Here are the latest global economic developments on Thursday around 14:00 GMT, on the 41st day of the conflict in the Middle East.
The American barrel exceeds $100, boosted by concerns over the truce in Iran The price of American oil rose back above $100 on Thursday due to doubts about the strength of the ceasefire between Iran and the United States and a paralyzed Strait of Hormuz.
After dropping to $94.41 on Wednesday, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) barrel, for delivery in May, surged by 6.41% to $100.46 around 13:55 GMT.
The Brent North Sea barrel, for delivery in June, increased by 3.94% to $98.48.
Stock markets in the red, impacted by tensions “Optimism regarding a ceasefire faded on Thursday, as news from Iran turned negative,” summarized Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
In New York, the three Wall Street indices started Thursday’s session on a downward trend: Nasdaq (-0.17%), S&P 500 (-0.14%), and Dow Jones (-0.30%).
In Europe, there was also a decline less than two hours before closing, whether in Frankfurt (-1.40%), Paris (-0.71%), or London (-0.25%). Milan was hovering around balance (-0.07%).
The French Prime Minister intends to “draw lessons” from the energy crisis Sébastien Lecornu will speak on Friday “late in the day from Matignon to draw lessons from the energy crisis,” announced his entourage on Thursday without further details.
Ministers Roland Lescure (Economy), Maud Bregeon (Energy), and Serge Papin (Commerce) were scheduled to meet on Thursday at 15:00 with fuel distributors to quickly implement price reductions, as oil prices have rebounded following a drop on Wednesday.
Several ministers also gathered on Thursday morning at Matignon to work on the future electrification plan, which would help France be less dependent on imported hydrocarbons. Sébastien Lecornu had asked them for a “second version” of the plan, considering that it did not go “far enough.”
The war in Iran could leave 45 million people food insecure (IMF) The Middle East conflict could leave around 45 million people food insecure, with the risk escalating further, warned IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday.
In her traditional curtain-raiser speech preceding the spring meetings starting Tuesday, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) added that the institution anticipated additional support requests from member countries “ranging somewhere between $20 billion and $50 billion, at the low end if the ceasefire holds.”
Nuclear: Iran rules out any restriction on its uranium enrichment program The head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization on Thursday ruled out any restriction on Iran’s uranium enrichment program, a fundamental demand of the United States and Israel.
Iran claimed that the demands to restrict the country’s enrichment program were mere “empty wishes” that would be ignored as discussions were set to take place later in the week under Pakistani mediation.
Hormuz: EU rejects the idea of a “toll,” calls for respect of navigation freedom The European Union rejected the idea of a toll to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, where navigation freedom must be maintained, said one of its spokespersons on Thursday.
“The international law guarantees navigation freedom, which means what it means: no payment or toll whatsoever,” stated spokesperson Anouar El Anouni.
Establishing a toll mechanism would be “unacceptable,” declared the French Foreign Minister earlier in the morning.
EU: Italy calls for a suspension of deficit rules if the Middle East war persists Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Thursday for a “generalized” suspension of European rules on public deficits if the war in the Middle East continues.
“If the crisis in the Middle East were to reignite, we should seriously consider a European response that, through its approach and instruments, is not different from that implemented to address the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Giorgia Meloni in a general policy speech in front of the Italian Parliament.
