Tag - oil

 
 

OIL

The USS Rafael Peralta guided-missile destroyer implements a maritime blockade against the Iran-flagged crude oil tanker vessel Stream while the latter was attempting to sail toward an Iranian port on April 26.
WORLD
May 9, 2026
U.S. attack on Iran tankers sparks reprisals as deal hangs in balance
Iranian officials accused the United States of violating the ceasefire with the tanker strikes and hampering diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
Stocks traded in Tokyo hit a record high on Thursday and then held most of those gains on Friday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 8, 2026
Japanese stocks steady near historic highs as tech and war weigh on sentiment
The Nikkei 225 stock average retreated from the record hit Thursday, clawing back some of the loss late in the day as companies started to release earnings reports.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa (second from left) and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Iwao Horii (far left) attend a high-level economic dialogue with the European Union in Brussels on Thursday.
BUSINESS
May 8, 2026
Japan and Saudi Arabia to set up energy security task force
Discussions at the task force are slated to start early next week.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attends a monetary policy meeting with other high-ranking officials in Tokyo on April 28.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2026
Japan pulls out the stops to halt the yen’s slide
While the yen’s dive has been abetted by speculators, the real causes of the currency’s weakness are structural.
An oil refinery in Germany on Thursday. Oil supplies are set to tighten further even if the U.S. and Iran reach a deal to end their war.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
May 8, 2026
Oil supply shock to worsen as inventories fall further even if conflict ends
The rapid depletion of commercial stockpiles and emergency reserves has come at a time when ‌stockpiles are typically ‌built in preparation for the Northern Hemisphere summer.
People share a parasol in Ginza district during high temperatures in Tokyo in 2025. El Nino is forecast to bring drier conditions and hotter weather later this year.
ENVIRONMENT
May 8, 2026
Asia heat waves spell double trouble for economies hit by oil shock
El Nino could bring higher temperatures and dry weather to countries from India to New Zealand, driving up food costs.
Sany electric heavy trucks at a depot in Tangshan, China, on April 1
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2026
Iran war to accelerate China’s shift to electric trucks from diesel
Some energy consultancies ‌now expect the decline in diesel use in China to accelerate faster than previously forecast.
People chant during a rally in Tehran on May 6.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2026
U.S. and Iran inch towards short-term deal to end fighting
The emerging plan centers on a short-term memorandum rather than a comprehensive peace deal.
Trade minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to reporters in Paris on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 6, 2026
Japan to boost joint oil stockpiles with UAE
The United Arab Emirates and Japan agreed to promote cooperation to ensure a stable supply of crude oil as the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy transportation hub, remains closed.
A worker unloads harvested sugarcane to a sugar mill in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. Ethanol, made from crops such as sugarcane, rice and maize, is central to India's plan to cut costly oil imports and reduce planet-heating emissions from transport.
BUSINESS
May 6, 2026
Oil price rises bolster India’s ethanol push despite drawbacks
Ethanol, made from crops such as sugarcane, rice and maize, is central to India’s plan to cut costly oil imports and reduce planet-heating emissions from transport.
Loaded trucks on a road in India. The country's state-dominated refining sector has kept fuel prices steady despite surging crude costs.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 5, 2026
Asia absorbs rising, uneven cost of energy crisis caused by war on Iran
The disruption has spurred the Asian Development Bank to cut its growth forecast for developing Asia and the Pacific to 4.7% this year, down from 5.1% previously.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping exit after their meeting in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 5, 2026
China seeks an advantage with both Trump and Iran as war evolves
The war will no doubt be an important issue in talks between Trump and Xi when they meet in Beijing for a two-day summit.
A tanker carrying Russian crude docks at a Taiyo Oil's refinery on Tuesday, marking the country’s first such import since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed earlier this year amid Middle East tensions, officials said.
JAPAN
May 5, 2026
Tanker carrying Russian crude oil arrives at facility in Japan
This marks the first Russian crude oil import to Japan since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed earlier this year.
A family walks across a dried up fishery south of Manila in 2015, where the El Nino weather phenomenon ravaged farmlands and damaged crops.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 5, 2026
‘Super El Nino’ raises fears for Asia reeling from Middle East conflict
The continent is now facing the prospect of strong climate conditions that could spike energy demand, sap hydropower and damage crops.
Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, concerns have emerged over what a shortage of oil and naphtha — a raw material for plastic products including food-packaging containers — could mean to not only industries but also supply chains and individual consumers.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 5, 2026
Amid shortage concerns, Japan works to secure supplies of raw materials
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sparked worries about what an oil and naphtha shortage could mean for not only industries but also supply chains and consumers.
A tanker approaches a pier at a PT Pertamina facility at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta in February. Conflict in the Middle East and rising fuel prices are driving energy shocks across Asia.
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2026
Oil shock will hit Asia harder than the 1970s
We’re seeing the first tremors of a similar earthquake now in Asia. More than 80% of the oil and gas that passes through the Strait of Hormuz heads east.
A line of natto products shown on the website of Mizkan
BUSINESS / Companies
May 4, 2026
Mizkan suspends sales for four natto products amid supply strain
The war in the Middle East has driven up procurement costs, the company said, putting pressure on packed natto production.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday before boarding Air Force One en route to Miami.
WORLD / Politics
May 4, 2026
Iran says it forced U.S. warship back from Hormuz; U.S. denies missile strike
A senior Iranian official said Iran had fired a warning shot and that it was unclear whether the warship had been damaged.
Saudi Arabia's minister of energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, speaks during a session of the Russian Energy Week international forum in Moscow, Russia, on Oct. 15, 2025.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 4, 2026
Saudi oil prince’s iron grip faces ultimate test with UAE’s shock OPEC exit
The departure poses a formidable test for ​the first royal Saudi oil minister whose style has shifted from diplomacy to increasingly unilateral decision-making.
A Chinese flag flutters in front of the Shanghai Gaoqiao Company Refinery in Shanghai.
BUSINESS
May 4, 2026
China’s rare defiance of U.S. sanctions sparks showdown over banks
The latest regulations direct companies in the country not to abide by U.S. sanctions on five domestic refiners linked to the Iranian oil trade.

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