Thai white rice prices jumped 10 percent to US$423 per tonne in the week ended April 8, a sharp single-week move that signals acute supply anxiety across Asian grain markets. The surge is linked to fallout from the Iran conflict, which is amplifying concerns over trade route disruption and export availability across a region that depends heavily on a small number of major rice exporters. Thailand is one of the world's largest rice exporters, making its benchmark price a bellwether for broader Asian food commodity conditions. A sustained move above current levels would translate directly into higher food import costs for price-sensitive economies across Southeast and South Asia, where rice is a staple for hundreds of millions of households. Buyers and importers will be watching whether the price spike stabilizes or extends into the following weeks, and whether other major exporters such as Vietnam and India adjust export volumes or pricing in response.
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
