(AFP) – Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war on Wednesday:
– **Oil jumps after Iran facilities hit**
Oil prices surged after Israeli strikes hit Iranian facilities at a major Gulf gas field, prompting Tehran to call for retaliatory strikes on energy infrastructure. Brent North Sea crude jumped over five percent to $108.60 per barrel, while the main US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, climbed 1.9 percent to $98.01. The strikes hit the South Pars/North Dome mega-field, the largest known gas reserve in the world, supplying around 70 percent of Iran’s domestic natural gas.
– **Trump waives shipping law**
President Donald Trump temporarily waived a century-old shipping law to help ease energy costs that have surged since US-Israeli strikes on Iran plunged the Middle East into war. Trump’s move to issue a 60-day Jones Act waiver would lift a ban on foreign-flagged vessels transporting cargo between US ports over this period. It is a step to mitigate “short-term disruptions to the oil market” from the conflict, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “This action will allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to US ports for sixty days.”
– **Iraq exports via Turkey**
Iraq announced it had resumed limited oil exports through the Turkish port of Ceyhan, using a pipeline that avoids the under-fire Strait of Hormuz. The state-owned North Oil Company said it was sending an initial 250,000 barrels a day from its fields in the northern Kirkuk province through the pipeline, well below the 3.5 million barrels a day it has shipped in normal times from its southern Basra fields via the Strait of Hormuz.
– **Asia petrochemical output slows**
The Middle East war is forcing petrochemical giants in key Asian economies to cut production as the conflict rattles supplies of naphtha, a crucial oil-derived component used to make a range of plastic goods. Mitsubishi Chemical and Mitsui Chemicals have cut output, Shin-Etsu Chemical said it would raise prices, and LG Chem warned it may not be able to fulfill some orders.
– **Emergency shipping talks**
The International Maritime Organization began an “extraordinary session” to discuss shipping amid the war. The IMO’s 40-member council could vote Thursday on several proposed resolutions, including one to “establish a safe maritime corridor to allow the safe evacuation of seafarers and ships stranded in the Persian Gulf.” However, if passed, resolutions remain non-binding.
– **South Korea secures UAE oil**
South Korea said it would receive an additional 18 million barrels of oil from the United Arab Emirates through alternative supply channels, bypassing the need to use the Strait of Hormuz. The presidential chief of staff declined to elaborate on the route. About 70 percent of South Korea’s oil imports normally pass through the strait.
– **Fed watched on inflation**
The US Federal Reserve joins a string of central bank meetings closely watched for signs of how monetary authorities view the inflationary impact of higher oil prices. The Fed is not expected to touch its rates, even as signs grow of a weakening labor market. The European Central Bank and the Bank of England follow Thursday.
– **Sri Lanka unplugs EVs**
Sri Lanka has urged electric vehicle owners to stop charging their cars at night, saying the surge in demand is forcing the country to burn more coal and diesel to keep the power grid running. Faced with an energy crisis driven by the war, Sri Lanka has begun rationing fuel and has also imposed a four-day working week in a bid to reduce travel.
– **BASF raises prices**
German chemicals giant BASF raised prices on some of its industrial products in Europe by 30 percent due to rising energy and input prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.
© 2024 AFP
