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Airlines raise fares as Middle East conflict lifts fuel costs
Some airlines in Asia and Europe raised fares, added fuel surcharges or adjusted schedules Tuesday as the Middle East conflict drove jet fuel costs sharply higher and disrupted key air routes. Australia's Qantas Airways, Scandinavia's SAS and Air New Zealand were among the carriers that announced price increases, while others warned the crisis could threaten fuel supplies or force further schedule changes. Jet fuel prices, which were around $85 to $90 per barrel before US-Israeli strikes on Ira
March 11, 2026 -
China exports surge into 2026 after record year
BEIJING (Reuters) -- China roared into 2026 with exports far outstripping forecasts, fueled by red-hot electronics demand, putting the economy on track to top last year's record $1.2 trillion trade surplus and blunting the blow from the war in Iran. Outbound shipments from the world's second-largest economy grew 21.8 percent in US dollar terms in the January-February period, sharply up from the 6.6 percent increase recorded in December and blowing past the median forecast in a Reuters poll of
March 10, 2026 -
World leaders eye oil reserves, but so far hold off on tapping them
NEW YORK (AP) — A widening war in Iran has halted oil tankers, made targets of refineries and spooked investors worried about the cascading impact of spiking energy prices. If it might seem like the ideal time to dip into the world’s emergency oil stockpiles, global leaders have so far responded with reluctance. Here is a look at the energy supplies that countries hold and when they tap them: Since war erupted in the Middle East on Feb. 28 with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, the flow of oil tan
March 10, 2026 -
China consumer inflation sees quickest jump in three years
BEIJING (Reuters) -- China's consumer inflation accelerated to the highest in more than three years due to the effects of the Lunar New Year holiday, while producer deflation persisted as weak demand remained a drag on an economy facing stiff external challenges. Policymakers have been trying to boost consumption over the past two years, but analysts say more needs to be done to address the supply-demand imbalance. The consumer price index rose 1.3 percent year-on-year for the fifth month of g
March 9, 2026 -
Crude oil prices surpass $100 a barrel as Iran war impedes production
CHICAGO (AP) — Oil prices eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years Sunday as the Iran war hinders production and shipping in the Middle East. The price for a barrel of Brent Crude, the international standard, was at $107.97 after trading resumed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 16.5 percent from its Friday closing price of $92.69. West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, was selling for about $106.22 a barrel.
March 9, 2026 -
ECB policymakers warn of inflation spike if Iran war lasts
Three European Central Bank policymakers warned on Thursday that euro zone inflation would likely rise, and growth sag, if the war in Iran were to become drawn out and suck in more countries. As the US–Iran war entered its sixth day, the conflict has widened beyond Gulf states and into Asia, convulsing global markets and raising questions about the ECB's benign outlook for the euro zone. The ECB's vice president Luis de Guindos and the central bank governors of Germany and Finland all said it
March 5, 2026 -
15% global tariff likely implemented this week, Bessent says
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that Donald Trump's 15-percent global tariff is likely to be rolled out this week, as the president moves to rebuild his trade agenda after a major legal setback. The Supreme Court last month struck down Trump's country-specific tariffs, which he imposed last year on allies and competitors alike, delivering a stinging rebuke of his signature economic policy. Since then, the US leader has tapped a different law to impose a new
March 5, 2026 -
China sets lowest growth target since 1991
China set its most modest growth target in more than three decades, in a tacit acknowledgment that the model powering the country’s rapid rise for four decades is showing strains. The goal — a range of 4.5 percent to 5 percent — was in a copy of the government’s annual work report seen by Bloomberg News. It marks the first formal downgrade since 2023 and the least ambitious expansion goal since 1991. While widely anticipated by economists, it carries symbolic weight in a country where growth fig
March 5, 2026 -
Trump sends Fed chair Warsh nomination to Senate
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday officially nominated former Federal Reserve Gov. Kevin Warsh to be the US central bank's next chair, the White House said, putting the president one step closer to installing a rate-cut-friendly Fed chief. But there are big hurdles both to Warsh's path back to the Fed and, once confirmed as Fed chair, his way forward to delivering the rate cuts Trump wants. Warsh, who would take over from Jerome Powell after his leadership term ends on May 15, would occupy
March 5, 2026 -
Global oil, gas prices soar as Iran crisis disrupts production
LONDON (Reuters) -- Global oil and gas prices jumped Tuesday as the US-Israeli war on Iran halted energy exports from the Middle East, with Tehran attacking ships and energy facilities, closing navigation in the Gulf and forcing production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq. The benchmark Brent Crude oil contract settled up $3.66, or up 4.7 percent, at $81.40 a barrel, its highest settlement since January 2025. European gas prices soared as much as 40 percent before paring gains, adding to a 40 perce
March 4, 2026 -
Global brands shut Middle East stores as conflict causes chaos
PARIS (Reuters) -- In Dubai and other major Middle Eastern shopping hubs, many stores are closed or operating with a skeleton staff as the escalating conflict in the region causes chaos for businesses and travel. The US-Israeli air war against Iran expanded Monday with no end in sight, with Tehran firing missiles and drones at Gulf states as it retaliates for a weekend of bombing that killed Iran's supreme leader and reportedly killed scores of Iranian civilians, including a strike on a girls'
March 3, 2026 -
Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
LONDON (Reuters) -- From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation. US-Israel strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, sowing chaos as Iran struck back at Gulf cities, airlines halted flights and tankers carrying oil and other products suspended transit through the k
March 2, 2026 -
OPEC+ agrees oil output boost even as US war on Iran disrupts shipments
OPEC+ agreed a modest oil output boost of 206,000 barrels per day for April on Sunday just as the US-Israeli war on Iran and Tehran's retaliation disrupted oil flows from key members of the producer group in the Middle East. OPEC+ has a history of raising oil output to cushion disruptions but analysts said the group currently has little spare capacity to add to supply, except for its leader Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which will also struggle to export oil until navigation in th
March 2, 2026 -
Gulf businesses reel as Iran strikes trigger regional shutdowns
DUBAI (Reuters) -- Iran's retaliatory strikes across the Gulf have triggered the most widespread business disruption in the region since the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing airport closures, halting port operations and sending shockwaves through financial markets. The attacks, launched in response to a joint US-Israeli assault on Iran, landed across every major state in the Gulf, a region that has spent decades building its reputation as one of the world's most reliable business hubs. Three people w
March 2, 2026 -
IMF urges US to work with partners to ease trade restrictions
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The IMF on Wednesday called on the US to work with trading partners and find ways to mutually ease trade curbs, as it issued a review of the world's biggest economy. The International Monetary Fund's findings covered the first year of Donald Trump's second presidency, in which he unleashed wide-ranging tariffs on allies and competitors alike as he sought to shrink the US trade deficit and boost domestic manufacturing. But his on-again, off-again tariffs have roiled supply cha
Feb. 26, 2026