Market Commentary

Axios reported, citing two officials, that the White House believes it is getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework from more detailed nuclear negotiations. According to the report, US expects Iranian responses on several key points […]

Prices were mixed yesterday as the war in the Middle East continues and the Strait of Hormuz is essentially shut down. Some of the pullback off the highs yesterday was profit taking on the news that there is a law that the president can only commit acts of war for […]

The news snippets continue to hit the headlines and impact prices here in the near term.  WTI crude oil is up currently roughly 5 dollars per barrel. This is being helped but President Trump’s comments that he is not happy with Iran’s proposal to negotiate about their nuclear program after […]

The DOE inventory report had crude oil inventories up 1.93 million barrels, gasoline supplies were down 4.57 million barrels and distillates were down 3.43 million barrels. The crude oil build was seen as a bit of a surprise and bearish prices. Total crude oil inventories now stand at 465.729 and […]

The weekend ceasefire talks ended without a deal, and President Trump announced a blockade of all vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that any military vessel attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a violation of the two-week ceasefire and be dealt with […]

John Kemp reports that North Sea Forties crude prices closed at a record $147 per barrel on April 9. Forties is one of the principal streams in the Brent complex, and prices have doubled since before the war between the United States and Iran broke out. A JPMorgan research note […]

After yesterday’s huge sell-off prices are up today as there is a lot of uneasiness about the ceasefire. There is also confusion about whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or not and all this supports prices.  Israel has continued its fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon as they say the […]

There is plenty of chatter in the news this morning that is affecting the energy market. President Trump threatened Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz again or face bombing of power plants and water desalination plants. Crude is currently trading lower this morning after Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced that […]

The energy markets are closed tomorrow 4-3-2026 for Good Friday. So, there are no forward contracts tomorrow. Here is the DOE inventory data but at this point I am not sure this has an enormous impact on the markets as President Trump’s speech, and the conflict tin Iran are front […]

The risk of protracted war with Iran grew on Saturday as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched their first attacks on Israel since the start of the conflict, even as additional US forces reached the Middle East. The Houthis said they would continue their operations until the aggression on all fronts ended. […]

It appears a quick resolution to this war in Iran is not going to happen. There are signs that some oil tankers are getting through the Strait of Hormuz, with a Thailand and Malaysia oil tanker allowed through, and Iran is receptive to oil being sent to Spain. However, the Strait […]

The API called crude oil supplies up 2.35 million barrels, gasoline supplies up 528,000 barrels, and distillates up 1.39 million barrels. There were reports last night that Israel has announced a 30-day ceasefire. Is this true? The market last night initially pulled back on crude oil, but overnight the selling […]