of this explains why Trump signaled as recently as Monday morning that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a major priority.
In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said that if the “Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalination plants!)”
Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, said that if the United States walks away from the Strait of Hormuz and leaves Iran in charge, there could be a relief selloff in oil prices. But it would not be a permanent one.
“It doesn’t end the crisis,” McNally said.
Events on the other side of the planet are causing financial pain for Americans at home. Leaving the Strait of Hormuz in a precarious state risks ignoring that painful lesson.
“Everybody involved can say whatever they want and declare victory,” Macquarie’s Dwivedi said, “but until the Strait of Hormuz opens, the problem will just keep building.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/04/01/business/gas-prices-trump-strait-of-hormuz-iran
SEOUL, April 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met with Indonesia's coordinating minister for economic affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, on Wednesday, and discussed ways to expand the countries' cooperation in supply chains for energy and other key resources, the industry ministry said.
The ministerial-level meeting was held on the sidelines of a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who is on a three-day state visit to Seoul.
During the meeting, Kim thanked Hartarto for Indonesia's stable supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and asked for the country's continued support for South Korea amid severe energy supply disruptions caused by the ongoing Middle East crisis.
South Korean companies, including steel giant POSCO, are expected to receive around 820,000 tons of LNG from Indonesia this year, enough to run all LNG power plants in the country for about 12 days, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
South Korea's Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan (R) and Indonesia's Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia (L) pose for a photo along with their countries' leaders at Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on April 1, 2026. (Yonhap)
Kim also asked the Indonesian government to support South Korean businesses in Indonesia by improving the country's investment environment, including those related to automotive tax incentives.
Also on the sidelines of the South Korea-Indonesia summit, the two countries signed two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on economic cooperation and strengthened partnership in key resources supply.
Under an MOU signed by the industry ministry and Indonesia's energy ministry, the countries will work to enhance their bilateral cooperation in the development and refinement of critical minerals, according to the ministry.
Iran War, Day 34 - What You Need to Know
Foreign Ministers Badr Abdelatty of Egypt, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Ishaq Dar of Pakistan and Hakan Fidan of Turkey meet to discuss regional de-escalation, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 29, 2026.
Middle East leaders are meeting in Pakistan on Sunday to discuss the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, as U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly weighs deploying ground troops into the conflict that is now stretching into its second month.
The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt all arrived in Islamabad as Iran continues to target the U.S.'s allies in the Middle East. The representatives will discuss the "evolving regional situation and advancing peace and stability, while strengthening our partnership and deepening cooperation across diverse domains," according to a post on X from Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
The meeting comes as Pakistan emerges as a potential mediator in talks to end the war between the U.S. and Iran, which began last month when the U.S. and Israel launched a strike that killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump, meanwhile, is reportedly weighing the deployment of U.S. ground troops into the conflict as Iran holds the Strait of Hormuz largely closed — sending shockwaves through the markets and spiking oil and gasoline prices.
The Washington Post reported Saturday night that the Pentagon is preparing for weeks of potential ground conflict in Iran as thousands of U.S. troops arrive in the region. It's unclear if Trump will green-light the operations, as he claims that the war effort is both winding down while threatening to escalate the conflict.
Lawmakers, who just left Washington for a two-week recess, on Sunday expressed some hesitation about a potential full-scale invasion of Iran with U.S. forces. But top Republicans appeared to give Trump partial approval for some use of U.S. ground troops.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that his support for the use of ground troops "depends on what boots we're putting on the ground," arguing that the use of special forces units for specific goals is different than a longstanding occupation and ground war, which he said would require congressional authorization.
"If we had a long-standing war that's happening, go back again to what happened in Iraq or in Afghanistan, yes," Lankford said on congressional approval. "If this is to protect Americans and to be able to make sure that we're in there for a season and we're stopping and getting out, that's very, very different. So again, this is all contingent."
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/29/bahrain-aluminum-giant-says-iranian-attack-targeted-its-facilit.html
For the fourth time, the United States has extended the deadline for companies negotiating with Russia’s Lukoil over the purchase of its foreign assets. The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has this time prolonged the deadline by one month, to 1 May.
The assets are estimated to be worth around $22 billion.
Washington imposed sanctions on both Lukoil and Rosneft last October to limit Russia’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine. The sale of foreign assets is therefore subject to strict scrutiny, and any deal will require OFAC approval.
A number of companies and investors have expressed interest, including US firms Carlyle, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, as well as the Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company. Austrian investor Bernd Bergmair is also among the interested parties.
At the same time, Donald Trump’s administration is slowing the sale process to increase pressure on Russia as part of the Ukraine peace talks, according to Reuters sources.
(reuters, max)
https://statement.com/1179785/lukoils-22-billion-asset-sale-postponed-again
TEXAS — Oil producers in Texas are monitoring the conflict with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz as oil barrel prices continue to climb. In the meantime, an expert says it’s business as usual for Texas oil companies as they await the outcome of the ongoing war.
Texas is the largest oil-producing state in the country, and Rey “R.T.” Trevino, the vice president of operations at Fort Worth-based Pecos Country Energy, says his crews are hard at work.
“Right now, here in Texas, it is steady as she goes. Produce baby produce, and drill baby drill,” said Trevino.
The price of oil has reached more than $100 a barrel as the war continues, and while the high cost is affecting Texans at the gas pump, Trevino said it is benefitting oil producers.
“We will see a little bit of a boom, meaning we’ll see some more jobs. We’ll see the production go up,” he said, adding that Pecos has walked a fine line between oil booms and drops since its operations started in the mid-1980s.
Trevino said the uncertainty in oil barrel prices creates a global ripple.
“We need to stay steady the course, so that we don’t overproduce to then crash the oil, and we don’t need to overproduce, so that oil prices go up,” he said, explaining how plans to break ground on the America First Refining complex in Brownsville in April is a big sign of that steady course.
The complex is the country’s first new refinery in 50 years, which Trevino says will add thousands of construction and facility jobs.
“We’re gonna be able to build a pipeline straight from the Permian Basin in West Texas to this refinery, and this refinery will produce or facilitate sweet Texas crude oil,” Trevino said.
While he says the high price of oil benefits the Texas oil industry, he says in the long run it will be bad for the U.S. economy if it continues to climb.
“Some people are talking about $150 to $200 a barrel. Those are not sustainable,” he said. “Nobody’s gonna be open for business if we get to $200 oil.”
Trevino recommends Texas consumers fill up their gas tanks on Wednesdays, when prices are lower than average. As for oil producers, the work continues.
“A lot of oil and gas operators, and more important, producers like Pecos, are standing pat. Whatever drilling ventures we have for this year, and really I mean really programs, we are still staying on schedule,” he said.
SINGAPORE: PetroChina has supplied a rare cargo of close to 2 million barrels of crude oil from storage in China to its half-owned refinery in Singapore, as the firm moves to plug shortfalls triggered by the Iran war, according to tanker trackers and three trade sources.
The tanker New Merit loaded 1.8 million barrels of crude at Dalian in northeast China in mid-March, delivering it in late March to Singapore's Jurong island, according to tanker trackers Vortexa and Kpler, where PetroChina and US major Chevron operate a 50-50 joint venture refinery.
The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
China rarely exports crude oil. The shipment was of Murban crude from the UAE, according to Vortexa Analytics and a separate trade source. PetroChina is an equity partner in Murban production.
PetroChina did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while SRC declined to comment on its refinery operations.
PetroChina and Chevron take turns supplying crude to their 285,000 barrel-per-day Singapore Refining Co's plant on a quarterly basis, said a fourth source familiar with its operation.
SRC, one of Singapore's three refineries, typically processes oil from the Middle East as its main feedstock and has been running at a reduced rate of around 60 per cent since early March as the war disrupts crude supply form the region.
Refineries across Asia, which buy the bulk of Middle Eastern oil exports, have cut runs to manage feedstock shortfalls.
PetroChina chairman Dai Houliang said last week that the company was able to maintain normal oil and gas operations due its low reliance on supply that transits through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked for a month.
The ministry assured that safety protocols and monitoring mechanisms would remain in place to prevent misuse or diversion of subsidised kerosene.
New Delhi: The Centre has eased petroleum safety and licensing norms to fast-track the distribution of kerosene to households, as cooking fuel supplies face disruption due to the ongoing Iran war.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in a notification that the relaxation would facilitate ad-hoc distribution of kerosene for cooking and lighting across 21 states and Union Territories.
Under the revised norms, select fuel stations operated by public sector oil companies such as Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited have been authorised to store and sell kerosene directly to consumers. Each outlet can stock up to 5,000 litres, with a maximum of two such stations permitted per district.
The measure targets regions that had earlier transitioned to being “kerosene-free,” including states like Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. These temporary provisions will remain in force for 60 days to tackle immediate supply shortages.
Apart from fuel stations, kerosene will also be supplied through the public distribution system, with states urged to prioritise rural areas.
The government’s move comes against the backdrop of global energy supply disruptions triggered by tensions in West Asia, which have impacted LNG availability and raised concerns over LPG shortages. To address this, an additional 48,000 kilolitres of kerosene have been allocated to states over and above their regular quota.
Officials said kerosene is being reintroduced as an alternative fuel to ensure uninterrupted access to cooking and lighting, particularly for vulnerable households.
The ministry assured that safety protocols and monitoring mechanisms would remain in place to prevent misuse or diversion of subsidised kerosene.
Meanwhile, alternative arrangements are also being put in place to ease pressure on LPG demand. The Ministry of Coal has directed Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries Company Limited to increase coal supplies to states for distribution among small and medium consumers.
States have also been advised to expedite the rollout of new PNG connections for both domestic and commercial users.
Bengaluru, March 29: The Karnataka Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has clarified that there is no shortage of Auto LPG in the State and that supply remains stable and adequate across all regions.
According to the official release, Auto LPG is currently available at 72 Auto LPG Dispensing Stations (ALDS) across Karnataka, including 31 stations in Bengaluru. These stations are operated by public sector oil marketing companies such as Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited. The price of Auto LPG is ₹77.74 per litre.
The government noted that supply has in fact increased in recent days. Public sector OMCs dispensed an average of 64.9 metric tonnes of Auto LPG per day over the last week, compared to 57.6 metric tonnes per day prior to the conflict, reflecting a steady rise in availability.
In addition to Auto LPG, the State continues to receive and distribute approximately 4 lakh domestic LPG cylinders and around 18,000 commercial LPG cylinders daily, ensuring that household and business needs are met without disruption.
The State Government reiterated that it is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with oil companies to ensure uninterrupted LPG supply across all sectors, urging citizens not to panic.
Fresh drilling activity and collaboration with international partners lift South Sudan’s production, with further gains expected from ongoing investment and field development.
South Sudan is stepping up efforts to increase oil production as higher global crude prices drive renewed investment in its energy sector, officials said.
The Ministry of Petroleum has intensified engagement with joint operating companies to accelerate output, focusing on key oil blocks managed by both international and domestic firms, according to undersecretary Chol Deng Thon Abel.
Speaking in Juba, he said the discussions involve major operators such as Dar Petroleum Operating Company and partners including China National Petroleum Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, and Nile Petroleum Corporation.
Recent drilling at the Al Nahal field in Blocks 3 and 7 has delivered encouraging results. One well is producing more than 5,000 barrels per day, contributing to a rise in national output.
Deng said production has increased from about 95,000 barrels per day to around 100,000 barrels per day following the latest developments.
Ling Zongfa, president of Dar Petroleum Operating Company, said the company has drilled 16 wells since resuming operations in October, with 12 already brought online. “Production has exceeded initial forecasts due to improved reservoir management and the use of new technologies,” he said.
He added that continued studies and investment are expected to further boost output and support the country’s economic growth.
https://africaenergypulse.com/south-sudan-ramps-up-oil-output-as-global-crude-prices-climb
Russia's Ust-Luga port damaged by Ukrainian drones, fire breaks out
Ukrainian Drone Attack Sparks Fire at Ust-Luga Port
MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) - Russia's Ust-Luga port, one of its largest petroleum export outlets, was damaged on Sunday in a Ukrainian drone attack that sparked a fire, Russian officials said.
Escalation of Drone Attacks on Russian Oil Infrastructure
Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on Russia's oil and fuel export infrastructure this month, hitting all three of Russia's major western oil export ports, including Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea.
Impact on Russian Oil Exports
Those attacks have caused severe oil supply disruption for Russia, the world's second-largest oil exporter, and have hit Moscow just as oil prices exceeded $100 a barrel due to the Iran war.
Details of the Ust-Luga Port Incident
The governor of Russia's northern Leningrad region said there had been waves of Ukrainian drone attacks on the area and that a fire had broken out at the port of Ust-Luga, which was also hit by drones on Wednesday.
Significance of Ust-Luga Port
The port, operated by Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, handles around 700,000 barrels per day of oil exports, and, according to sources, shipped 32.9 million metric tons of oil products in 2025.
Ukrainian Statement on the Attack
Ukraine's SBU security agency said long-range drones struck an oil terminal at Ust-Luga. It added in a statement that the strike caused "serious damage" and a fire at the port.
Uncertainty Over Damage Assessment
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the scale of the damage.
(Reporting by Reuters. Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Mark Potter)
https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/russias-ust-luga-port-damaged-ukrainian-drones-fire-breaks/
Blockade of strait, one of the world’s busiest maritime routes, would prove disastrous for global economy.
Houthi supporters hold up mock missiles and drones during an anti-US and anti-Israel protest in Sana'a, Yemen, 09 May 2025.
Published On 29 Mar 2026
Yemen’s Houthis have entered the Iran war by launching strikes on Israel, and some analysts have warned their arrival could open another front in the conflict – the potential blockade of Bab al-Mandeb, a strait that presents another chokepoint in the global commodities trade.
Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the Houthis, announced on Saturday the Iranian-backed group’s first attack on Israel. On Sunday, he said the Houthis had carried out a “second military operation” against Israel using cruise missiles and drones and said the Houthis would continue carrying out military operations in the coming days until Israel “ceases its attacks and aggression”.
Does the Houthis’ warning raise the prospect of a broader regional war, particularly given the group’s ability to block Bab al-Mandeb and strike targets far beyond Yemen?
Here’s what we know:
(Al Jazeera)
Why have the Houthis joined the war?
So far, unlike Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi armed groups, the Houthis have not made any formal announcement of joining the war.
While Iran champions the Houthis as part of its “axis of resistance”, Houthi religious doctrine does not adhere to Iran’s supreme leader in the same way Hezbollah’s and the Iraqi groups’ do. Iran has built the “axis of resistance” of like-minded factions to oppose Israel and the United States across the region.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from Tehran, said the Houthis joining the war will be welcomed by Iran.
“Speaking of the broader context, we have to keep in mind that over the past months and years, officials in Tehran have said the Houthis in Yemen are close allies. But their decision-making and actions are largely independent,” he said.
“Still, geopolitically, Iran is likely to see this as a significant development,” he added.
Negar Mortazavi, a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera that the entrance of the Houthis into the fighting is “no surprise”, noting that Iranian actions have been in accordance with their statements.
“Every step has really been what they have telegraphed, what they have threatened even before the war when they went to their Gulf Cooperation Council neighbours and they warned that this [the war] is not going to be inside their borders and they are going to immediately turn it into a regional war,” she told Al Jazeera.
But Nabeel Khoury, a former US diplomat, told Al Jazeera that the missile attacks launched by the Houthis against Israel amounted to “token participation, not full participation”.
“They have fired a couple of missiles as a warning because of all the talk of potential escalation. There are US troops on their way to the region. There’s been talk that if there is no agreement, there might be a full-scale attack on Iran as has not been seen so far,” the former deputy chief of mission in Yemen told Al Jazeera.
“So for all that, the Houthis are saying, ‘We are still here, and if you’re really going to go all-out against Iran, we will then jump in.’ But at this point, they haven’t yet jumped in.”
If they do, Khoury said, their most significant move would be blocking Bab al-Mandeb with boats, mines or missiles.
“All they have to do is fire at a couple of ships coming through, and that would lead to the arrest of all commercial shipping through the Red Sea,” he said. “That would be a red line, and then you would see attacks against Yemen very quickly.”
The passage of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz has almost entirely ground to a halt after Iran targeted vessels passing through the waterway. The closure has caused a global energy crisis, adding inflationary pressure to economies across the globe. Several countries have been forced to impose fuel rationing and reduce working hours to conserve energy.
Where is Bab al-Mandeb?
The strait sits between Yemen to its northeast and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa to its southwest. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, which then extends into the Indian Ocean. It is 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments and is de facto controlled by the Houthis.
It is one of the world’s most important routes for global seaborne commodity shipments, particularly crude oil and other fuel from the Gulf bound for the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal or the Sumed (Suez-Mediterranean) Pipeline on Egypt’s Red Sea coast as well as commodities bound for Asia, including Russian oil.
Reporting from Sanaa, Yemen, Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry said the main card in the war for the Houthis is Bab al-Mandeb.
“With the Strait of Hormuz closed off to US and Israeli shipping, if the Houthis also decide to block Bab al-Mandeb, it’s only going to make the situation economically a lot worse for Israel,” Mawry said.
“As of right now, shipping is still available for all vessels, including US- and Israeli-linked vessels. The Yemeni group has not imposed a blockade for the time being. That’s expected in the next phase if Israel decides to target the port of Hodeidah or Yemeni civilian and public infrastructure.”
Can this strait be blocked by the Houthis?
Neither the Houthis nor Iran has commented on whether there is a plan to block one of the world’s busiest maritime routes.
But on Wednesday, an unnamed Iranian military official said Iran could open a new front at Bab al-Mandeb if attacks are carried out on Iranian territory or its islands, the country’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency said.
Then on Saturday, Mohammed Mansour, the Houthis’ deputy information minister, told local media that the group is “conducting this battle in stages, and closing the Bab al-Mandeb strait is among our options”.
Al Jazeera’s Asadi said that so far in the war, Iran has sought leverage through the Strait of Hormuz but now attention is turning to another key chokepoint, likely Bab al-Mandeb.
“If that were to be disrupted, it would provide additional leverage for Iran and its allies amid ongoing air attacks by Israel and the US,” he said.
Elisabeth Kendall, a Middle East specialist and the president of Girton College at Cambridge University, told Al Jazeera that if this strait is blocked, it would create a “nightmare scenario”.
“Because if you have restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz at the same time as restrictions are escalating in the Bab al-Mandeb, then you really will disrupt, if not cripple, trade toward Europe. So this is a knife edge, really, depending on what happens next,” she told Al Jazeera.
“Going to actually strike the Red Sea at the moment when it’s one of the more dependable routes out,and oil is going out via Yanbu from Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea, that would be a bit of a game-changer,” she added, referring to Saudi Arabia’s alternative route to export oil.
Kendall, however, said that while this was a “sweet spot” for the Houthis, she noted that the Yemeni group might not want to “provoke a Saudi or indeed a broader response.”
The Houthis previously carried out attacks in the Red Sea in 2024 when they targeted commercial ships. The Houthis then said they were targeting Israel-linked or Israel-bound vessels in protest against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Ahmed Nagi, a Yemen senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that the Houthis’ current posture reflects a deliberate calculation rather than restraint born of weakness.
“The Houthis today didn’t attack the Red Sea or speak even about escalation in the Red Sea. They just attacked Israel directly,” Nagi noted.
“That choice matters. The Bab al-Mandeb, linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, remains one of the most sensitive arteries in the global economy. About 10 percent of global trade and a significant share of oil and gas shipments pass through it,” he said.
For now, Nagi suggested the Houthis are aligning their moves with Tehran’s broader strategy.
“The aim is to support the Iranians in their negotiations, … and they are betting that maybe there will be a way out, so there will not be a need to use Bab al-Mandeb.”
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Stocks to Sell: Global brokerage Goldman Sachs has struck a cautious note on India’s oil marketing companies, saying recent relief measures may not be enough to offset the pressure from high crude prices and a weak rupee.
The government’s decision to cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre has provided some support to the sector. However, the brokerage believes the overall risk profile remains elevated, especially for companies like Indian Oil Corporation.
Relief from duty cut, but only to an extent
The excise duty cut has helped oil marketing companies by reducing their marketing losses, as the benefit has not been passed on to consumers. This has effectively improved near-term margins.
But Goldman Sachs points out that the relief is limited. Earlier, the break-even level for these companies was around $70 per barrel. Due to rupee weakness, this had dropped to about $67 per barrel. After the duty cut, the break-even has moved up to roughly $78 per barrel.
With crude prices currently hovering near $122 per barrel, the gap remains wide, keeping margins under pressure.
EBITDA losses remain elevated
The brokerage has flagged that the EBITDA loss run-rate for oil marketing companies is still high, even above levels seen during earlier peaks. This suggests that companies are yet to fully absorb the impact of elevated input costs.
Stock-specific views
On Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Goldman Sachs has maintained a Neutral rating with a target price of Rs 310, implying a downside of around 7 per cent from current levels.
For Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, the brokerage has also retained a Neutral stance but sees some upside, with a target of Rs 340, indicating a potential gain of about 21 per cent.
The most cautious view is on Indian Oil Corporation, where the brokerage believes the risk-reward is unfavourable. It sees a potential downside of up to 49 per cent in a bear case scenario and about 20 per cent even in the base case.
Why pressure may continue
Looking ahead, Goldman Sachs expects Brent crude to average around $80 per barrel in CY27. Even then, the brokerage believes challenges will persist.
Crude prices could remain structurally high, pricing flexibility for companies may stay limited, and geopolitical tensions continue to create uncertainty. All these factors together keep the sector under stress.
What it means for investors
The brokerage’s view suggests that while there has been some relief, the sector is not out of the woods yet. Volatility could remain in the near term.
For investors, the advice is to stay selective. Companies with stronger balance sheets and better margin visibility may be better placed to handle the pressure. Among the pack, BPCL appears relatively better positioned, while caution is advised on HPCL and IOC for now.
The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles County rose 1.6 cents on Sunday to $5.987, its highest amount since Oct. 9, 2023.
The average price has increased 38 of the last 39 days, including 1.1 cents Saturday, according to figures from the AAA and Oil Price Information Service. It is 11.7 cents more than one week ago, $1.293 more than one month ago and $1.223 more than one year ago. It is 50.7 cents less than the record $6.494 set on Oct. 5, 2022.
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The Orange County average price rose 1.1 cents to $5.923, its highest amount since Oct. 6, 2023. It is 8.2 cents more than one week ago, $1.287 more than one month ago and $1.186 more than one year ago. It is 53.6 cents less than the record $6.459 on Oct. 5, 2022.
Prices were rising slightly in line with seasonal norms before the joint U.S./Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28 sent oil prices higher and drastically accelerated increases at the gas pump.
“Southern California gas prices are following a similar pattern to the spike we saw after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022,” Kandace Redd, the Automobile Club of Southern California's senior public affairs specialist, said in a statement released Thursday.
“Today marks 27 days since the Iran conflict began, and the Los Angeles average gas price has risen by $1.26 a gallon since then. During the same number of days after the Russia-Ukraine war began, the Los Angeles average gas price rose by $1.19 a gallon to an average price of over $6 a gallon.”
The national average price ticked up four-tenths of a cent to $3.98, after dropping slightly for three consecutive days. It is 3.8 cents more than one week ago, 99.8 cents more than one month ago and 82.1 cents more than one year ago. It is $1.036 less than the record $5.016 set on June 14, 2022.
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/average-la-gas-price-nears-6-per-gallon/3868493/
Dubai officials said a fire on the Al Salmi tanker had been extinguished and all crew members were safe after strike
Tue 31 Mar 2026 05.11 BST
Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker anchored at Dubai port, with the strike damaging the vessel’s hull, in the latest strike on merchant vessels in the Gulf and strait of Hormuz amid the US and Israel war on Iran.
Dubai authorities said the drone attack on the Al Salmi tanker caused a fire on board that was extinguished early on Tuesday, hours after the attack was first reported. They later confirmed there was no oil leak.
The attack came hours after Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it does not open the strait of Hormuz.The month-long conflict has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin.
Mnila’s transport workers struggle to make ends meet as Philippines feels force of oil crisisRead more
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said the Al Salmi was struck in an Iranian attack while anchored at Dubai port in the United Arab Emirates, causing a fire onboard and other damage to the vessel.
Dubai authorities said maritime firefighting teams successfully put out the blaze which was sparked by a drone attack and continued to assess the situation, adding that no injuries were reported and all 24 crew members were safe.
Crude oil prices briefly spiked after Kuwait’s state news agency reported the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2m barrels of oil worth more than $200m at current prices, but retreated slightly after the Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump had told aides he was willing to end the war even if the strait of Hormuz remains closed and that military options were “not his immediate priority”.
Brent crude prices are on course for a 59% surge in March, the largest monthly gain on record due to the war in the Middle East.
The jump in oil and fuel prices has started to weigh on US household finances and become a political headache for Trump and his Republican party ahead of the November midterm elections, having vowed to lower energy prices and ramp up US oil and gas production.
The tanker was loaded with 2m barrels of oil from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to data from industry trackers. Its destination was listed as Qingdao, China, according to reports.
Attacks by both sides of the conflict are showing no signs of easing, with fears of a wider conflict growing.
Thousands of soldiers from the US army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, part of a reinforcement that would expand Trump’s options to include the deployment of forces inside Iranian territory, even as he pursues talks with Tehran.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wanted to reach a deal with Tehran before the 6 April deadline he set last week after extending an earlier deadline he had set for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that normally carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.
Hyderabad: Telangana Minister for Food and Civil Supplies N Uttam Kumar Reddy has written to Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri seeking urgent intervention to address a severe shortage of auto liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the state, warning that the supply crunch is disrupting public transport and threatening the livelihoods of around 1 lakh autorickshaw drivers.
In a letter dated March 30, Uttam Kumar said a daily shortfall of around 55 metric tonnes of auto LPG has left a majority of private distribution outlets facing a dry-out, causing widespread disruption to public transport services.
The minister said while domestic LPG supply was being maintained at 100 per cent in keeping with the Government of India directives amid the ongoing West Asia crisis, the auto LPG segment had taken a significant hit.
According to the letter, the auto LPG distribution network in Telangana comprises 143 outlets in total. Public sector undertakings (PSU) – Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) – operate 33 of these, accounting for just 20 per cent of the market.
The remaining 110 outlets, run by private operators such as Super Gas, Go Gas, Total Energies, Prime Gas, Extra Gas, Aegis Gas and Uni Gas, hold an 80 per cent market share but are bearing the brunt of the shortage.
The Civil Supplies Minister flagged that Total Energies alone, which runs 15 auto LPG outlets in the state, sources nearly 80 per cent of its requirement from BPCL and HPCL, with the balance filled through imports. “Disruption in PSU supplies has compounded the crisis across its network,” the letter noted.
On pricing, the minister pointed to a widening gap between public and private sector rates, with auto LPG at PSU outlets priced at Rs 75 per litre, while private operators are charging Rs 93 per litre. He urged the Centre to put in place regulatory measures to prevent further unwarranted price increases during the crisis.
Uttam Kumar made three specific requests to the Union minister. These are, ramping up auto LPG availability at PSU outlets, directing IOCL, BPCL and HPCL to supply the deficit quantity to private auto LPG distributors and regulating private sector pricing.
“Prompt intervention in this matter will help alleviate the current challenges, ensure the uninterrupted operation of public transport services, and safeguard the livelihoods of auto drivers and their families,” the minister wrote.
KYIV — Ukrainian drones have struck Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga for the fifth time in 10 days, as Kyiv continues to step up attacks on Russia’s oil export infrastructure.
Regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said on Tuesday that three people, including two children, were treated for injuries and several buildings were damaged in the overnight attacks.
Ust-Luga, on the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, is a sprawling complex of oil-processing facilities and export terminals handling crude oil and oil products.
Satellite imagery and verified videos show Ukraine has repeatedly struck key Russian oil export infrastructure near the Baltic Sea in the past week, leaving some facilities burning for several days.
At least three oil sites in Russia's Leningrad region have been attacked since 23 March, including the ports of and Ust-Luga and Primorsk - and the inland Kirishi oil refinery.
On Tuesday, Ukraine drone forces commander Robert Brovdi said Ust-Luga had been struck again on Monday night "to keep the fire going".
According to analysis by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) 20% of Russia's total oil exports departed from Ust-Luga and 22% from Primorsk.
Recent data shows no ships were loaded with oil in any of Russia's three Baltic ports on 26 and 27 March, which Crea said is the first period of two consecutive days with no such activity since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Satellite images show enormous plumes of smoke rising from burning oil facilities in Primorsk on 24 March, as well as fires at Ust-Luga and extensive damage to Kirishi on 27 March.
Nasa's satellite resource FIRMS, used to detect heat signatures on the Earth's surface, indicates Primorsk was still burning as of 02:54 BST on Monday and at Ust-Luga at 12:28 on Monday.
Brovdi had previously said an operation targeting these three Baltic oil facilities began on 23 March, saying the strikes were aimed at "demilitarising Russia's oil arteries, refining capacity and crude export infrastructure".
Ukraine's military has said the Kirishi refinery is among the three largest oil‑processing plants in Russia, including the production of "fuels that support the armed forces of the aggressor state".
At least 40% of Russia's oil export capacity was halted on 25 March following the first attacks, according to calculations by the Reuters news agency based on market data.
According to Crea's analysis, Russia earned about £7.1bn from oil exports in the final three weeks of March, as prices rose sharply due to disruption caused by the US-Israel war with Iran.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that allies have asked Kyiv to reduce attacks on Russia's energy sector because of the global energy crisis. He added they would only end if Russia stopped targeting Ukraine's energy system. — Agencies
Petrol-Diesel Price Today in India: Petrol and diesel prices remained unchanged across major Indian cities on April 1, with retail fuel rates holding steady amid elevated global energy prices. In Delhi, petrol was priced at Rs 94.77 per litre and diesel at Rs 87.67, whereas Mumbai saw petrol at 103.50 and diesel at Rs 92.02.
In a separate move, the government also raised the administered price mechanism (APM) gas price for state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd (OIL) to USD 7 per nmBtu from USD 6.75, as per official notification. The revision applies to gas from legacy fields under the regulated pricing regime and follows the pricing mechanism approved in 2023. APM gas accounts for about 60% of domestic gas production, meaning the surge could affect user industries from fertilisers to CNG and piped cooking gas, as reported by PTI.
Petrol and diesel rates in your city
The latest city-wise data showed no change in petrol or diesel in comparison with the earlier day. Rates continued to vary from city to city because of the local taxes and VAT. Among metros, Hyderabad continued to be one of the costliest markets, with petrol at Rs 107.46 per litre and diesel at Rs 95.70. Jaipur, Patna, and Bhopal also continued to report higher petrol prices than Delhi and other northern cities.
Crude oil remains above $100 amid West Asia tensions
Global crude prices continued to stay elevated. The WTI crude is at 100.8 and Brent crude is at 102.8. As per a report by Reuters, oil rose more than 1% with Brent extending gains after a sharp monthly surge as uncertainty in West Asia kept traders cautious.
India’s crude oil reserves can cover only 20-40 days, says PNGRB official
As concerns over fuel supplies increase, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Secretary Anjan Kumar Mishra stated that India’s liquid fuel reserves are limited in duration. “It may cater for 20-40 days, but it may not be able to cater for six months time for longer period, “ he stated to ANI.
Mishra stated that the crisis in West Asia was affecting India but stressed that there was no shortage of fossil fuel in the country. “Nothing sort of liquid fuel crunch is there in the country, “ he said as quoted by ANI. He also stated that India had broadened its crude sourcing base beyond West Asia and that any sharp rise in prices, if it happens, may be temporary.
Suncor’s increased production plan: Suncor Energy has identified 400,000 barrels per day of untapped production capacity at its existing facilities, enough to replace production at its Base Plant mine, which is expected to be depleted within a decade. The primary source of added production will come from a proposed expansion at Firebag, the company’s major oil sands facility. Andrew Bell is speaking with Suncor CEO Rich Kruger today – that interview is scheduled for 10:30 am ET, 7:30 a.m. PT today on BNN Bloomberg.
SINGAPORE/BEIJING — Chinese firms are reselling record volumes of LNG, cashing in on soaring spot prices as China has enough domestic and pipeline gas to meet its own weakened demand, in stark contrast to other Asian buyers scrambling to replace supplies cut off by the Iran war.
The world's top importer of liquefied natural gas, China reloaded eight to 10 cargoes in March, its highest monthly total on record, according to analytics firms ICIS, Kpler and Vortexa.
So far this year, China has reloaded a record 1.31 million metric tonnes of LNG, or 19 cargoes, with 10 delivered to South Korea, five to Thailand and the remainder to Japan, India and the Philippines, Kpler data showed.
By comparison, China resold 0.82 million tonnes in 2025 and 0.98 million tonnes in 2023, the second-highest annual total on record.
The country has been able to resell bigger volumes as its own need for LNG has plateaued, with weaker economic activity sapping industrial demand while domestic gas production and pipelined Russian supply is growing.
The LNG reloads contrast with China's move last month to ban exports of refined fuels in order to preserve supply for domestic use amid war-driven crude oil supply constraints.
"Against a backdrop of weak domestic demand, it made more sense for buyers to resell LNG cargoes overseas," said Wang Yuanda, an analyst at ICIS, adding that the Iran crisis has also pushed up spot LNG prices.
"There has been no pressure from demand because the heating season is over, and spot prices are good so China can reload cargoes."
Asian LNG prices have jumped 85 per cent since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb 28, disrupting energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz which carries about a fifth of global LNG flows.
CNOOC's Binhai terminal in Jiangsu province accounted for almost half of China's reloads in March, Vortexa analysts said in a report.
Import slump
China, Qatar's biggest LNG market, took nearly a quarter of the Gulf producer's shipments last year. Those exports troughed in March after Iran bombed Qatar's gas facilities and largely shut the Strait of Hormuz.
Kpler data shows China's March imports at 3.68 million tonnes, their lowest monthly level since April 2018.
"The drop in imports reflects subdued industrial gas demand amid high prices since the Hormuz disruptions. Meanwhile, the outlook for pipeline gas imports and domestic gas production remains stable," said Kpler analyst Nelson Xiong.
"Chinese buyers can also rely on LNG inventory drawdowns to meet some domestic demand."
ICIS expects April imports to remain low at 3.7 million tonnes.
"China will not enter the market and fight for cargoes with other countries at all," said Wang.
https://www.asiaone.com/china/tight-global-market-well-positioned-china-resells-record-lng-volumes
These initiatives are being implemented as part of the relevant national mission
The Indian government has approved three pilot hydrogen projects in the steel industry as part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, according to SteelOrbis.
Approximately $41 million will be allocated to support these projects, which are expected to be completed within the next three years.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is supporting these three initiatives in the steel sector, which will be implemented by Matrix Gas and Renewables, Simplex Castings, and the Steel Authority of India.
The metallurgy program, part of the national mission, aims to identify cutting-edge technologies for using “green” hydrogen in steel production, confirm the technical feasibility and efficiency of its use, and demonstrate safe operation in the production of low-carbon steel. Pilot projects will involve 100% use of “green” hydrogen in blast furnaces and for the production of direct reduced iron (DRI) to reduce the use of coal and coke.
As a reminder, last fall, India’s JSW Energy commissioned its first and largest “green” hydrogen production plant in India. The plant will supply hydrogen directly to the direct reduced iron (DRI) facility of steelmaker JSW Steel in Vijayanagar (Karnataka state), enabling the latter to produce low-carbon steel. Under the seven-year agreement, the plant will supply JSW Steel with 3,800 tons of “green” hydrogen and 30,000 tons of “green” oxygen annually.
https://gmk.center/en/news/india-will-fund-three-pilot-hydrogen-projects-for-steel-production/
Simon Roberts says Easter shop will be unaffected by Middle East conflict, but industry warns prices may rise this year
Tue 31 Mar 2026 09.01 BST
Shoppers will not see food prices rise until at least the summer and Easter will be unaffected by conflict in the Middle East, the boss of Sainsbury’s has said, despite fears of an inflation spike.
Simon Roberts said it was “too early” to say whether and when food price inflation related to higher commodity costs would hit supermarket shelves and that the UK’s second-largest supermarket had long-term agreements with suppliers to help protect shoppers.
“We have a lot of the tools to make sure we’ll do everything possible to contain the impact on inflation,” he said. “Obviously we are watching and monitoring events closely.
“We’re not looking at immediate consequences or near-term consequences that we don’t think we’ve got a plan to navigate.”
Farmers across the world are facing rising costs, as the closure of the strait of Hormuz affects about a third of the global seaborne trade in fertilisers. “Volatility and uncertainty for farmers has only become a bigger issue for them. They need certainty on making sure they can see what’s coming,” Roberts said.
Speaking from a fruit farm in Kent, where Sainsbury’s has signed a new five-year deal with a berry producer as part of a plan to invest £5bn in longer-term contracts, Roberts added that the effects of the war were unlikely to hit food prices until the summer at the earliest as, for example, many farmers had bought fertiliser and fuel before the disruption and many businesses had hedged commodity costs.
He said the impact would become clearer in three to five weeks and was helped by the British growing season getting under way, meaning food imports will be lower until the autumn. Any impact on price would be linked to “how long this situation may or may not [continue]” and “what happens ultimately to the cost of oil”, Roberts said.
“It’s not going to be in the Easter shopping basket, but I can’t say by the summer that will be the case,” he added.
Roberts called on the government to ease planning restrictions to help expand UK food production in an increasingly volatile world affected by the climate crisis and geopolitical disruption.
He said he believed the government wanted to ease the way for developments such as polytunnels and poultry facilities to help farmers produce more, as well as extend the harvest season. “We want to grow and produce more at home,” said Roberts, who is expected to be among retailers meeting with the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, this week to discuss the effects of the Iran conflict.
Sainsbury’s said that by the end of this year, 60% of its own-brand suppliers of fresh produce including mushrooms and carrots, dairy, meat, fish and poultry – 2,500 farms – would have agreements covering five or more years. Berry farmers are the latest group to join the scheme, with apple and pear producers expected to follow soon.
Roberts said the supermarket chain had become adept at dealing with volatile trading conditions after more than five years of significant disruption, ranging from Brexit to the Covid pandemic, as well as a surge in commodity prices after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He said Sainsbury’s had committed to more long-term contracts after several years of supply issues on fresh produce including tomatoes caused by extreme weather in Spain.
Roberts’ comments contrast with those of Allan Leighton, the chair of the struggling rival supermarket Asda, who suggested UK food price inflation was inevitable given the impact of fuel and energy costs on producers.
Food inflation eased slightly to 3.4% in March from 3.5% in February, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Analysts at Shore Capital forecasted on Monday that it would remain as high as 3% by the end of the year.
Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, said: “Higher costs resulting from the conflict in the Middle East are starting to feed into supply chains. While retailers will work with their suppliers to mitigate the impact on prices as far as possible, inflation will rise, although there are no indications it will reach the peaks of the last spike in April 2023.”
Leighton called on the government to provide short-term financial support for farmers hit by energy and fertiliser cost increases linked to the Middle East crisis.
Roberts agreed, saying: “We need to pay really close attention to what’s happening now.” But he added it was important not to focus on short-term solutions and to “work in a strategic way to drive the strong food system” the country needed.
He said the retailer’s cost-of-production-based longer deals guaranteed farmers a price that reacted to changes in the cost of fuel, fertiliser and animal feed. They also meant a closer relationship between supplier and supermarket so that, for example, an unexpected drop or rise in production could be managed.
“If we didn’t have these long-term partnerships in place we would be more concerned. It gives us certainty to navigate our way through,” he said.
Roberts was speaking at the Kent fruit farm of Tim Chambers, who has been investing in technology such as solar power, heated polytunnels and robotic equipment to tackle pests, assess crop ripeness and carry picking crates to help improve worker efficiency.
Chambers said he had been confident to make the investments – which increase the length of harvest, reduce waste and reliance on volatile commodities such as fuel and chemicals – because of his five-year deal with Sainsbury’s. “You can’t make big investments and decisions on uncertainty,” he added.
Roberts said Sainsbury’s longer-term commitments were “joining the dots up across the supply chain, giving farmers certainty and making sure investments are happening in the right place”.
While DRDGOLD Limited DRD and Gold Fields Limited GFI are key players in the gold mining sector, they operate in fundamentally different niches. DRDGOLD specializes in retreating historical surface tailings in South Africa, using cost-efficient, environmentally conscious methods that capitalize on high gold prices while maintaining a sustainable operation.
Gold Fields, on the other hand, is a globally diversified gold producer. It operates large-scale mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia, Peru, and Chile. This geographic spread gives the company broad production capacity and multiple sources of revenue. Its size and diversification provide financial resilience and the ability to invest in growth and return capital to shareholders.
Both DRDGOLD and Gold Fields are heavily influenced by high gold prices. Prices are rising due to geopolitical tensions, inflation, and safe-haven demand. Rising energy, labor, and material costs affect profitability. This creates both revenue opportunities and earnings volatility.
Let’s dive deep and closely compare the fundamentals of these two miners to determine which one is a better investment now.
The Case for DRD
DRDGOLD reported solid operational performance in the first half of fiscal 2026, which ended on Dec. 31, 2025. Gold production was 2,337 kilograms (75,136 ounces), down 9% from 2,564 kilograms (82,434 ounces) a year ago.
Production was driven by the company’s two core tailings operations. Ergo Mining Proprietary Limited produced about 1,683 kilograms. Far West Gold Recoveries Proprietary Limited contributed around 654 kilograms.
Lower recovery yields and reduced throughput caused the decline. Throughput fell to about 12.5 million tons due to heavy rainfall and adverse weather in November and December. Production was also adversely impacted by the depletion of higher-grade material at Driefontein 5 and increased processing of lower-grade material from Driefontein 3.
The company benefited from a sharp rise in gold prices. The average realized price increased to R2,114,227 per kilogram or $3,788 per ounce. This marks a 43% increase from the prior-year period’s level.
DRDGOLD continues to expand its tailings retreatment capabilities and improve energy efficiency under its Vision 2028 strategy. The company is advancing Phase 2 of the Far West Gold Recoveries project, including a Regional Tailings Storage Facility and upgrades to the Driefontein 2 plant. These are expected to lift processing capacity to about 1.2 million tons per month by 2026.
DRD also sold its stake in Stellar Energy Solutions for about R147.5 million and secured a long-term renewable power agreement on Dec. 19, 2025. This is expected to supply around 76 GWh annually from 2028. DRDGOLD is planning to initiate a 150 MW solar project in Polokwane.
Cash and cash equivalents rose sharply to R1,734.4 million ($99.86 million) from R661.2 million ($38.09 million) in the prior-year period. Cash generated from operating activities increased notably to R2,309.1 million ($133.05 million) in the first half of 2026 from R1,282.9 million ($73.89 million) a year ago. DRDGOLD generated a free cash inflow of R793.1 million ($45.68 million), significantly higher than R319.0 million ($18.38 million) recorded a year earlier.
The Case for GFI
Gold Fields delivered a strong operational performance in fourth-quarter 2025, with a meaningful increase in attributable gold-equivalent production. The company reported 681,000 ounces in the quarter, up 6% year over year.
Salares Norte was the key growth driver, ramping up toward steady-state production and contributing a meaningful increase in quarterly output. South Deep delivered a strong performance, supported by higher mining volumes and improved efficiencies. Tarkwa remained a major, steady contributor with consistent throughput, while Damang produced lower but stable ounces as it processed stockpiles toward the end of its life. Gruyere delivered solid and stable output despite some grade variability.
The company's average realized gold price reached $4,184 per ounce, marking a substantial year-over-year increase. This sharp rise was driven by a favorable global gold market.
Gold Fields expects production to remain stable to modestly higher, ranging from 2.4 million ounces to 2.6 million ounces. This outlook is supported by the continued ramp-up and optimization of Salares Norte, steady contributions from its core asset base, and ongoing operational efficiency improvements.
The company remains focused on disciplined cost management and portfolio optimization with AISC expected to be between $1,800 per ounce and $2,000 per ounce. Capital expenditure levels will remain elevated, given the capital planned budget for Windfall. Sustaining capital expenditure remains essential to maintaining the Group’s production base.
Gold Fields strengthened its portfolio through the acquisition of Gold Road Resources in October 2025 for about $1.42 billion, giving full ownership of the Gruyere asset and surrounding tenements.
In 2026, Gold Fields will advance studies to optimize the Gruyere deposit, including evaluating an open-pit cutback versus underground options while accelerating access to higher-grade ore from Golden Highway and Gilmour.
The Windfall project became a core long-term growth asset for Gold Fields after its October 2024 acquisition of Osisko Mining, securing full ownership of this high-grade underground project in Québec. It is now in advanced development, with a final investment decision expected in 2026 and first production targeted around late 2026 to 2027.
Gold Fields had a cash and cash equivalent of $1.78 million for fiscal 2025, supported by higher gold prices and improved operating performance. The company reported robust cash flow from operations, contributing to a full-year operating cash flow of about $3.77 million, reflecting a sharp year-over-year increase. Adjusted free cash flow also remained strong at $2.97 billion.
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/drd-gfi-gold-stock-could-143800729.html
Seabridge Gold Inc. [SEA-TSX, SA-NYSE] has announced an updated mineral resource estimates for its KSM project in northwestern British Columbia. Seabridge Chair and CEO Rudi Frank said the resource restatements reflect the gains from the application of updated metal price parameters and operating costs. “As we move forward towards a joint venture on KSM, our resource estimates’ price assumptions are now consistent with most Tier 1 mining company disclosure,’’ he said in a press release.
The mineral resource model has not changed, only the assumed metal prices and costs used to constrain the mineral resources and to calculate the cut-off grade.
The company said measured and indicated mineral resources have increased by 6.8 million ounces of gold, 1.5 billion pounds of copper, 42.7 million ounces of silver and 93 million pounds of molybdenum compared to the last resource estimate update in January 2024.
Measured and indicated resources now stand at 95.5 million ounces of gold, 21.1 billion pounds of copper, 459.9 million ounces of silver and 837 million pounds of molybdenum.
The company also said inferred resources have increased by 12.9 million ounces of gold, 4.2 billion pounds of copper, 108.8 million ounces of silver and 140 million pounds of molybdenum compared to the previous 2024 update.
Total inferred resources now stand at 84.4 million ounces of gold, 42.7 billion pounds of copper, 570 million ounces of silver and 606 million pounds of molybdenum.
Seabridge shares advanced on the news, rising 5.7% or $2.05 to $37.84. The shares currently trade in a 52-week range of $54.29 and $13.44.
Seabridge Gold holds a 100% interest in several North American gold resource projects. The company’s principal assets are the KSM and Iskut properties near Stewart, B.C., and the Courageous Lake gold project in the Northwest Territories. KSM is one of the world’s largest undeveloped gold projects as measured by reserves. It is estimated to contain 47.3 million ounces of gold and 7.3 billion pounds of coper in proven and probable reserves.
The company is also working to explore the 3 Aces gold project in Canadian Yukon, an asset it acquired two years ago from Golden Predator Mining Corp., Golden Predator continues to hold a royalty stake in the project.
Seabridge has said it believes that the 3 Aces target is consistent with some of the biggest and richest gold deposits in the world, including the California mother lode belt, Juneau gold best and Muruntau in Uzbekistan and Obuasi in Ghana.
The latest estimates for KSM are based on US$2,000 an ounce gold, US4.00 a pound for copper, US$25 an ounce for silver and US$22 a pound for molybdenum.
https://resourceworld.com/seabridge-gold-tables-updated-resource-estimates-for-b-c-project/
Centerra Gold Announces Executive Changes
TORONTO, March 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centerra Gold Inc. ("Centerra" or the "Company") (TSX: CG) (NYSE: CGAU) announces that David Hendriks, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer ("COO"), will be leaving the Company. He will remain available to the Company in a consulting capacity to support a smooth transition. Mike Sylvestre will assume the responsibilities of COO on an interim basis, effective today.
President and CEO, Paul Tomory, commented, "As we begin the search for a permanent replacement, we are pleased to welcome Mike Sylvestre as our interim Chief Operating Officer. Mike brings decades of operational leadership and deep technical expertise, and we are confident his experience and results-driven approach will support our sites as we remain focused on execution across our operating assets and continue to develop our organic growth pipeline of projects."
Mr. Sylvestre is a seasoned mining executive with over 45 years of international experience and has held leadership roles at major, mid-tier and junior mining companies. He most recently served as Senior Vice President, Americas at Kinross Gold, retiring in 2022. Over the course of his career, he has held a range of senior operational and executive roles, with a strong track record in leading both established and start-up operations, driving safety performance, operational excellence, and sustainable practices. He currently serves on the boards of Hochschild Mining and Vista Gold Corp. Mr. Sylvestre holds a Master of Science in Mining and Mineral Engineering from McGill University and a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from Queen's University and is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario.
About Centerra Gold
Centerra Gold Inc. is a Canadian-based gold mining company focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring gold and copper properties in North America, Türkiye, and other markets worldwide. Centerra operates two mines: the Mount Milligan Mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Öksüt Mine in Türkiye. The Company also owns the Kemess Project in British Columbia, Canada, the Goldfield Project in Nevada, United States, and owns and operates the Molybdenum Business Unit in the United States and Canada. Centerra's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") under the symbol CG and on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the symbol CGAU. The Company is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
For more information:
Lisa Wilkinson
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
(416) 204-3780
Additional information on Centerra is available on the Company's website at www.centerragold.com, on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.
GHANA has restricted the tender to find a new operator for the Damang gold mine — which Gold Fields is set to hand over to the government on April 18 — exclusively to companies that are fully owned by Ghanaian citizens, said Bloomberg News.
The government declined to renew Gold Fields’ lease on the operation last year before granting a 12-month extension on condition that the South African miner facilitate a transfer of the asset to Ghanaian ownership. Offers for the tender closed on Tuesday, the newswire said.
The restriction reflects Accra’s broader drive to expand local ownership of an industry currently dominated by multinationals including AngloGold Ashanti, Newmont and China’s Zijin Mining Group. African governments from Mali to Zimbabwe have been pushing for greater control over revenues from their natural resources.
Damang, which began production nearly three decades ago, produced 88,000 ounces of gold last year, roughly a third of its output at peak. Prospective buyers must demonstrate open-pit mining experience, a capacity to operate the mine for at least ten years, and access to more than $500m in development funding, said Bloomberg News.
The last comparable transaction in Ghana was Zijin’s $1bn acquisition of Newmont’s Akyem mine, agreed in October 2024. Gold Fields is separately negotiating a lease renewal for its larger Tarkwa operation.
https://www.miningmx.com/trending/64920-ghana-limits-damang-mine-bids-to-local-firms/
Kenmare has in recent months let 200 employees go at Moma, and is targeting a further 20 redundancies under a cost-cutting plan, chief executive Tom Hickey told The Irish Times.
Kenmare Resources is laying off 15 per cent of staff working at its key Moma mine in Mozambique and suspending its final dividend as its gross profit plunged 79 per cent amid a slump in shipments and prices of its titanium minerals.
The Dublin-based group also swung into a net loss of USD 325 million (€280 million) last year, driven by a US$301.3 million impairment charge taken against it Moma assets as it lowered its long-term revenue assumptions amid uncertainty over pricing, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
Kenmare has in recent months let 200 employees go at Moma, and is targeting a further 20 redundancies under a cost-cutting plan, chief executive Tom Hickey told The Irish Times. Kenmare Resources said earlier this month that it may have no choice but to bring international arbitration proceedings against Mozambique after tax authorities there sought to “unilaterally” impose a new regime on royalties and VAT on the titanium miner’s processing and exporting activities in the country.
President William Ruto has hosted Mozambique President Daniel Francisco Chapo at State House, Nairobi, ahead of his three-day State Visit to Kenya. Speaking during a live event at State House, Nairobi, on Thursday, March 26, 2026, Ruto highlighted the deep cooperation between Kenya and Mozambique. On his part, the president noted that Kenya enjoys strong relations with Mozambique, grounded in a shared commitment to deepen cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
“Kenya enjoys strong relations with Mozambique grounded in a shared commitment to deepen cooperation in areas of mutual interest,” Ruto said.In addition, Ruto explained the Kenya Kwanza administration’s move to strengthen trade and economic cooperation, while unlocking untapped and underutilised opportunities.
https://trendsnafrica.com/mozambiques-kenmare-resources-laying-off-15-staff-as-gross-profit-plunges/
Gemfields recorded a loss in 2025 amid weak demand, falling prices for its goods and the recovery of lower-quality rubies.
The miner reported a loss of $50.9 million for the full year, it said last week. However, the deficit was gentler than the $100.8 million loss the miner posted a year ago. The narrower loss is primarily the result of the miner bringing its Kagem emerald deposit in Zambia back online following a temporary shutdown, as well as cost-saving measures it implemented within its business.
Revenue fell 32% to $135.1 million, reflecting lower demand for emeralds and a reduction in the recovery of premium rubies from its Montepuez mine in Mozambique, it explained. A delay in the commissioning of a new processing plant at Montepuez and heightened illegal mining also played a part, Gemfields stated.
The company reduced its operating costs to $128.9 million from $156.2 million in 2024 through measures that included selling its Fabergé business for $50 million.
“This was a difficult year, with operational disruptions at both Montepuez and Kagem constraining our premium-gemstone production, auction cadence and cash generation,” said Gemfields CEO Sean Gilbertson. “Seven auctions generated just $129 million, reflecting both the shortfalls in gemstone availability and bumpy market conditions, despite continued pricing resilience at the top end of the ruby and emerald quality spectrum.”
During the year, the company lowered its net debt from $80.4 million to $39.3 million.
However, the miner sees difficulties persisting in the beginning of 2026.
“The first half is expected to remain challenging as we iron out the new processing plant’s teething issues,” Gilbertson added. “We continue to monitor the challenging geopolitical developments closely. The situation in the Middle East has already increased costs…and any further escalation could materially impact cost and market conditions.”
Image: Polished emeralds from the Kagem mine. (Gemfields)
https://rapaport.com/news/gemfields-loss-narrows-even-as-revenue-falls/
Aluminium Bahrain, also known as Alba, confirmed early Sunday that its facilities were targeted in an Iranian attack a day earlier, Bahrain's state news agency reported.
Alba said two people were mildly injured in the attack, adding that it was assessing damage in the facilities.
The confirmation comes after Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted Alba and Emirates Global Aluminium in response to attacks on two Iranian steel plants. The IRGC said, without elaborating, that the two companies had ties to US military and aeronautics firms.
Reuters could not independently verify the IRGC's claims.
In early March, Alba initiated a shutdown of three aluminum smelting lines, accounting for 19% of its capacity, to preserve business continuity amid ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. It followed a company force majeure on March 4, as it was unable to ship metal to customers due to the closure of the strategic strait.
Saudi Arabia, UAE face drone, missile threat
On Sunday, the Saudi Defense Ministry announced on X/Twitter that it intercepted 10 drones over a few hours.
Earlier, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) faced missile and drone attacks from Iran on Saturday, the UAE Defense Ministry published on X/Twitter.
"UAE Air Defense systems are actively engaging with missiles and UAV threats," the ministry announced, while also noting that explosions were heard around the country as a result of its air defense systems.
Kuwait confronts drone attacks
Similar to the UAE's missile and drone attacks from Iran, Kuwait has been registering air threats on Saturday, the state's General Staff of the Army confirmed.
30 March 2026 – In response to Israeli missile strikes, Iran attacked and damaged two major aluminium mills in the Gulf region over the weekend. Aluminium prices jump higher. Will the Thyssenkrupp and Jindal Steel deal fail over pension liabilities?
Gulf conflict hits steel and aluminium mills in the region
After three Iranian steel mills had been hit and damaged by Israeli missiles last week, Iran retaliated over the weekend by attacking and damaging two major aluminium mills in the region that produce alumina and primary aluminium. The exact extent of the damage is not yet known. Roughly nine percent of global aluminium supply comes from the Gulf region.
Even before that, the ongoing fighting and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had already caused disruptions in the supply chain. But aluminium is not the only sector affected: a major producer of steel, iron ore pellets and direct reduced iron (DRI) was also forced over the weekend to declare force majeure.
Aluminium prices jump higher
Aluminium prices rose sharply in response to the weekend attacks. In Asia, prices increased by more than 3.4%, while in Europe they jumped by more than 5% shortly after the start of trading and were last seen at around USD 3,435 per tonne.
Nickel and copper moved in a stable sideways range in Asian trading today and started the week calmly on the European commodities exchange LME.
Will the Thyssenkrupp and Jindal Steel deal fail over pension liabilities?
Talks between Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) and Jindal Steel International over a possible sale of the German steelmaker are at risk of collapsing, according to sources familiar with the matter. After nearly six months of negotiations, both sides are struggling to bridge key differences, making the completion of the sale increasingly unlikely, according to media reports.
Alongside energy costs, Thyssenkrupp’s very high pension liabilities, reportedly amounting to as much as EUR 2.5 billion, are cited as the biggest obstacle to a takeover.
https://steelnews.biz/gulf-conflict-hits-steel-and-aluminium-mills/
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Shares of aluminium companies rose sharply on Monday. The rally came after a spike in global aluminium prices. National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) jumped over 6 per cent to around Rs 395. Hindalco Industries gained more than 5 per cent to nearly Rs 913. Vedanta Limited rose about 5 per cent to around Rs 679.
These stocks were the top gainers on the Nifty Metal index. The index was the only sector trading in the green. The broader market remained weak.
Gulf disruption lifts aluminium prices
Add Zee Business as a Preferred Source Aluminium prices rose sharply on the London Metal Exchange (LME). Prices jumped nearly 6 per cent on March 30. They touched around $3,492 per tonne.
The rise followed supply disruptions in the Middle East. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) in Abu Dhabi confirmed damage at its plant. Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) also reported impact at its facility.
The Middle East is a key supplier. It contributes about 9–10 per cent of global aluminium supply. Any disruption in this region impacts prices quickly.
Supply concerns deepen
The supply situation was already tight. Around 19 per cent of global aluminium capacity is offline. The new disruption has increased concerns.
There are also risks from raw materials. Guinea is a major supplier of bauxite. It may consider export limits. This can affect aluminium production globally.
Smelters may face a double impact. Input costs may rise. Output may fall.
Shifting production is not easy. It takes time and money. This can keep supply tight in the near term.
Downstream sectors under pressure
Higher aluminium prices can hurt many sectors. These include automotive, aerospace, solar panels, packaging, and power infrastructure.
There are no easy substitutes for aluminium. Companies may face higher costs.
Margins may come under pressure. Some companies may try to pass on costs. But demand will decide pricing power.
In the two-wheeler segment, aluminium and copper form about 32 per cent of input costs. This makes the sector sensitive to price changes.
Anil Singhvi view: stay cautious in volatile market
Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi said global tensions are driving metal prices.
“Volatility is high. Metals are reacting to global events,” he said.
He added that aluminium prices may remain strong in the short term. This is due to supply concerns.
However, he advised caution. He said investors should avoid aggressive bets.
He also said upstream companies may benefit. Higher prices can improve realisations.
Producers gain from price rise
Higher aluminium prices are positive for producers. Companies like Hindalco, NALCO, and Vedanta can benefit.
They may see better margins in the near term. This is due to higher selling prices.
However, the trend depends on global developments. If tensions ease, prices may cool.
Demand trends will also matter. Weak demand can limit gains.
Kenya has opened a high-stakes tender for global investors to develop the mineral-rich Mrima Hill in Kwale County, a rare earth site valued at about $62.4 billion and increasingly central to the global race for critical minerals.
In a gazette notice dated March 24, Mining Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho invited qualified firms to submit expressions of interest to commercialize deposits of niobium and rare earth elements - minerals essential for advanced electronics, clean energy systems, and military technologies..
Mrima Hill has long attracted international interest, with both the United States and China eyeing the asset as part of a broader geopolitical contest over supply chains.
American officials have made multiple visits to the site in recent years, pushing for a value-added approach that includes local refining, while China - responsible for about 90% of global rare earth processing, has historically favored an extract-and-export model.
The Kenya Times reports that the government has identified five key minerals - niobium, yttrium, thorium, strontium, and lanthanum, at the site following a geological mapping exercise conducted in 2022.
However, Mining Cabinet Secretary Ali Hassan Joho noted that a full economic viability assessment of the deposits has not yet been completed.
“The Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy, and Maritime Affairs recently completed a nationwide airborne geophysical survey and now has the latest radiometric and magnetic data over the project area,” the notice read further.
“This data and the resulting grids serve as primary geophysical information for the winning bidder to conduct detailed exploration in the area.”
The renewed push highlights Kenya’s growing appeal as a mining destination, driven by fresh geological data, improved regulatory clarity, and rising global demand for critical minerals.
Africa tightens grip on mineral wealth
Kenya’s move reflects a broader shift across Africa, where governments are increasingly seeking to retain more value from their natural resources.
Countries are revising mining codes, enforcing local content rules, and pushing investors to establish in-country processing facilities rather than exporting raw materials.
From lithium in Zimbabwe to cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, policymakers are leveraging the global energy transition to demand better terms and greater economic participation.
In Kenya’s case, requirements around beneficiation, sustainability, and community engagement signal a clear intent to avoid past extractive models.
The government said the tender will be conducted under the Mining Act and 2017 regulations, requiring investors to demonstrate technical expertise, financial strength, and a commitment to local processing and sustainability.
Firms must also engage local communities and comply with Kenya’s framework on state participation in strategic minerals.
Iranian strikes on smelters in the Middle East are threatening to drive up net zero costs as electric vehicle (EV) and solar panel producers battle surging aluminium costs.
The price of aluminium rose by 3.7pc on Monday to hit $3,395 per tonne, as traders responded to drone strikes on Emirates Global Aluminium and Aluminium Bahrain during the weekend.
The lightweight metal is up 33pc so far this year, hitting $3,500 per tonne in March.
However, some analysts have forecast aluminium could climb as high as $4,000 per tonne, hitting highs last seen in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Middle East is responsible for about 9pc of global aluminium production, with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz trapping supplies in the Gulf and forcing smelters to scale back output.
Iran’s strikes on Middle Eastern aluminium smelters now threaten to disrupt supplies further.
“It is clear the system is now exposed to sudden production loss, not just gradual constraint,” according to AZ Consulting.
‘Impact is becoming very significant’
Natalie Scott-Gray, a senior metals analyst at financial services firm Stonex, said EV carmakers were particularly exposed owing to their reliance on aluminium.
A typical European electric car contains 283kg of aluminium on average, compared with 169kg in a petrol car, according to the trade group European Aluminium.
She also pointed to the potential effect on green energy projects, which will have to pay significantly more for aluminium.
“Aluminium is used in solar so it will impact those fast-growing areas,” she said. “We have moved into a new phase where the impact is becoming very significant.”
Smelters themselves are also battling soaring energy costs caused by the conflict.
One major smelter in Mozambique, which previously accounted for about 20pc of European imports, was closed this month because of prohibitive power prices.
Global markets were already facing elevated aluminium prices after Western companies were largely cut off from Russia’s metal refineries. Aluminium prices have been climbing in tandem with precious metals over the past year.
Ms Scott-Gray said European buyers of aluminium were “the worst hit” as they cannot use Russian stocks.
“They have about 20pc reliance on Middle Eastern aluminium,” she said.
The Government previously included aluminium in its critical minerals strategy, which sought to mitigate supply shocks from materials that are “essential to the UK’s economy, national security and clean energy transition”.
Ausenco has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the Hillside project on behalf of Rex Minerals Pty Ltd, an Australian minerals exploration and development company.
Located on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, some 150 km west of Adelaide, the Hillside project is one of the largest undeveloped copper and gold projects in Australia, containing a mineral resource of 1.9 Mt of copper and 1.5 Moz of gold.
Stage one of the project received government approval in 2020 for a 13-year mine life. Since then, Ausenco has supported Rex Minerals through a series of studies and early-stage activities, including a definition phase study, capex refresh and enabling works.
Ausenco is a global leader in the design and construction of copper operations. In the last five years, it has designed and built one in three new copper concentrators globally, most recently the Mantoverde copper project in Chile.
Building on its longstanding partnership with Rex Minerals, Ausenco will now deliver detailed engineering through to commissioning of the 8 Mt/y plant and associated plant infrastructure.
Reuben Joseph, President – APAC/Africa at Ausenco, said: “Hillside represents a significant copper development, and we’re proud to bring our expertise in concentrator design and delivery. Our team is committed to building a high‑performance plant that delivers efficiency, operability and long‑term reliability.”
https://im-mining.com/2026/04/01/ausenco-to-carry-out-hillside-copper-gold-project-epcm/
New Delhi, Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd (LMEL) on Tuesday said it has acquired Congo-based CHEMAF Group , which is primarily into copper and cobalt mining , as it diversifies into critical minerals vital for the global electric vehicle battery supply chain.
The deal marks LMEL's bold entry into Africa's mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the world's leading cobalt producer and copper supplier, amid India's aggressive overseas mining foray to secure raw materials for its green energy ambitions.
LMEL, which is a major producer of iron ore, did not disclose the deal size.
"In a major development, Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd (LMEL) has announced the successful acquisition of the CHEMAF Group (CHEMAF), comprising Chemaf Resources Limited, Chemaf SA, and associated entities leading copper and cobalt mining and processing companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)," the company said in a statement.
The acquisition was executed through Virtus Lloyds Minerals Holding (VLMH), a joint venture between entity of Lloyds Metals (49 per cent) and Virtus Minerals Inc, a US-headquartered mining investment company.
Located in the heart of the Katanga Copper Belt -- one of the richest copper-cobalt geological zones in the world -- the CHEMAF assets significantly enhance Lloyds Metals' footprint in critical minerals essential to the global energy transition.
The DRC holds over 70 per cent of the world's cobalt reserves and is among the largest producers of copper globally.
Through VLMH, Lloyds Metals will operate and run the acquired mining and processing assets and manage the entire value chain from mine development to offtake. Upon completion of ongoing expansion projects, the production capacity in the DRC is projected to reach approximately 100,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of copper and 20,000 TPA of cobalt, with peak revenues estimated at USD 1.5 billion (approximately Rs 14,000 crore) annually.
So far into the week, aluminium premiums in Europe and Japan have appeared on the rising graph as a reaction to Iran’s drone and missile strikes on the Gulf smelters of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) on Saturday, intensifying the prevailing worry over aluminium supply tightness.
Surges across regions and standardised benchmarks
In Europe, the duty-paid aluminium premium for April delivery has rallied a four-year high since June 2022 and settled at USD 594 per tonne, marking a 16 per cent rise since Friday.
In the same trend, April premium in Japan surged a staggering 20 per cent over the previous week, climbing from USD 250 per tonne to USD 300 per tonne. Compared to the premium records in Europe, this one marked an even greater all-time high, the record going back to September 2017.
Moreover, in the US, the Midwest premium for April, an added cost over LME aluminium prices for physical delivery, rose to USD 1.12 per lb or USD 2,469 per tonne on Monday, matching its previous record high. The upward trend was further spiked by the fact that EGA and Alba are two of the biggest suppliers to the US.
Concurrently, the three-month benchmark of the London Metal Exchange (LME) soared to settled at USD 3,585 per tonne on Tuesday, surpassing the record of the March 4 session which hit a four-year high since the COVID-19 phase in 2022, entering a new all-time high in the premium ledger.
Similarly, Goldman Sachs raised its LME aluminium price forecast from USD 3,200 to USD 3,450 per tonne for the second quarter of 2026.
Pre-existing supply crunch aggravated
Close of March witnessed the April premium in Europe increase by a massive 57 per cent, further fuelled by the Iranian strikes on the EGA and Alba facilities. The hike in premiums came even before the start of the Middle East conflict. They were at continued one-year highs in the midst of an already volatile market that was disturbed by the smelter outage in Iceland, the closure of the Mozal plant in Mozambique and the EU's new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) tax on imported primary aluminium.
In his weekly LinkedIn newsletter, the London Metal Exchange trainer and risk management consultant, Jorge Eduardo Dyszel, mentioned, “The week of March 23–27 showed signs of stabilisation after the previous wave of aggressive liquidation.”
However, with the two leading Gulf smelters incapacitated for output in the near term, have once more sent the gradually recovering market tumbling into a new phase of panic, resulting in price revisions over an aggravated supply crisis.
Cecilia Jamasmie | April 1, 2026 | 3:57 am Critical Minerals Markets Africa Copper
Installation of the Stage Two submersible pumps at Kamoa-Kakula. (Image courtesy of Ivanhoe Mines.)
Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) has slashed near-term production guidance for its flagship Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo, surprising analysts and resetting investor expectations.
The company now expects 2026 copper anode output of 290,000 to 330,000 tonnes, down from 380,000 to 420,000 tonnes, while 2027 production will reach 380,000 to 420,000 tonnes versus a prior projected 500,000 to 540,000 tonnes.
Ivanhoe released the update after markets closed Tuesday, citing a shift toward underground development, rehabilitation and access work that will constrain ore delivery over the next 18 to 24 months. The company also raised expected cash costs, compounding the weaker outlook.
“The headline takeaway was a material reset to near-term expectations,” Jefferies analyst Fahad Tariq said in a note, adding that investors were not anticipating the downgrade. “We view the update as a clear acknowledgment that operational challenges at Kakula are taking longer to resolve than initially envisaged, pushing volume recovery further out.”
At the core of the revision is a new reserve model that cut contained copper by 24.7% and reduced reserve grade by 28%, reflecting more conservative assumptions, lower cutoff grades and revised mine sequencing. Ivanhoe now caps underground extraction rates at about 60%, down from 70% to 80% or higher, as it widens pillars and excludes inaccessible areas to improve long-term stability.
The reset underscores a broader trade-off facing large mining projects: sacrificing short-term output to secure more reliable, efficient production over time, forcing investors to recalibrate expectations.
Key ramifications
BMO analysts said the reserve update appears conservative but carries more significant implications for near-term production and valuation, largely due to the lower grade profile.
“The reserve update for Kakula/Kamoa came in below both the market’s and our expectations,” analyst Andrew Mikitchook wrote. “The largest impact on valuations comes from a 28% decrease in reserve grade.”
BMO cut its price target on Ivanhoe shares to $16 from $23, citing weaker near-term output and revised long-term assumptions. Year-to-date, the stock is down almost 35%, trading at $10.51 on Wednesday for a market capitalization of $11.8 billion (C$15B).
The bank also highlighted a planned redevelopment of the complex in 2026 and 2027, aimed at enabling broader and more efficient mining with faster backfill sequencing, though at the cost of reduced extraction rates in the interim.
Despite the downgrade, BMO said there is potential upside as Ivanhoe continues to refine its mine plan. Ongoing optimization work, including geotechnical drilling and further analysis of Kakula East, could lead to improved efficiency, with an updated prefeasibility and feasibility plan expected in the first quarter of 2027.
Jefferies similarly noted that mine plans for 2026 and 2027 now focus explicitly on development and rehabilitation rather than production, with slower advance rates and more conservative sequencing reducing ore delivery and raising costs in the near term.
Long-term outlook safe
Ivanhoe continues to target annual copper production exceeding 500,000 tonnes from 2028, positioning Kamoa-Kakula among the world’s largest copper operations.
The current redevelopment phase aims to unlock that scale by improving underground access, expanding mining areas and enabling more consistent extraction, even as it delays the ramp-up profile that had supported prior market expectations. Analysts said the company’s more cautious approach reflects a focus on long-term performance and stability after persistent operational challenges at Kakula.
Near-term sentiment will hinge on execution, including improved operating performance, timely redevelopment progress and clearer visibility on the next iteration of the mine plan, with signs of progress later this year likely key to rebuilding investor confidence.
https://www.mining.com/ivanhoe-stuns-market-with-deep-kamoa-kakula-output-cut/
The average spot price for HRC on the U.S. market is $1,020 per ton
U.S. steel producer Nucor has again raised its spot consumer price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil (HRC) by $10 per short ton compared to the previous week. This was announced in a letter from the company to its customers dated March 30.
The new price is $1,035 per short ton. The spot consumer price for Nucor’s West Coast joint venture, California Steel Industries (CSI), has also increased by $10, with the new price set at $1,085 per short ton.
This marks the second consecutive week that the company has raised prices in $10 increments. Nucor announced the most significant increase (by $15/ton) on March 2.
Order fulfillment times remain standard—3–5 weeks.
According to SMU, as of March 24, the average spot price for HRC in the U.S. market on FOB terms (east of the Rockies) was $1,020 per short ton, which is $5/ton higher than the previous week.
According to Kallanish, last week (March 20–27) prices rose to a new range of $1,010–1,020 per short ton. At the end of March, prices for hot-rolled steel in the U.S. gradually rose, following Nucor’s announcements and strong demand, with producers reporting high order volumes.
As a reminder, Nucor’s Bar Mill Group announced a price increase for structural steel last week. The increase amounted to $40–60 per short ton for channels, angles, and steel strip. The price increase applies to new orders received after March 25.
https://gmk.center/en/news/nucor-has-again-raised-the-price-of-hot-rolled-coil-by-10-per-ton/
As of March, the global steel market continues to be driven by supply-demand dynamics and cost pressures. According to CISA data, total steel inventories at key mills stood at 17.91 million tons, while the destocking process gained momentum, with inventories of five major products decreasing by 484,000 tons on a weekly basis. However, inventory pressure in the HRC segment remained more pronounced compared to rebar.
On the pricing side, divergence across products was observed. HRC export prices increased to USD 490/ton, while CRC prices decreased to USD 550/ton. China-origin HRC SAE1006 remained stable at USD 497/ton FOB, while South Korea-origin 2.5 mm HRC maintained stability at USD 505/ton.Profitability issues among Chinese steel producers persist. Margins for HRC producers stood at minus USD 24/ton, while rebar producers recorded margins of minus USD 30/ton, indicating continued operational pressure across the sector.
Supported by strong order flows and rising production costs, Asian producers are inclined to increase billet export prices. Prioritization of Chinese buyers by global miners and rising freight costs have led to higher imported manganese ore prices in India, tightening supply. Meanwhile, metallurgical coal prices are moving within a narrow range due to low liquidity and a cautious market stance. Offers for late-May loading cargoes of Indonesia-origin coke were heard at USD 255/ton FOB.
Logistics and geopolitical developments continue to play a decisive role in cost structures. Due to risks stemming from conflicts in the Middle East, freight rates for coal shipments are reported to be USD 8–10/ton higher compared to pre-conflict levels. Security concerns in the Strait of Hormuz have caused route changes and temporary disruptions in iron ore and pellet shipments.
On the other hand, some countries have introduced supportive measures for the mining sector. In this context, the reduction of fuel taxes by half for the period between April 1 and June 30 is expected to provide savings of approximately 26.3 Australian cents per liter.
On the trade policy front, protectionist tendencies persist. Pakistan expanded the scope of anti-dumping duties on cold-rolled products originating from China to protect domestic producers.
Meanwhile, although South Korea remains a key supplier of cold-rolled steel to Türkiye, shipments to Türkiye decreased by 25.8% year on year to 31,000 tons as of January 2026.
https://www.steelradar.com/en/haber/asian-steel-market-sees-price-increase-amid-middle-east-risks/
After decades of delays, Guinea’s Simandou megaproject has entered a new phase of reality, with China receiving the first fully integrated shipment of iron ore from the vast deposit, marking a turning point for both the West African nation and global supply chains.
Guinea's Simandou project has delivered its first fully integrated iron ore shipment to China.
The vessel RTM Cartier docked in Dalian on March 25, 2026, carrying more than 200,000 tonnes of high-grade ore.
Earlier in December 2025, Guinea shipped its first cargo of iron ore from the long-delayed Simandou project, sending about 200,000 tonnes of high-grade ore to China.
Unlike earlier trial shipments in January, which involved mixed cargoes and incomplete logistics, this delivery represents a seamless, end-to-end supply chain from mine to port.
According to RFI, this marks the first shipment composed entirely of ore from SimFer - the joint venture operating part of the Simandou mine, bringing together the Guinean government, Rio Tinto, and Chinese partners.
The ore is now being processed immediately upon arrival in Dalian using a dedicated crushing facility, ensuring consistent quality and efficiency for China’s steelmakers.
A strategic win for Guinea and China
For Guinea, Simandou represents a generational economic opportunity. The project is expected to generate billions in export revenues, create thousands of jobs, and position the country as a major player in the global iron ore market.
The Simandou iron-ore mine in Guinea, the largest untapped high-grade deposit in the world, is now operational, linking Africa’s mineral wealth to China’s green steel ambitions. [Photo by PATRICK MEINHARDT/AFP via Getty Images] BI Africa
Valued at $23 billion, Guinea’s ambitious Simandou iron ore project is Africa’s largest-ever mining venture and could propel Guinea to the continent’s second-largest exporter of minerals and metals by value, trailing only South Africa.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the project has been shaped by decades of political upheaval, legal battles, and ownership disputes.
First explored in the 1950s under French colonial rule, the deposit’s massive potential only became apparent in the 1990s when Rio Tinto geologists confirmed its high-grade iron ore reserves.
More broadly, it signals Africa’s growing role in supplying critical raw materials needed for industrialisation worldwide.
For China, being the first recipient of Simandou ore is no coincidence. Chinese firms have played a central role in financing and building the project’s infrastructure, including railways and port facilities, giving Beijing priority access to early output.
The move also aligns with China’s long-term strategy to diversify iron ore imports away from dominant suppliers like Australia and Brazil.
The early shipments underscore a shifting dynamic in global commodities, where infrastructure financing and long-term partnerships increasingly determine access.
Mesabi Metallics announced a $520 million credit facility with Breakwall Capital to advance its new iron ore mine in northern Minnesota, aiming for operations in the third quarter of 2026.
According to the press release, the project covers more than 16,000 acres and includes a $2.5 billion direct reduction iron ore mine and pellet plant. Over 750 construction workers are currently onsite, making it one of the largest private industrial investments in Minnesota. The Essar Group has already invested over $2 billion in equity, and the project has received support from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
“The partnership with Breakwall is an important milestone for Mesabi Metallics,” said Joe Broking, President and CEO of Mesabi Metallics.
“We are bringing to market a brand-new American source of the highest quality DR-grade iron ore that will help U.S. steelmakers reduce reliance on imported raw materials and international supply chains. America is already the global leader in the next generation Electric Arc Furnace-based steelmaking — the cleanest and most energy efficient way of making steel. Mesabi Metallics will create hundreds of high-quality jobs in northern Minnesota for several decades to come and will support the reshoring of American industrial dominance,” Broking said.
“Mesabi Metallics is a great example of the type of high-quality company and large-scale mining project we seek to partner on — anchored by a long-life resource in an advanced stage of development, with strategic importance to critical industrial development. We look forward to building upon this partnership with Mesabi Metallics and supporting them in their journey,” said Daniel Flannery, President and Managing Partner of Breakwall.
“This deal further demonstrates the breadth of our partnership with Vitol, combining credit solutions with global resource marketing acumen, to deliver a multitude of solutions for top tier companies like Mesabi Metallics and world class operators like the Essar Group,” said Jamie Brodsky, Co-CEO and Managing Partner of Breakwall.
The press release highlights that the project is expected to support U.S. manufacturing, infrastructure and defense sectors, while creating hundreds of jobs and strengthening the domestic steel supply chain.
The Persian Gulf conflict has triggered a second global energy supply crisis, accelerating the collapse of the narrative of natural gas as a 'transition fuel.'
Major economies in Asia and Europe are reverting to coal, with coal-fired power generation in Europe potentially surging by 20% this summer. India, Japan, and Bangladesh are racing to restart coal-fired power units. Meanwhile, capital markets are betting on renewable energy.
The Persian Gulf conflict is reshaping the global energy landscape. As natural gas supplies suffer severe disruptions, major economies in Asia and Europe are reverting to coal while simultaneously accelerating the deployment of renewable energy. A profound shift in energy strategy is quietly unfolding.
Samantha Dart, Global Co-Head of Commodities Research at Goldman Sachs, warned: "We are now facing a second, massive energy supply shock. If you are in Asia and experience this situation again, you might reconsider your long-term strategy—relying more heavily on coal for a longer period, accelerating the development of renewable energy, and reducing dependence on natural gas." This assessment is being validated by market actions.
From Japan's announcement to expand the use of inefficient coal-fired power plants, to India's directive for coal-fired power plants to delay maintenance and operate at full capacity, to European nations reassessing their timelines for phasing out coal, the narrative of natural gas as a 'transition fuel' is rapidly collapsing. Meanwhile, capital markets have already voted with their feet—leading Chinese battery and renewable energy companies have significantly outperformed international oil giants in stock prices.
Collapse of the 'transition fuel' narrative for natural gas and a strong resurgence in coal demand
The natural gas supply shock triggered by the Iran war marks the second major energy crisis in less than four years following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, along with subsequent retaliatory attacks on Qatar's Ras Laffan facility, could result in years of supply disruptions. The European natural gas benchmark price currently stands at approximately 54 euros per megawatt-hour, surpassing the 50-euro threshold that analysts believe will trigger a large-scale shift to coal-fired power.
According to Bloomberg, power analysts at the London Stock Exchange Group estimate that if the European natural gas benchmark price remains around 50 euros per megawatt-hour, coal-fired power generation in Europe could increase by about 20% this summer compared to the same period last year. The Netherlands, Poland, and the Czech Republic are all facing pressure to increase coal usage, while Germany is considering restarting mothballed coal-fired power plants to lower electricity prices. According to Bloomberg NEF data, coal-fired power capacity in Europe has declined by 45% since 2015, but the existing capacity is still sufficient to act as a buffer during crises.
Tony Knutson, Head of Global Thermal Coal Markets at Wood Mackenzie, stated that this shock affects more countries than the Russia-Ukraine war, calling it 'a larger disruption.' Nations lacking sufficient natural gas supplies have no choice but to rely on coal as a lever. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), also noted that high energy prices will drive governments, industries, and households to seek alternatives, and it is 'unsurprising' that coal consumption faces upward pressure.
Asia bears the brunt, with India, Japan, and Bangladesh accelerating their shift toward coal
Asia is the epicenter of this round of shocks. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are all major global importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) while maintaining large-scale coal-fired power units, with both the capacity and motivation to switch quickly. Japan has announced that more coal-fired power plants will be allowed to participate in capacity auctions, and the use of inefficient coal power will be expanded; South Korea has also indicated it is considering easing restrictions on high-pollution electricity. The Newcastle Coal Futures, a benchmark for Asian thermal coal, have surged by about one-third this year, reaching the highest level since 2024.
India's situation is particularly typical. Authorities have required coal-fired power plants to postpone voluntary maintenance shutdowns and instructed Tata Power Company’s 4-gigawatt plant in Gujarat—previously shut down for several months—to operate at full capacity until the monsoon season arrives in June. Coal India Ltd.’s stock price reached its highest point since 2024 earlier this month. Anandji Prasad, Technical Director of the company’s Western Coalfields subsidiary, stated that this crisis “has given coal new leverage in India” and emphasized the urgency of substituting coal for petroleum products and natural gas.
Bangladesh is in an even more severe situation. According to Bloomberg, the country’s new government has been forced to seek a $2 billion loan to import sufficient fuel to get through the summer while planning to run coal-fired power plants at maximum capacity in the near future. Shafiqul Alam, Chief Analyst for Bangladesh at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, pointed out that as LNG prices rise and power shortages worsen, coal will assume a greater share of baseload supply.
Capital markets are betting on an accelerated energy transition, with renewable energy stocks outperforming oil giants.
Running parallel to the short-term rebound in coal demand is the capital market’s clear bet on a long-term acceleration of the energy transition.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war, leading Chinese battery and electric vehicle companies$CATL (03750.HK)$ and $BYD COMPANY (01211.HK)$ have seen their share prices rise by over 15%, significantly outperforming $Exxon Mobil (XOM.US)$ and $Chevron (CVX.US)$. Investors generally believe that this shock will accelerate the substitution of fossil fuels with batteries and energy storage systems from both cost and supply security perspectives.
In the European market, Chinese auto brands such as BYD and Leapmotor are regaining momentum amid soaring oil prices. Sales rebounded in February, and the Middle East conflict further increased fuel costs, enhancing the attractiveness of electric vehicles.
Coal is a short-term emergency option, but this crisis is accelerating countries’ reevaluation of their energy mix, bringing renewable energy development onto a more urgent agenda.
Doug Arent, senior researcher at the WRI Polsky Global Energy Transition Center, stated that coal demand in 2026 "will definitely not decline as predicted before the war," while emphasizing that the top priority now is to "maintain power supply and production efficiency." The International Energy Agency's previous forecast that global coal demand would decline by 1.4% by 2027 is now facing serious challenges.
By Natalia Katona - Mar 30, 2026, 6:23 PM CDT
Japan’s heavy dependence on imported energy is being put through a real-time stress test. The crisis triggered by the war in Iran and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed the structural vulnerabilities in one of the world’s largest energy importers. With roughly 90% of its crude oil sourced from the Middle East, Tokyo has already moved to release around 80 million barrels from its strategic petroleum reserves – equivalent to roughly 26 days of domestic oil demand. This should be sufficient to stabilize the immediate fuel balance, particularly as Japan covers nearly 100% of its gasoline and around 95% of its diesel demand through domestic refining. Yet the oil reserve drawdown addresses only part of the problem. The broader energy system – electricity and heat generation in particular – remains exposed to the ripple effects of the crisis.
Japan’s natural gas balance is no less dependent on imports. Around 98% of domestic gas demand is met by LNG imports, although overall consumption has been declining in recent years due to slower economic growth, the expansion of renewables, and the gradual restart of nuclear power. In 2025 Japan imported 66.3 Mt of LNG, down 1.5% year-on-year, retaining its position as the world’s second-largest buyer after China. Roughly 6% of this supply transits the Strait of Hormuz (from Qatar and the UAE) while the majority comes from Australia (26 Mt), Malaysia (10 Mt), Russia (5.8 Mt, supported by Japan’s sanctions exemption for Sakhalin-II in which Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold a 22.5% stake), and the United States (4.5 Mt). The disruption of Gulf-origin LNG volumes is therefore manageable in physical terms and is unlikely to materially alter Japan’s overall supply balance.
Australia remains Japan’s largest LNG supplier, but the relationship is now evolving under pressure. As Canberra faces acute shortages of refined fuels, the two countries have entered discussions on potential LNG-for-products swap arrangements, whereby Japan could supply gasoline and diesel in exchange for continued LNG flows. At the same time, Tokyo has cautioned Australia against imposing a windfall tax on LNG exports – an option the Albanese government has been considering amid soaring commodity prices. Given the intensifying domestic fuel shortages in Australia, it appears increasingly likely that such populist taxation measures will be kept for less critical times in favour of preserving supply security and bilateral cooperation.
The importance of gas to Tokyo is real. Within Japan’s energy mix, natural gas remains the dominant fuel, accounting for around 32% of power generation, followed by coal at 28%, nuclear at 9%, and oil-fired generation at 7%. However, gas-fired power’s share has been gradually declining as nuclear capacity returns and renewables expand. The structure of gas demand is heavily skewed toward the power sector, which absorbs roughly 55–65% of total consumption. However, around a quarter is used in industry, particularly in petrochemicals and refining.
This industrial component is now under pressure. Natural gas is a key input for hydrogen production in refining and petrochemical processes, but with crude and naphtha supplies tightening (around two-thirds of Japan’s naphtha imports previously passed through Hormuz, while the domestic refining system is skewed towards gasoline production) industrial activity is expected to slow. Gas suppliers are already pointing at a likely near-term drop in industrial demand, which could partially offset the Middle Eastern LNG imports decline.
In this context, the issue for Japan is less about physical gas availability and more about prices. The JKM benchmark has surged to around $20/MMBtu in recent days, up sharply from approximately $10.5/MMBtu prior to the conflict. At the same time, Australian FOB Newcastle coal prices have climbed from around $115/t at the end of February to approximately $135/t. Despite this increase, coal remains a comparatively more economical option for power generation, reinforcing its role as a short-term substitute.
Japan’s coal supply is heavily concentrated in one country, Australia. In 2025, Australia accounted for roughly two-thirds of imports, supplying 100.6 Mt out of a total of 153.8 Mt. Indonesia followed with 25 Mt and Canada with 13.7 Mt. Australian coal (with its higher calorific value and overall better quality), trades at a premium to Indonesian material, which is typically discounted in Asian markets. While Japan continues to import significant volumes from Indonesia, it is likely to favour increasing purchases from Australia due to higher quality , outbidding other players in the Asian market, thanks to its greater financial capacity. This shift is very likely to come at the expense of smaller buyers such as Vietnam and Malaysia, effectively pricing them out of the Australian coal market over the upcoming months and pushing regional coal prices higher.
A recently announced US-Japan energy deal adds a geopolitical dimension but is unlikely to shift market fundamentals. The agreement, lauded by Donald Trump in October 2025 as part of a broader bilateral trade framework, involves a multi-year $100 million supply deal for US thermal coal from Global Coal Sales Group to Tohoku Electric Power. Volumes remain small (although not announced, the financial side of the deal points at around 1 Mt of coal spread across several years) relative to Japan’s 150 Mt annual imports, and US thermal coal generally offers lower calorific value than Australia’s Newcastle-grade supply. Not to mention the freight costs, substitution potential is limited, leaving Japan sensibly tied to Australian cargoes.
Coal may provide a short-term buffer, but Japan’s longer-term response is unlikely to hinge on a sustained increase in coal-fired generation. Despite the palpable political and social sensitivities following the Fukushima disaster in 2011, nuclear power remains central to Tokyo’s strategic energy outlook. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has been working to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant – the world’s largest nuclear facility, wielding a capacity of 8 GW. After 14 years of inactivity, trial power transmission began in February, with commercial operations initially targeted for late February. However, technical setbacks have delayed the process several times. Current output remains limited to around 20%, with transmission suspended, and TEPCO is now targeting April 16 for a full restart. The plant is expected to supply electricity to the Tokyo metropolitan area, where approximately 70% of power generation currently relies on gas-fired plants.
Therefore, Japan’s strategic trajectory points towards nuclear. The current crisis is reinforcing the country’s long-standing objective of reducing vulnerability to imported fuels by accelerating nuclear restarts and expanding domestic generation capacity. In that sense, the disruption is not only a test of resilience – it is also a catalyst for structural change and a good talking point for the politicians in their dialogue with nuclear-energy sceptics. Over the near term, however, Japan is likely to tighten availability in the Asia-Pacific coal market, reinforcing upward pressure on Newcastle benchmark prices. This shift will not go unnoticed for others. If Japan increases its spot?market coal purchases, upward price pressure is inevitable—and the impact will be felt most acutely by Asia’s more financially vulnerable economies.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Coal/Coal-Is-Back-and-Japan-Is-Driving-the-Rally.html
After four years of growth, U.S. coal exports decreased by 16 million short tons (MMst) in 2025, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Exports totaled 93 MMst in 2025, compared with 108 MMst in 2024. Thermal coal exports fell by 18%, and metallurgical coal exports fell by 11%.
The decrease in U.S. coal exports largely reflects a 92% decrease in exports to China in 2025 compared with 2024, after China imposed a 15% additional tariff on imports of U.S. coal in February of last year and a 34% reciprocal tariff on imports from the United States in April. It also reflects a global market characterized by ample supply and soft demand, which caused prices to decline, making it increasingly difficult for U.S. coal exporters to earn profits. Finally, coal generation in the U.S. domestic coal market rose 13% in 2025, leading to a 12% increase in electric power coal consumption after three straight years of decreases.
In the United States, coal is exported primarily through East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. Over the last five years, 62% of total U.S. exports have departed from East Coast ports in Norfolk, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland. Approximately 25% of coal exports departed from the Gulf Coast ports in Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, over the same period.
Another 8% of recorded coal exports departed the United States from the West Coast, primarily from Seattle, Washington, en route to ports in Canada. However, some exports from the western area of the United States are not captured by U.S. Census Bureau’s data from Seattle.
During the years 2021 to 2025, 78% of U.S. steam coal exports departed from Baltimore, Norfolk, Mobile, or New Orleans. For metallurgical coal, 94% of all coal exported from the United States departed from the same East Coast and Gulf Coast ports. A single port, the Lambert Point Coal Terminal in Norfolk, Virginia, accounted for approximately 58% of metallurgical coal exported from the United States.
Principal contributor: Jonathan Church
