The UAE announced Tuesday it will leave OPEC effective May 1, 2026, removing the cartel's third-largest producer and dealing a significant blow to its ability to manage global oil supply and prices. The move pushed crude oil prices near a three-week high, reflecting markets pricing in reduced OPEC coordination going forward. The UAE has long produced above its OPEC quota and has been investing heavily in expanding its output capacity. Leaving the group gives Abu Dhabi full freedom to pump at will without quota constraints, which could add meaningful barrels to global supply over time, even as it lifts prices in the short term on uncertainty. Adding to market nervousness, tensions between the US and Iran remain elevated, and the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly 20% of global oil trade flows, faces continued disruption risk. Any physical blockage there would hit supply hard and fast. Watch for how other Gulf producers respond and whether the UAE exit accelerates a broader unraveling of OPEC discipline. For India, which imports the bulk of its crude from the Gulf, both price direction and Hormuz stability matter directly.
Iranian armed forces attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, briefly halting traffic through the waterway. The strike threatens a fragile US-Iran arrangement and could push shipping insurance costs and oil prices higher.
The US has struck Iran, with President Trump citing an Iranian attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz as justification. The action raises immediate risks for global oil flows through one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints.
The US struck ten Iranian targets on the second consecutive day of military action, putting a fragile ceasefire under serious pressure. The escalation raises immediate risks for Gulf shipping, global oil supply, and regional stability.
Venezuela's twin earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, have killed at least 164 people and injured 971, interim president Delcy Rodriguez confirmed Thursday. The quakes are the country's strongest since 1900, collapsing buildings across Caracas and prompting a state of emergency, with the death toll expected to rise as
