Global Edition

Asian stocks rally as Trump says war to end 'very soon'

  • Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the United States would be leaving Iran "very soon", perhaps within "two weeks, maybe three".
  • Asian stocks rallied Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said the Middle East war would be over in up to three weeks and his Iranian counterpart said Tehran had "the necessary will" to bring it to an end.
  • Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the United States would be leaving Iran "very soon", perhaps within "two weeks, maybe three".
Asian stocks rallied Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said the Middle East war would be over in up to three weeks and his Iranian counterpart said Tehran had "the necessary will" to bring it to an end.
But while the remarks from the two leaders provided hope for an end to the month-long crisis, crude prices jumped on lingering worries about the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
They also come as the economic impact of the conflict worsens, with average US gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon for the first time in four years, European inflation spiking, and governments unveiling a range of support measures.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office the United States would be leaving Iran "very soon", perhaps within "two weeks, maybe three".
"But we're finishing the job," he insisted.
"We want to knock out every single thing they have," Trump said, before adding that "it's possible that we'll make a deal before that."
The White House also said he would address the nation at 0100 GMT Thursday "to provide an important update on Iran".
Earlier, Iranian leader Masoud Pezeshkian told the head of the European Council the country had "the necessary will to end this conflict, provided that essential conditions are met -- especially the guarantees required to prevent repetition of the aggression".
Wall Street surged, with the Nasdaq up 3.8 percent and the S&P 500 adding almost three percent.
In Asia, Seoul -- the standout before the war but among the worst-hit since it started -- was up more than six percent, while Tokyo and Taipei gained at least four percent.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta were also sharply higher.
Traders appeared to brush off Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments that Israel would press ahead with its campaign and that "we will continue to crush the terror regime".
However, Trump also said US forces would not work to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas passes, and said it was up to other countries to do so.
"What happens with the strait we're not going to have anything to do with," he said.
In a Truth Social post earlier Tuesday, Trump lashed out at NATO allies and other countries that have refused to help the United States secure the waterway.
"The U.S.A. won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us," he wrote. "Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"
The remarks came after he said Monday he was willing to end the war even if the strait remained closed.
Trump has zigzagged on whether Washington plans to escalate the conflict -- possibly by deploying American ground forces -- or try to end it through negotiations.
Still, City Index's Fiona Cincotta warned in a commentary: "Even if outright military tensions ease, the economic damage from elevated oil prices may already be feeding through.
"With oil still above $100 a barrel, higher energy costs are likely to tighten financial conditions, raise inflation pressures, and weigh on growth."
She added that "diplomatic signals remain mixed, and as long as uncertainty persists and shipping disruptions remain in place, oil prices are likely to stay elevated".
Both main crude contracts rose more than one percent Wednesday, a day after Brent dived more than three percent and West Texas Intermediate shed 1.5 percent.
That came as more US troops continued to arrive in the region, and after the Wall Street Journal cited Arab officials as saying the United Arab Emirates was preparing to help Washington open the Strait by force, which would make it the first Gulf nation to join the battle.
The report said the UAE, which has been targeted by Iran during the war, was lobbying for a United Nations Security Council resolution to authorise such action.
The head of maritime analyst group Kpler told AFP Asia faced the gravest fallout from the war.
"We think Asia will, for now, be the ones suffering the most," president Jean Maynier said.

Key figures at around 0230 GMT

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.3 percent at $102.73 a barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.5 percent at $105.50 a barrel
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 4.0 percent at 53,128.33 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.0 percent at 25,278.50
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 3,947.40
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1566 from $1.1551 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3239 from $1.3236
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.70 from 158.77 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 87.38 pence from 87.28 pence
New York - Dow: UP 2.5 percent at 46,341.51 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,176.45 (close)
dan/mjw

data

AI giant Anthropic says 'exploring' Australia data centre investments

BY STEVEN TRASK

  • "Australia's investment in AI safety makes it a natural partner for responsible AI development."
  • Artificial intelligence giant Anthropic is eyeing data centre investments in Australia, saying Wednesday the nation was a "natural partner" for work in the booming sector.
  • "Australia's investment in AI safety makes it a natural partner for responsible AI development."
Artificial intelligence giant Anthropic is eyeing data centre investments in Australia, saying Wednesday the nation was a "natural partner" for work in the booming sector.
With immense renewable energy potential and vast stretches of uninhabited land, Australia has touted itself as a prime location for the power-hungry data centres needed to power AI.
US-based Anthropic said it was "exploring investments in data centre infrastructure and energy throughout the country" after signing a memorandum of understanding with the Australian government.
"The visit to Australia marks the beginning of long-term collaboration and investment into the Asia-Pacific region," the technology company said in a statement.
"Australia's investment in AI safety makes it a natural partner for responsible AI development."
The agreement, signed by Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei in capital Canberra, said the firm would abide by local laws to "maintain strong social licence for investment".  
Australia's arts sector has accused Anthropic and other AI companies of pushing to loosen copyright laws so chatbots can be trained on local songs and books.
Anthropic said it had also agreed to share AI research and safety information with Australian regulators, mirroring similar agreements in Japan and Britain.
Industry Minister Tim Ayres said Australia and Anthropic would "harness AI responsibly". 

Energy-intensive

New data centres -- warehouse facilities that store files and power AI tools -- are springing up worldwide.
But there are increasing fears about the environmental impact of hulking data hubs.
Singapore halted data centre developments between 2019 and 2022 over energy, water and land use worries.
Australia last week adopted new rules governing the operation of data centres.
Tech companies must show how they will source renewable energy and minimise their emissions.
"As demand for AI grows, continued expansion of data centre infrastructure must reflect Australian values and be environmentally and socially sustainable," the guidelines state.
Anthropic's Claude is the Pentagon's most widely-deployed frontier AI model and the only such model currently operating on its classified systems.
But the company is locked in a dispute with the US government, after saying it would refuse to let its systems be used for mass surveillance.
Washington has since described Anthropic's tools as an "unacceptable risk to national security".
The United States has not only blocked use of the company's technology by the Pentagon, but also requires all defense contractors to certify that they do not use Anthropic's models.
sft/mjw

environment

The reality of restarting North Sea oil drilling

BY ALI BEKHTAOUI

  • - Why call for North Sea drilling?
  • As the Middle East war drives up oil prices, the UK's main opposition Conservative party is urging the government to restart drilling in the North Sea -- echoing repeated calls from US President Donald Trump.
  • - Why call for North Sea drilling?
As the Middle East war drives up oil prices, the UK's main opposition Conservative party is urging the government to restart drilling in the North Sea -- echoing repeated calls from US President Donald Trump.
Experts warn, however, that the proposal runs up against geological and economic realities.

Why call for North Sea drilling?

The Conservatives, who are heavily outnumbered in parliament, are preparing legislation aimed at removing barriers to oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, in order to facilitate access to domestic fossil fuel resources.
They echo Trump's repeated criticism of Britain's Labour government for failing to sufficiently exploit offshore reserves, even as the UK faces some of the highest energy prices in Europe.
"Go get your own oil!" Trump again urged on Tuesday in a post on Truth Social, without explicitly naming any country.
"Drilling in the North Sea and expanding other sources of generation" is the "only way we can protect families from rising bills, keep the cost of energy down for business, and control inflation," Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wrote in a blog post.
The Labour government, meanwhile, has pledged to halt new exploration licences in the North Sea for environmental reasons, although it slightly softened its policy in November.

What would be the impact?

While supporters argue that restarting drilling would strengthen security and energy independence, experts interviewed by AFP emphasised major constraints for both oil and gas.
The area that "the UK has access to is a very mature, depleted basin," Tessa Khan, an environmental lawyer, told AFP. 
"The productivity of that -- in terms of how much you could extract from it -- peaked in the late 1990s and it's been in decline ever since," she added.
Structural limits also apply, as production cannot immediately be redirected to domestic consumption. 
"The UK is part of oil and gas international markets, and we have to remain part of these markets because we need to import," said Simon Cran-McGreehin, an analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a non-profit research group.
Prices are set on these markets according to supply and demand, and the UK's low level of production has little, if any, impact on them.
"Bringing in new production takes years, which means that any new oil and gas would arrive long after the crisis has passed," the UK Energy Research Centre said in a recent briefing.

What are the other solutions?

The quest for energy independence has returned to the forefront since the start of the Middle East war, as it did after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, which sent gas prices soaring.
Two options are often put forward by experts: reducing fossil fuel consumption and significantly expanding renewables.
"The UK has one of the biggest offshore wind markets in the world," Khan said.
"We already have a backlog of renewable energy projects that are waiting for grid connections," and the timelines are potentially "much shorter" than for fossil fuel projects.
Renewables also offer stronger job creation prospects.
According to a study by Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen released last year, the workforce in the oil and gas sector could be cut in half by the early 2030s, while jobs in renewables are projected to nearly triple by 2035.
alb-ajb/jkb/giv/ceg

indicator

US auto sales seen falling as car market awaits war impact

BY ELODIE MAZEIN

  • A bigger factor than the war in the first quarter will be the market dynamics compared with last year, when worries about expected tariffs from President Donald Trump prompted shoppers to rush car purchases.
  • Carmakers are expected to report lower first-quarter US sales as the Middle East war clouds the industry's outlook compared with unusually favorable dynamics a year ago.
  • A bigger factor than the war in the first quarter will be the market dynamics compared with last year, when worries about expected tariffs from President Donald Trump prompted shoppers to rush car purchases.
Carmakers are expected to report lower first-quarter US sales as the Middle East war clouds the industry's outlook compared with unusually favorable dynamics a year ago.
The US-Israeli offensive on Iran, launched on February 28, has boosted oil prices by more than 50 percent, sending gasoline prices to more than $4 a gallon.
While that adds to the affordability challenges facing the industry, experts and automakers say it is too soon to determine the war's overall impact on sales.
"We're certainly keeping an eye on this situation," Toyota said. "At this stage, however, it's too early to determine how the industry will be impacted."
Cox Automotive forecasts a 0.1 percent dip in Toyota's auto sales in the first quarter.
A bigger factor than the war in the first quarter will be the market dynamics compared with last year, when worries about expected tariffs from President Donald Trump prompted shoppers to rush car purchases.
Cox Automative expects sales drops of more than nine percent for both General Motors and Ford compared with a year earlier, when both automakers reported sizzling sales amid the tariff headlines.
Exactly how the Iran conflict impacts auto sales will depend on the length of the fighting, especially if higher inflation prompts central banks to keep interest rates high, or raise them higher. 
"The current Middle East conflict adds tremendous amount of uncertainty to the vehicle market," said Charlie Chesbrough, economist at Cox Automotive.

Impact on EVs?

The auto information website Edmunds projects US car sales of 3.7 million in the first quarter, down 6.5 percent from the year-ago period.
"Between severe weather, geopolitical uncertainty, rising gas prices and ongoing affordability challenges, it's no surprise sales are down year over year," Edmunds said.
Deutsche Bank said it did not anticipate an "immediate near-term impact" from the Mideast war on volumes, confirming an outlook of 15.8 million sales for this year, down 2.5 percent from last year.
Analysts that track electric vehicle maker Tesla expect it sold 365,645 units in the first quarter, which would be an increase of 8.6 percent from the 2025 period but a decrease of 12.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2025.
The outlook for EV sales has been clouded by US President Donald Trump's elimination of tax credits to encourage sales of the climate-friendly autos.
But an extended period of high energy prices due to the Iran war could spark greater interest in EVs.
Searches for EVs on Edmunds accounted for 23.8 percent of customer queries in the week of March 16, up from 20.7 percent at the end of February.
"While higher gas prices can spur interest in electrified vehicles, they typically need to be sustained or more pronounced to drive a meaningful shift," said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds.
"Right now, many consumers appear to view the latest spike as temporary," she said.
Previous oil-price spikes have sent automobile markets into tailspins: Sales dropped 44.7 percent the year after the 1973 oil shock and more than 40 percent after the 1979 Iranian Revolution led to another steep increase in crude prices.
Auto sales also plunged in the year after the 2008 financial crisis, dropping 45.5 percent, and were down 12.7 percent after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to figures from Anderson Economic Group.
But more efficient vehicles in the United States combined with the country's domestic energy production means the "US is now energy sufficient overall," said Patrick Anderson, CEO of the research group.
elm-jmb/js

US

Middle East war: global economic fallout

  • Japanese and South Korean stock indexes soared in early trade on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump indicated that the war with Iran may end in around two weeks.
  • Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war: - Stocks soar, oil retreats - Oil prices fell after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had the "necessary will" to end the war with Israel and the United States, but was seeking guarantees that the conflict would not be repeated.
  • Japanese and South Korean stock indexes soared in early trade on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump indicated that the war with Iran may end in around two weeks.
Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

Stocks soar, oil retreats

Oil prices fell after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had the "necessary will" to end the war with Israel and the United States, but was seeking guarantees that the conflict would not be repeated.
Japanese and South Korean stock indexes soared in early trade on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump indicated that the war with Iran may end in around two weeks.
Wall Street stocks had already rocketed higher on Tuesday, with the blue-chip Dow index finishing up 2.5 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbing 3.8 percent. 
Crude was still trading well above $100 a barrel, however.

Desalination plant hit

Strikes have knocked out a desalination plant on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported, without saying when the attack took place.
"One of the desalination plants on Qeshm Island was targeted... and is now completely out of service, as it is not possible to repair it in the short term," the ISNA news agency reported, quoting health ministry official Mohsen Farhadi.

China ships transit

China's foreign ministry thanked "the relevant parties" on Tuesday for helping three Chinese ships to transit out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Two container vessels belonging to shipping giant Cosco passed through the strait on Monday, tracking data showed. Beijing gave no detail on the third ship.

Eurozone inflation

Eurozone inflation rose to 2.5 percent in March, the highest level since January 2025, owing to surging energy prices caused by the Middle East war.

Asia war woes

Asia faces the gravest fallout from the war and is confronting a major energy crisis, the head of global maritime analytics firm Kpler told AFP.
Jean Maynier said the continent did not have enough energy resources to cover the gap, adding: "It will not be enough in China, it will not be enough to cover in big countries like the Philippines or Indonesia. So it's a real energy crisis."

Indonesia rations fuel

Indonesia announced fuel rationing and mandated work from home for civil servants as it seeks to conserve energy stocks amid global price hikes because of the Middle East war.
It earlier said it would not increase fuel prices despite rising budget pressures from the war.

Kuwait tanker blaze

An Iranian attack sparked a fire on a Kuwaiti oil tanker at Dubai Port, state media reported on Tuesday. There were no injuries, according to the report, and Dubai authorities later said firefighters had extinguished the blaze.
Maritime intelligence agency Vanguard and ship tracker MarineTraffic identified the ship as the Al Salmi, a 332-metre (1090-feet) long Kuwait-flagged crude tanker.

Ethiopia rations fuel

Ethiopia will prioritise vehicles transporting essential goods and those in the public transport sector at fuel stations as the country grapples with shortages caused by the Middle East war, authorities said Tuesday.

Sri Lanka hikes electricity

Sri Lanka announced a nearly 40 percent increase in electricity prices from Wednesday as it battles an energy shortage caused by the war in the Middle East.
Sri Lanka has raised fuel prices three times this month, increasing them by more than a third, and has imposed a four-day working week in a bid to save energy.
burs-rl-gc/des

US

Trump says Iran war could end in 'two weeks, maybe three,' to address US

BY AFP TEAMS IN JERUSALEM, WASHINGTON, TEHRAN, BEIRUT AND DUBAI

  • In a Truth Social post earlier Tuesday, Trump lashed out at NATO allies and other countries that have refused to help the United States secure the strait.
  • US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the war with Iran may be over in two or three weeks and it will be up to other countries to secure the vital Strait of Hormuz oil shipping channel.
  • In a Truth Social post earlier Tuesday, Trump lashed out at NATO allies and other countries that have refused to help the United States secure the strait.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the war with Iran may be over in two or three weeks and it will be up to other countries to secure the vital Strait of Hormuz oil shipping channel.
The White House announced meanwhile that Trump would give an address to the nation at 9:00 pm Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday) "to provide an important update on Iran."
In other developments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the joint campaign against Iran had "changed the face of the Middle East" and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran had the "necessary will" to end the war provided its enemies guaranteed it would not flare up again.
In Lebanon, the health ministry said early Wednesday that seven people were killed in Israeli strikes in south Beirut and a nearby area and the Israeli military said it had struck a senior Hezbollah commander.
Israel's campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah has left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, according to the health ministry, with over a million displaced.
US stocks surged on hopes that a resolution to the month-long war may be in sight and Brent oil futures finished down 3.2 percent at $103.97 per barrel.
Japan's Nikkei climbed more than three percent at the open Wednesday and South Korea's Kospi was up nearly five percent.
Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said the United States would be leaving Iran "very soon," perhaps within "two weeks, maybe three."
"But we're finishing the job," he insisted.
"We want to knock out every single thing they have," Trump said, before adding that "it's possible that we'll make a deal before that."
Trump has zigzagged previously on whether Washington plans to escalate the war that has roiled the world economy -- possibly by deploying American ground forces -- or try to end it through negotiations with Tehran.

'Go get your own oil!'

As for Hormuz, which has been blockaded by Iran and through which one-fifth of global oil normally passes, Trump said France, China and other countries that seek passage through the waterway will have to "fend for themselves."
"What happens with the strait we're not going to have anything to do with," he said.
In a Truth Social post earlier Tuesday, Trump lashed out at NATO allies and other countries that have refused to help the United States secure the strait.
"The U.S.A. won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us," he wrote. "Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"
Netanyahu, in a televised statement on the eve of the Passover holidays, said Israeli forces "will continue to crush the terror regime" in Tehran.
"We had to act, and we acted," he said. "We have changed the face of the Middle East."
The United States has not said who it is speaking with in Iran, which has denied it is in talks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that he still receives messages from US envoy Steve Witkoff, "directly, as before, and this does not mean that we are in negotiations."
Iran's Revolutionary Guards also threatened to retaliate against leading US tech firms such as Google, Meta and Apple from Wednesday if more Iranian leaders were assassinated.
Trump and Netanyahu launched the war on February 28, killing Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and setting off a wave of retaliatory attacks by Tehran across the region.
The Guards charged that 18 companies, including Intel, Tesla and Palantir, were complicit in previous killings and warned they should expect "destruction" if there are any further assassinations.

'Darkness and weight'

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, speaking to reporters early Tuesday after he visited US troops in the Middle East, vowed that "the upcoming days will be decisive.
"Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it."
Trump had threatened on Monday that if Iran didn't agree to a deal, US forces would "obliterate" its oil wells, its main Kharg Island export terminal, and possibly water desalination plants.
On Tuesday, heavy strikes hit the central city of Isfahan and Tehran.
Iranian media reported that two steel complexes in the country had been hit.
Iranian state media also reported damage to a Shia religious centre in Zanjan, while the government said airstrikes had hit a plant making cancer drugs, claims AFP could not independently verify.
Tehran residents spoke of trying to cling to some routine.
"When I make it to a cafe table, even for a few minutes, I can almost believe the world hasn't ended," dental assistant Fatemeh, 27, told AFP in Paris via a messaging app. 
"And then I go back home, back to the reality of living through war, with all its darkness and weight."
burs/cl/mlm

Iran

At gas stations, Americans say they're 'paying the price' of Iran war

BY MYRIAM LEMETAYER

  • Kristen, a 36-year-old teacher who only gave her first name, said that while the fuel prices hurt, it was "selfish" of people to complain about the war only when it affects their household budgets.
  • At a gas station in the Washington suburbs, drivers confronted the harsh domestic repercussions of the war on Iran, as spiking fuel prices hit household budgets hard.
  • Kristen, a 36-year-old teacher who only gave her first name, said that while the fuel prices hurt, it was "selfish" of people to complain about the war only when it affects their household budgets.
At a gas station in the Washington suburbs, drivers confronted the harsh domestic repercussions of the war on Iran, as spiking fuel prices hit household budgets hard.
Jeanne Williams, 83, had just driven 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Richmond, Virginia, where she was visiting her elder sister.
"That is horrible," she said, stunned by the prices visible on the Liberty gas station's LED board.
"I'm not angry. I'm just bewildered, confused, unhappy," she said. "Because we didn't ask for the war."
On Tuesday, the average US price of a gallon (3.78 liters) of regular gasoline crossed the psychological barrier of $4.00, having increased 35 percent since the US-Israeli strikes that launched the conflict, according to data from the AAA motor club.
The station where Williams stopped is situated along a busy road in the city of Falls Church, nestled between an Anglican church, an auto repair shop and a dentist's office.
Prices there started at $3.79 per gallon -- provided you pay in cash. Rates are higher if you use debit or credit cards. A little further down the road, the rate was as high as $4.25 per gallon.
Williams, a retired civil servant who is undergoing cancer treatment, considers her pension to be "fairly decent," but as the US cost of living has risen, she has had to dip into her savings.
"Luckily, I have no children. I don't have a spouse, so it's just me and whatever I have I help my sister with."

'Ridiculous'

US inflation has reduced from a peak of 9.1 percent in the pandemic, but prices have remained stubbornly high and analysts warn the world's largest economy has still not achieved price stability.
The years of higher-than-expected prices have battered US households.
Eliza Winger, a US economist with Bloomberg, said that an increase in fuel prices does not just hit people at the pump, it also reduces their overall consumption -- with possible knock-on effects for the economy.
"We estimate that 10 percent increase in oil prices reduces real consumer spending by approximately 0.2 percent," she said. US fuel prices have increased by more than three times that amount since the start of the war.
And on Tuesday, a new US consumer confidence report showed that people's inflation expectations had surged in March to levels last seen around seven months ago.
Luis Ramos, a 26-year-old New York City resident, told AFP he was already feeling battered by the high cost of living.
"It's ridiculous, honestly. Seeing these gas prices skyrocket, it's incredible," he said at a gas station in New Jersey. "The cost of living is already skyrocketing."

'Should have cared'

David Lee, a 39-year-old at the suburban gas station outside Washington, fills up his tank twice a week.
"I feel like every time I fill it up, I probably filling up at least $10 more than what I used to pay," he told AFP.
The anesthesiologist said he made enough to afford it, "but I've seen a lot of my friends complaining about it that they're not gonna drive as much as they used to."
Joseph Crouch, 77, finds himself in that situation.
"It's ridiculous," he said, lamenting how he has had to cut down on driving. "The prices are so high. I don't think government is knowing what it's doing."
"We are paying the price" of the war, he said. "They trying to say it's something else, but it's definitely a war." 
Crouch, who walks with the aid of a cane, proudly wore a hat proclaiming that he was a veteran of the Vietnam war.
Fred Koester, 78, called the conflict a "stupid war" that was "totally unnecessary."
Kristen, a 36-year-old teacher who only gave her first name, said that while the fuel prices hurt, it was "selfish" of people to complain about the war only when it affects their household budgets.
"We should have cared long before it affects our pocket," she said.
myl-aha/pnb/des

investments

OpenAI raises $122 billion in boosted funding round

  • The funding round included a diverse set of partners including Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Softbank, according to OpenAI. In an unusual move, some $3 billion was reportedly raised from individual investors.
  • OpenAI on Tuesday said that the startup was valued at $852 billion in a freshly closed funding round that raised $122 billion.
  • The funding round included a diverse set of partners including Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Softbank, according to OpenAI. In an unusual move, some $3 billion was reportedly raised from individual investors.
OpenAI on Tuesday said that the startup was valued at $852 billion in a freshly closed funding round that raised $122 billion.
The eye-watering level of funding came in higher than originally projected, reflecting the surging costs of computing power and arriving amid lingering questions about whether OpenAI and other AI companies can generate sufficient revenue to cover expenses.
"The capital being deployed today is helping build the infrastructure layer for intelligence itself," OpenAI said in a blog post.
"Over time, that value will flow back into the economy, to companies, to communities, and increasingly to individuals."
The ChatGPT-maker said that its revenue rate of $2 billion monthly is quickly growing.
The funding round included a diverse set of partners including Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Softbank, according to OpenAI.
In an unusual move, some $3 billion was reportedly raised from individual investors.
ChatGPT claims the top position in consumer AI, with more than 900 million weekly active users and some 50 million subscribers.
Use of ChatGPT's online search engine has tripled over the course of a year, according to OpenAI.
"These are not just growth milestones -- they show that frontier AI is becoming part of everyday life for people around the world," the San Francisco-based startup said in the post.
The company in February began rolling out advertising for its non-premium users in a bid to bring in more revenue.
OpenAI also announced that it is building a "superapp" that will combine ChatGPT, internet browsing, a Codex coding tool, and agentic capabilities that allow digital assistants to independently tend to tasks.
The massive funding round comes with anticipation that OpenAI is planning to become a publicly traded company this year as competition intesifies in the AI sector.
Arch-rival Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees, continues to gain ground and grab headlines for its well-regarded Claude AI models.
Anthropic earlier this year secured a $30 billion funding round.
Google's AI model Gemini has emerged as another potent competitor, with Elon Musk's xAI also attracting investment and users.
gc/jgc

Global Edition

US stocks surge on hopes Iran war will end soon

  • Even before Pezeshkian's remarks, US and European stocks had risen following reports that President Donald Trump had said he was willing to end the war even if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened.
  • Wall Street stocks rocketed higher Tuesday while oil prices retreated after Iran's president said his country had the "necessary will" to end the war with the United States and Israel, lifting hopes that a resolution was in site.
  • Even before Pezeshkian's remarks, US and European stocks had risen following reports that President Donald Trump had said he was willing to end the war even if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened.
Wall Street stocks rocketed higher Tuesday while oil prices retreated after Iran's president said his country had the "necessary will" to end the war with the United States and Israel, lifting hopes that a resolution was in site.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a phone call with the president of the European Council, said Iran had "the necessary will to end this conflict, provided that essential conditions are met -- especially the guarantees required to prevent repetition of the aggression."
The comments prompted a surge in US equities, with the blue-chip Dow index finishing up 2.5 percent, or more than 1,125 points, at 46,341.51.
"This is the first concrete communication coming from Iran that feels verifiable," said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management. "The market has been coiled for good news after having been down the last five weeks."
Stocks appeared to shrug off subsequent remarks from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the more than month-long military campaign against Tehran was not over, vowing to crush Iran's "terror regime."
Pezeshkian's remarks also shifted the oil market, which has been a major driver of financial markets since the US and Israel began their attacks on Iran on February 28.
Brent oil futures finished down 3.2 percent at $103.97 a barrel.
Even before Pezeshkian's remarks, US and European stocks had risen following reports that President Donald Trump had said he was willing to end the war even if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened.
But worries about oil supplies continue to hang over markets. 
The head of a maritime analyst group warned in an interview with AFP that Asia was confronting a major energy crisis as it faces the gravest fallout from the war.
"We think Asia will, for now, be the ones suffering the most," Kpler president Jean Maynier told AFP at the company's offices in Singapore.
Oil "remains painfully high for economies to deal with," noted Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.
In a sign that Trump will likely face pressure to bring crude prices down, the American Automobile Association said US gas prices jumped above an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022, when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. 
European stocks rose despite data showing that eurozone inflation leapt in March because of surging energy prices, hitting its highest level since January 2025.
Consumer prices rose 2.5 percent, up sharply from 1.9 percent in February, the EU's statistics agency said.
Asia's main stock markets closed mixed.

Key figures at around 2030 GMT

Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 3.2 percent at $103.97 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.5 percent at $101.38 a barrel
New York - Dow: UP 2.5 percent at 46,341.51 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 2.9 percent at 6,528.52 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 3.8 percent at 21,590.63 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 10,176.45 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 7,816.94 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.5 percent at 22,680.04 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.6 percent at 51,063.72 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 24,788.14 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,891.86 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1551 from $1.1465 on Monday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3236 from $1.3186
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.77 from 159.71 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 87.28 pence from 86.94 pence
burs-jmb/js

Global Edition

Dizzying month on markets with Middle East war

BY FLORIAN CAZERES

  • - Sovereign yields climb - With inflation set to surge on higher oil prices investors have demanded higher yields on government bonds.
  • Oil prices soaring, bond yields climbing and equities slumping... financial markets saw dizzying movements in March thanks to the war in the Middle East.
  • - Sovereign yields climb - With inflation set to surge on higher oil prices investors have demanded higher yields on government bonds.
Oil prices soaring, bond yields climbing and equities slumping... financial markets saw dizzying movements in March thanks to the war in the Middle East.

Oil prices on fire, stagflation stalks

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude transited before the war, sent oil prices skyrocketing. 
The price of Brent crude, the benchmark international oil contract, soared nearly 50 percent.
That is a record monthly gain since Bloomberg began compiling data on oil prices in 1988.
WTI, the benchmark US oil contract, closed above the symbolic level of $100 per barrel on Monday. It could see its biggest monthly gain since 2020.
Economist Sylvain Bersinger called it a "mini oil shock".
The surge in oil prices raises the risk of stagflation, a period of high inflation and feeble growth that central banks find difficult to handle, as lowering interest rates to support growth feeds inflation while raising rates provokes a recession. 

Stocks in the red

Stocks slumped as soaring oil prices are bad for economic growth. 
In Europe, where indices were flirting with record levels, pulled sharply lower.
The CAC 40 index in Paris fell 8.9 percent in March, its worst monthly performance since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. 
The Stoxx Europe 600 index, which includes the largest companies on the continent, and Frankfurt's DAX, both turned in their worst monthly performance since June 2022.
In Asia, Tokyo fell 13.2 percent and Seoul tumbled 19.1 percent.
Wall Street's main indices were heading towards monthly losses of around seven percent.

Dollar strengthens

The dollar strengthened as investors sought it out as a safe haven asset. It gained 2.4 percent versus the euro in March. It had been falling in previous months over concerns about US President Donald Trump's policies.
The dollar also benefitted from being the currency used to trade oil. Higher prices meant countries needed to purchase more dollars to buy oil.
The US economy's self-sufficiency in oil and gas also means it is likely to feel less the consequences of an oil shock. 
Some investors "sold all their holdings to move their money to the United States," said Eric Bleines, deputy director at Swiss Life Gestion privee, a wealth management firm.

Sovereign yields climb

With inflation set to surge on higher oil prices investors have demanded higher yields on government bonds.
The German 10-year Bund is the reference in the eurozone. It rose to above three percent -- its highest level since 2011 -- compared to 2.7 percent before the war. 
The rate on 10-year French government bonds rose above 3.7 percent, hitting levels unseen since 2009, potentially complicating the government's efforts to bring down the budget deficit as debt financing costs rise.
- Volatility - 
Markets were also stuck by severe volatility as Trump's zig-zagging positions, sometimes within the same appearance, yanked prices in different directions.
Trump's numerous threats against Iran sometimes prompted investors to make so-called TACO trades -- Trump Always Chickens Out -- betting that the US president would not follow through. 
They didn't always pan out as Trump continued to prosecute the war.
"Things can go in any direction, every day," said ING analyst Vincent Juvyns.
He urged investors to keep their cool.
"Historically, over the long term, markets recover following geopolitical shocks," he said.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank said markets will continue to be driven by headlines and movements in oil prices.
"Until there is meaningful progress toward peace, any rebound in equities, bonds or gold is likely to remain fragile," she said.
fcz/rl/giv

Iran

EU says 'necessary' to reduce fuel demand to cope with energy crisis

  • In a letter to member states seen by AFP he urged further coordination "for an effective and efficient planning of the release of stocks" to optimise the demand and supply balance "for a longer period of time". 
  • The EU urged member states Tuesday to try to push down domestic demand for fuel and prepare to secure oil supplies, warning of potentially prolonged effects of the Middle East war on energy prices.
  • In a letter to member states seen by AFP he urged further coordination "for an effective and efficient planning of the release of stocks" to optimise the demand and supply balance "for a longer period of time". 
The EU urged member states Tuesday to try to push down domestic demand for fuel and prepare to secure oil supplies, warning of potentially prolonged effects of the Middle East war on energy prices.
US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory strikes have roiled markets and triggered a surge in energy prices.
"It is clear that the more you can do to save oil, especially diesel, especially jet fuel, the better we are off," EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen told a press conference in Brussels. 
"We are in a situation that might worsen where indeed, demand reduction is necessary," he added, after video talks with energy ministers from the 27-nation bloc.
The European Commission has repeatedly said supplies are not an issue at this stage for the 27-nation bloc, but high prices are a matter of concern.
To ease the impact of the war, EU countries have contributed to the release of about 400 million barrels of strategic reserves under the coordination of the International Energy Agency (IEA) -- the biggest such release ever.
But Jorgensen said governments needed to prepare for a "potentially prolonged disruption of international energy trade".
"We need to act already now, and we need to act together," he said in a statement ahead of the talks.
In a letter to member states seen by AFP he urged further coordination "for an effective and efficient planning of the release of stocks" to optimise the demand and supply balance "for a longer period of time". 

Infrastructure 'ruined'

The Iran war has virtually halted activity in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude supplies and a substantial amount of liquefied natural gas normally run.
While the EU gets most of its oil and gas from elsewhere in the world, high global prices are nevertheless affecting business and families. 
In just over a month the conflict has added an extra 14 billion euros ($16 billion) to Europe's fossil fuels imports bill, Jorgensen said.
From Spain to Croatia, several member states have sought to contain energy costs with tax reductions, caps on fuel prices and other measures.
Cautioning that there was no one-size-fits-all solution, Jorgensen called on EU governments to consider measures to reduce fuel demand such as encouraging remote work and public transport use and reducing highway speed limits.
"Even if there was a peace tomorrow, there would still be consequences, because energy infrastructure in the region has been ruined," he told reporters.
del-ub-adc/ec/rl

energy

Italy delays coal phase-out by over a decade

BY ELLA IDE

  • Italy currently has four coal-fired power stations.
  • Italy's parliament voted Tuesday to delay the closure of the country's coal-fired power stations by over a decade, a move experts slammed as "worrying" political propaganda.
  • Italy currently has four coal-fired power stations.
Italy's parliament voted Tuesday to delay the closure of the country's coal-fired power stations by over a decade, a move experts slammed as "worrying" political propaganda.
In a fresh challenge to the EU's green transition, Giorgia Meloni's hard-right coalition government pushed the shutdown back from 2026 to 2038 on "energy security" grounds.
Italy is heavily reliant on imported gas and Rome is under pressure from industry and consumers over the rise in already sky-high energy costs due to the Middle East war.
While Brussels insists that phasing out coal is key to achieving the EU's climate goals, Rome says it may be forced to use its coal-fired power stations if gas prices continue upwards.
But experts who spoke to AFP said that reactivating the plants would not lower electricity prices.
Italy's move comes as others including Germany, South Korea, the Philippines and Japan, have similarly signalled that coal-fired plants could ease energy woes caused by the war.
The Italian government's bill extending the phase-out was approved by the lower house of parliament Tuesday, and now goes to the Senate, where the ruling coalition has a majority.
The delay is "a worryingly backward-looking political signal", while "any security gain is far from guaranteed", Beatrice Petrovich, senior energy analyst at energy think tank Ember, told AFP.
Only Germany, Poland, and Bulgaria share a coal phase-out date as unambitious as Italy's new one, she said.
The EU's climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, who was in Rome Tuesday for a hearing with senators on Italy's energy mix, declined to comment on Rome's decision.

'Old fleet'

Climate think tank ECCO said Rome's postponement was "symbolically damaging, but low-impact in practice -- at least for now".
"The government is deliberately maintaining ambiguity between 'not dismantling' and 'actually using' coal plants for political gains", it said.
Italy currently has four coal-fired power stations. Two of them are on the mainland, are dormant and lost their authorisation to burn coal in January, ECCO said.
Restarting them would mean applying for new permits, a process that takes years and would be subject to significant legal and community opposition, it said.
The other two are in Sardinia, and are earmarked for closure in 2028-2029, once the island is electrically linked to the mainland via a new submarine cable.
ECCO's Executive Director Luca Bergamaschi told AFP Italy's "old and largely non-operational coal fleet would be very expensive to restart". 
Petrovich agreed that "coal plays a minor role in Italy's power mix and this won't change going forward".
Italy's total coal generation in 2025 was approximately 2,975 GWh, and less than 1 percent of national electricity output, according to state-controlled power grid operator Terna.
There is no financial incentive for operators to return to coal, and the price of coal imported to Europe has recently surged, the experts said.
Coal is also uncompetitive against gas under the EU's carbon tax scheme.
Including it in the energy security tool-kit "risks being an additional burden on Italy's electricity consumers, who already pay some of the highest electricity prices in the EU", Petrovich said.
ide/ams/rl 

US

Israel weathers energy shock from Iran war even as world battles crisis

BY GIANLUCA PACCHIANI

  • - Resilient supply chains - On the oil front, Israel's supply chains have proved resilient, largely because they bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has thrown the global economic system into turmoil, yet Israel, which launched attacks on Tehran alongside the United States, has emerged as a rare exception.
  • - Resilient supply chains - On the oil front, Israel's supply chains have proved resilient, largely because they bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has thrown the global economic system into turmoil, yet Israel, which launched attacks on Tehran alongside the United States, has emerged as a rare exception.
Since Israel and its US ally started the Middle East war on February 28, economies from Asia to Europe and the United States have come under pressure from surging oil and natural gas prices that have driven up fuel and electricity costs.
Israel, however, has remained largely insulated from the shock. Central to this has been a trio of major gas fields sitting deep below the Mediterranean.
"The discovery of offshore natural gas has allowed Israel to be in a situation where it isn't feeling the economic pinch on the energy front the way that other countries are," said Gabriel Mitchell, energy security analyst and Visiting Policy Fellow at the German Marshall Fund.
Natural gas, all of which comes from those three fields, now accounts for 70 percent of Israel's electricity generation and 45 percent of its total energy supply, according to the International Energy Agency.
The sale of that gas is governed by long-term, fixed-price contracts which have helped keep prices steady despite the war.
Nevertheless, the conflict has still impacted Israel's gas production.
At the outbreak of the war, Israel ordered energy giants Chevron and Energean to suspend operations at two of the three fields, Leviathan and Karish respectively, as a precaution against potential missile strikes.
The shutdowns also cut off exports to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan, which take the vast majority of Leviathan's output.
A strike on a pressurised, operational gas field would be devastating, said Amit Mor, a senior lecturer at Reichman University.
"Once a platform is hit by a missile, the explosion might be enormous and might be a total loss which takes years and billions of dollars to rebuild," he said.

'The existential one'

That leaves the Tamar field as Israel's energy lifeline.
Producing roughly 11 billion cubic metres (BCM) of gas annually, Tamar nearly covers Israel's entire domestic consumption of 12 to 13 billion cubic metres of gas per year.
"Tamar is the existential one," said Mitchell.
"Israel can live without exporting natural gas to its neighbours. It can live without operating the Karish field temporarily. But from a national security perspective, Tamar is essential."
To compensate for the shortfall created by the shutdowns, Israel has relied on a mix of alternative energy sources.
Coal-fired plants, previously converted to gas but which retained a dual-fuel capability, have been reactivated.
Diesel generation has also been brought online, though at a cost.
Both fuels are significantly more expensive than natural gas, and Israeli electricity consumers can expect tariffs to rise accordingly when the Electricity Authority revises rates in June.
For Israel's gas-importing neighbours, though, the picture is a grim one.
Jordan and Egypt rely heavily on Gulf fuel imports and gas from the now-shuttered Leviathan field.
Egypt this month imposed a 9 pm curfew on shops, restaurants and malls to curb energy use with prices having more than doubled since the start of the war.
Both Amman and Cairo have reportedly formally requested that Israel resume gas exports.
Israel has reportedly rejected their requests, prioritising its own wartime energy security over regional supply commitments.

Resilient supply chains

On the oil front, Israel's supply chains have proved resilient, largely because they bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Most of Israel's oil comes from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, flowing through pipelines into Turkey before being shipped by sea.
Oil prices, however, are set by the global market and while there haven't been shortages in Israel, prices at the pump have still shot up.
Israel's energy ministry said that petrol would hit eight shekels ($2.50) a litre for the first time in two years. Israel already had among the highest prices in the world.
Oil supplies are also a strategic consideration for the country.
Israel's largest oil refinery, Bazan in the northern port city of Haifa, also produces the jet fuel powering the Israeli air force's long-range strike missions in Iran.
The plant has been struck by Iranian missiles three times, including on Sunday, but was quickly repaired each time and remains largely operational.
"A round trip from Israel to Tehran consumes between 10 and 12 tonnes of jet fuel, depending on the type of aircraft... that is the amount that an average family car utilises in 10 to 20 years," Mor said.
glp-jd/dcp

indicator

US consumers' inflation expectations surge on Mideast war

  • "Unsurprisingly given the Iran war oil shock, consumers' average and median 12-month inflation expectations surged in March to levels last seen in August 2025," The Conference Board said. 
  • Inflation expectations among US consumers surged in March to levels last seen around seven months ago, following rocketing energy prices due to war in the Middle East, survey data showed Tuesday.
  • "Unsurprisingly given the Iran war oil shock, consumers' average and median 12-month inflation expectations surged in March to levels last seen in August 2025," The Conference Board said. 
Inflation expectations among US consumers surged in March to levels last seen around seven months ago, following rocketing energy prices due to war in the Middle East, survey data showed Tuesday.
But overall, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index beat analyst expectations to inch up this month to 91.8 from 91.0 in February.
Economists had forecast a drop in consumer confidence to 87.5.
The increase came as respondents' views of current business and job market conditions improved, though their outlooks for the future were gloomier.
The report is being monitored for how American households respond to price pressures as gasoline costs jump after US-Israeli strikes on Iran plunged the region into war.
On Monday, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that even if the central bank could look past the energy shock from the conflict, it might have to act if rising costs change the public's expectations about inflation.
Since the conflict started, Tehran's retaliation has sharply restricted access to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for energy resources.
Global oil prices have jumped as fighting enters a fifth week.
"Unsurprisingly given the Iran war oil shock, consumers' average and median 12-month inflation expectations surged in March to levels last seen in August 2025," The Conference Board said. 
Back then, households were waiting for more tariff announcements from President Donald Trump.
"Americans are clearly worried about rising gas prices and a prolonged war in Iran," said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.

'Strain is starting to show'

Even though consumer confidence edged up overall, details show "growing concern about rising prices, especially gas prices, and a hesitancy to make big purchases," Long said.
"The strain is starting to show, especially as gas hits $4 a gallon nationwide," she added. A key worry is demand destruction due to the oil shock.
"It's almost certainly going to be a muted second quarter for spending and GDP growth as the worst of the inflation shock hits consumers," she warned.
The Conference Board's chief economist Dana Peterson added that respondents' comments about prices suggest that costs of living remained top-of-mind.
War on Iran "overlapped significantly with the survey sample period," and comments on oil and gas spiked, she said.
"Consequently, the percentage of consumers stating that interest rates over the next 12 months will be higher on net skyrocketed from 34.9 percent to 42.4 percent," the report said.
bys/js

US

Indonesia rations fuel as prices soar over Mideast war

BY MARCHIO GORBIANO

  • Since the Middle East war began on February 28, some of Indonesia's neighbours have already announced fuel-saving steps including work-from-home measures, official travel cuts and online schooling.
  • Indonesia on Tuesday announced fuel rationing and mandated work from home for civil servants as it seeks to conserve energy stocks amid global price hikes due to the Middle East war.
  • Since the Middle East war began on February 28, some of Indonesia's neighbours have already announced fuel-saving steps including work-from-home measures, official travel cuts and online schooling.
Indonesia on Tuesday announced fuel rationing and mandated work from home for civil servants as it seeks to conserve energy stocks amid global price hikes due to the Middle East war.
"To ensure fuel distribution, the government will regulate purchases... with a reasonable limit of 50 litres per vehicle" per day for private consumers, said Airlangga Hartarto, the coordinating minister of economic affairs.
Speaking at a virtual news conference from Seoul, he said civil servants will work from home every Friday, official vehicle use will be cut in half and work trips for government officials reduced by as much as 70 percent.
The measures do not apply to government workers in sectors deemed essential, including health care, security, energy, and water and food supply.
The government estimates the measures, which enter into force Wednesday and are to be reviewed every two months, would save between 121 and 130 trillion rupiah ($7.1-7.6 billion), Airlangga said.
Since the Middle East war began on February 28, some of Indonesia's neighbours have already announced fuel-saving steps including work-from-home measures, official travel cuts and online schooling.
Some have also raised fuel prices, but Jakarta said on Tuesday it would not do so in the near future.
Southeast Asia's largest economy, where fuel is heavily subsidised, is an oil producer but nevertheless a net importer.
The government has doggedly defended its subsidy, which at $12.3 billion represents about five percent of the total annual budget for 2026.
Observers say Jakarta's hand may eventually be forced given that the government is required by law to keep fiscal deficit under three percent of gross domestic product.
The 2026 fuel subsidy calculation was premised on a global oil price of $70 per barrel, but prices have since topped $100.

'No price adjustment'

Airlangga however said that "the national economic condition remains stable with strong fundamentals. National fuel stocks are safe and fiscal stability is maintained."
Bahlil Lahadalia, the energy minister, encouraged Indonesians to use public transport or electric vehicles instead of gasoline-powered cars.
"We need the support and cooperation of the public. We need to purchase fuel reasonably and wisely."
On Sunday, the government announced a one-day-per-week reduction in its free school meals programme, though not for areas with high malnutrition rates.
The government said that in-person schooling will be maintained, and work-from-home measures for the private sector may be considered at a later stage.
Unlike some of its neighbours, Indonesia has not seen long fuel queues as global oil prices have soared due to Iran's de facto closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
A fifth of the world's crude supplies and a substantial amount of gas normally run through the waterway, but traffic has effectively halted during the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
A statement from the Indonesian government sent to AFP said there would be no increase "for subsidised or non-subsidised" fuel from April 1.
It warned against "misinformation" about a pending price hike, quoting presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi as saying "we guarantee the availability of fuel... and there is no price adjustment."
Previous fuel price hikes in Indonesia have resulted in mass protests.
President Prabowo Subianto seeks to raise the economic growth rate from 5.1 percent last year to eight percent by 2029, powered by high public spending.
mrc/mlr/ami

US

Indonesia rations fuel as prices soar over Mideast war

BY MARCHIO GORBIANO

  • Speaking at a virtual news conference from Seoul, he also said that civil servants will work from home every Friday, part of the government's efforts to save energy.
  • Indonesia on Tuesday announced fuel rations and mandated work from home for civil servants, as it seeks to conserve energy stocks amid global price hikes due to the Middle East war.
  • Speaking at a virtual news conference from Seoul, he also said that civil servants will work from home every Friday, part of the government's efforts to save energy.
Indonesia on Tuesday announced fuel rations and mandated work from home for civil servants, as it seeks to conserve energy stocks amid global price hikes due to the Middle East war.
"To ensure fuel distribution, the government will regulate purchases... with a reasonable limit of 50 litres per vehicle" per day for private consumers, said Airlangga Hartarto, the coordinating minister of economic affairs.
Speaking at a virtual news conference from Seoul, he also said that civil servants will work from home every Friday, part of the government's efforts to save energy.
The government said earlier Tuesday it would not increase the price of fuel, which is heavily subsidised in Indonesia.
The Southeast Asian archipelago is an oil producer but nevertheless a net importer.
The government has doggedly defended the subsidy, which at $12.3 billion represents about five percent of the total annual budget for 2026.
Observers say the government's hand may eventually be forced given that Indonesia is required by law to keep its fiscal deficit under three percent of gross domestic product.
The 2026 fuel subsidy calculation was premised on a global oil price of $70 per barrel, but prices have since topped $100.
Airlangga said that "the national economic condition remain stable with strong fundamentals. National fuel stocks are safe and fiscal stability is maintained."
Bahlil Lahadalia, the energy minister, said: "We need the support and cooperation of the public. We need to purchase fuel reasonably and wisely."

'No price adjustment'

A government statement sent to AFP earlier said there would be no increase "for subsidised or non-subsidised" fuel from April 1.
It warned against "misinformation" about a pending price hike, quoting presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi as saying "we guarantee the availability of fuel... And there is no price adjustment."
Previous fuel price hikes in Indonesia have resulted in mass protests.
Unlike some of its neighbours, Southeast Asia's biggest economy has not seen long fuel queues as global oil prices have soared due to Iran's de facto closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
A fifth of the world's crude supplies and a substantial amount of gas normally run through the waterway, but traffic has effectively halted during the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Earlier this month, the Indonesian presidency spokesman Prasetyo said the government was looking to set aside up to 80 trillion rupiah (about $4.7 billion) to shield the economy from the fallout.
On Sunday, the government announced a one-day-per-week reduction in its free school meals programme, though not for areas with high malnutrition rates.
President Prabowo Subianto seeks to raise the economic growth rate from 5.1 percent last year to eight percent by 2029, powered by high public spending.
mlr/mrc/ami

US

How Middle East war is driving up shipping costs

  • Here are five data indicators of how the crisis is driving up shipping costs.
  • Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz trade route in the Middle East war is driving up the costs of shipping fuel and goods around the world, industry data shows.
  • Here are five data indicators of how the crisis is driving up shipping costs.
Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz trade route in the Middle East war is driving up the costs of shipping fuel and goods around the world, industry data shows.
Prices have risen because of falling capacity, with ships staying put in the Gulf for fear of attack if they set sail. Other ships are taking long, costly alternative routes to avoid the strait -- while the reduction of oil flows has raised the price of boats' fuel.
"We've had to stop bookings... from and to the upper Gulf region because we can't get the ships in nor out," said Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive of major container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd last week, estimating the war had driven up costs by "$40, 50 million per week".
"A big chunk of that is bunker fuel prices but also in categories like insurance or container storage and inland transportation we have seen costs go up, and we have six ships that we cannot use today, which reduces the available capacity," he told a news conference.
Here are five data indicators of how the crisis is driving up shipping costs.

Tanker charters

The cost of chartering an oil tanker multiplied after US and Israeli forces started striking Iran on February 28, prompting retaliatory strikes across the region.
For a big Suezmax-class crude carrier, the average "earnings" -- a standard indirect indicator of charter costs -- has more than tripled since February 26 to over $330,000 a day, according to maritime research group Clarksons.
For liquefied natural gas carriers on a reference US to Japan route, the measure also tripled in that period to $90,000 a day.

Oil shipping

The overall cost of shipping oil shot up after the war broke out, said freight pricing specialist Peter Norfolk at Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.
From $46 per metric tonne at the end of February, the cost of shipping crude from the Gulf to China on a giant VLCC-class tanker nearly tripled in a few days, then eased to stand at around $64 at the end of March, he told AFP on Monday.
"Of course, in reality there is hardly any loading happening at the moment," he noted.
Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the strait in peacetime.

Container costs

The spot reference price to ship a 40-foot container has risen by 20 to 25 percent on the main routes from the Far East to Europe and the US West Coast, according to consultancy Maritime Services International.
The price has reached between $2,200 and $2,700 for a 40-foot container on that Europe route, it said.
"War surcharges have caused rates from the Far East to the Middle East Gulf and Red Sea to spike by nearly 200 percent" from February 20 to March 20, it said in a report.
"Traffic through the SoH (Strait of Hormuz) has been severely constrained, with carriers suspending bookings, rerouting vessels, and discharging cargo at alternative safe regional hubs."

Ship fuel surge

The price of the bunker fuel that powers ships nearly doubled after the war broke out, peaking at $1,053 per metric tonne on March 20.
It stood at more than $936 on March 31 -- up from around $540 on the eve of the war, according to market data from financial platform Factset.

Insurance premiums

War-risk insurance could run into tens of millions of dollars for a single trip through the Hormuz Strait, with ships and cargoes worth hundreds of millions.
David Smith, head of the marine arm at specialist insurance broker McGill, estimated last week that premiums were swinging "between three and-a-half and 10 percent" of a vessel's value.
rlp/jwp/jxb

US

Asia to be hit hardest by Iran war energy crisis: Kpler to AFP

BY COLIN PEREIRA

  • - 'No crude' - "There is almost no crude oil arriving" in Asia currently, and no viable alternatives to energy imports from the Middle East while "inventories are being depleted", Maynier said.
  • Asian nations are facing a major energy crisis as a result of the Iran war, with a sharp fall in crude shipments and few alternatives, global maritime analytics firm Kpler told AFP on Tuesday.
  • - 'No crude' - "There is almost no crude oil arriving" in Asia currently, and no viable alternatives to energy imports from the Middle East while "inventories are being depleted", Maynier said.
Asian nations are facing a major energy crisis as a result of the Iran war, with a sharp fall in crude shipments and few alternatives, global maritime analytics firm Kpler told AFP on Tuesday.
"We think Asia will, for now, be the ones suffering the most," Kpler president Jean Maynier told AFP in an interview at the company's offices in Singapore.
The war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, saw Tehran effectively halt traffic through Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude supplies and a substantial amount of gas normally run.
This has sent shockwaves across global energy markets, leading to price hikes for consumers worldwide.
Maynier said Asia did not have enough energy resources of its own to fill the gap "in China... in big countries like the Philippines or Indonesia. So it's a real energy crisis."
The impact of the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already led governments to take exceptional measures, like the Philippines which has declared a national energy emergency, Maynier noted.
"It's really bad for Asia and we are not optimistic if the event continues," he said.

'No crude'

"There is almost no crude oil arriving" in Asia currently, and no viable alternatives to energy imports from the Middle East while "inventories are being depleted", Maynier said.
He said that while the attack on Iran had been anticipated, its timing and the duration of the war that has ensued were surprising.
"What is surprising is the length of this event and, especially in Asia, the crisis that we have now with energy."
Brussels-based Kpler, which was founded in 2014 and owns the MarineTraffic website, is considered one of the foremost data analytics and ship-tracking agencies in the world.
It has been keeping a close eye on the Strait of Hormuz since the attack on Iran.
Iranian military officials have claimed to control the waterway and attack vessels from "hostile" nations, but Kpler said some are risking the trip.
Seventeen commodities vessels crossed the the strait over the weekend, 12 of them on Saturday, making it one of the busiest days for crossings since March 1, according to Kpler.
As of 1700 GMT on Monday, commodities vessels had made just 196 crossings of the waterway this month, a huge decrease from before the war.
Of those, 120 were by oil tankers and gas carriers and most were travelling east out of the strait.

'Dark vessels'

Kpler, which provides real-time data for close to 1,000 companies, uses satellites, drones and other tools to track ships, said Maynier.
"All of this combined, and the selection of data sets that we collect from different partnerships help us to really understand what's happening" including when ships "go dark", he added.
A "dark" vessel -- usually a tanker or cargo carrier -- deliberately disables or manipulates transponders in a bid to go undetected by public tracking systems like Kpler's MarineTraffic.
"Dark vessels try to switch off their (tracking) device and try to escape monitoring, usually because they are involved in smuggling or trying to export sanctioned cargoes," Maynier said.
Using satellite images, shore-based antennae, data and other sources, Kpler aims to reconstruct the trajectory of a vessel that has "gone dark," he added.
"It's always hard to be 100 percent, but we can detect more than 90 percent of what's happening in real time."
str-jhe/ami

tech

Huawei reports slowing revenue growth in 2025

  • But the figure was a fraction of the 22 percent jump in revenue reported in 2024, reflecting in large part the slowing growth of the company's consumer business.
  • Chinese tech giant Huawei's revenue growth slowed last year, its annual report showed Tuesday, as sales of the company's consumer devices plateaued against a backdrop of sluggish domestic consumption.
  • But the figure was a fraction of the 22 percent jump in revenue reported in 2024, reflecting in large part the slowing growth of the company's consumer business.
Chinese tech giant Huawei's revenue growth slowed last year, its annual report showed Tuesday, as sales of the company's consumer devices plateaued against a backdrop of sluggish domestic consumption.
Huawei's revenue came in at 880.9 billion yuan ($126 billion) in 2025, up 2.2 percent from the previous year's 862 billion yuan, the company said. 
But the figure was a fraction of the 22 percent jump in revenue reported in 2024, reflecting in large part the slowing growth of the company's consumer business.
While Huawei regained its position as the top seller of smartphones in China last year, the overall domestic market shrank in 2025, according to the US-based International Data Corporation.
Huawei reported 344.5 billion yuan revenue from its consumer business in 2025, up only 1.6 percent from the year before compared to the 38.3 percent jump reported in 2024.
"Our consumer business worked to overcome formidable challenges," rotating chairwoman Meng Wanzhou said in Tuesday's report, noting also that Huawei was "moving toward a future that is full of uncertainty".
Revenue growth from telecommunications infrastructure sales also slowed in 2025, rising 2.6 percent on-year compared to 4.9 percent in 2024.
The company attributed this to "the impact of industry investment cycles". 
Huawei has in recent years been at the centre of a standoff between China and the United States after Washington warned its equipment could be used for espionage by the Chinese government, an allegation Huawei denies.
Sanctions since 2019 have cut the firm's access to US-made components and technologies, forcing it to diversify its growth strategy.
Huawei's research and development expenditure rose in 2025 to 192.3 billion yuan -- 21.8 percent of its total revenue -- as the company poured resources into building computing products intended for AI use.
Net profit for 2025 was 68 billion yuan, up 8.7 percent from 2024's 62.6 billion yuan.
tjx/reb/mtp

US

Strait of Hormuz shipping blockade update

  • Of these, 121 were by oil tankers and gas carriers and most were travelling east out of the strait.
  • Here are the latest key facts about security alerts and trade impacts from the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route virtually paralysed by the Middle East war.
  • Of these, 121 were by oil tankers and gas carriers and most were travelling east out of the strait.
Here are the latest key facts about security alerts and trade impacts from the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route virtually paralysed by the Middle East war.
Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the waterway in peacetime.
The war erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes across the region and restrict access to the strait.

Kuwaiti tanker hit

An Iranian attack sparked a fire on a Kuwaiti oil tanker at Dubai Port, Kuwaiti official news agency KUNA reported, citing the state-owned oil company.
KUNA said the tanker was fully laden at the time of the attack but no injuries or oil spill were reported. Dubai authorities said firefighters extinguished the blaze.
Security intelligence firm Vanguard identified the vessel as the Al Salmi and said authorities were investigating.
Iranian media meanwhile reported that strikes hit a desalination plant on Iran's Qeshm island in the strait, putting it out of service.

Chinese container ships pass

China's foreign ministry said three Chinese ships had transited the strait.
On Monday, maritime tracker MarineTraffic identified two ultra-large container vessels owned by Chinese shipping giant Cosco that crossed after an aborted attempt last week.
It interpreted their passage as "signalling a potential shift in conditions for commercial shipping". The ministry did not provide details about the third ship.

Handful of crossings

Just four vessels crossed the strait on Monday, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
From March 1 to 31 as of 0700 GMT, commodities carriers made 201 crossings, according to Kpler data -- a decrease of 95 percent from peacetime.
Of these, 121 were by oil tankers and gas carriers and most were travelling east out of the strait.
The channel in peacetime sees around 120 daily transits, according to shipping industry intelligence site Lloyd's List.

2,000 ships in Gulf

Bloomberg data showed on Tuesday that 2,459 vessels sent transponder signals in the Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz over the past day.
Of those, 362 were oil and gas vessels, including 11 very large gas carriers and 60 very large crude carriers.

Eight sea workers killed

Since the conflict began, at least eight seafarers or dock workers have died in incidents in the region, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The last fatality reported by the IMO was on March 11. A further 10 seafarers were injured. Around 20,000 seafarers are affected in the region, according to the IMO.

Iran-approved route

Recent crossings appeared to have mainly used a route apparently approved by Iran around Larak Island just off the country's coast.
Leading shipping journal Lloyd's List last week said at least 34 ships had been tracked using it.
The Revolutionary Guards said the route was closed to vessels travelling to and from ports linked to Iran's "enemies".

44% sanctioned ships

Since the war started, 44 percent of the crossings have been by ships under US, EU or UK sanctions, according to an AFP analysis of passage data.
Of the crossings by oil and gas tankers, 61 percent were by vessels under sanctions.
rlp/jwp/jxb