Conflicting traffic figures and competing claims of control are making it increasingly difficult to establish what’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz, even as attacks on merchant shipping intensify. The...

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to accelerate the release of approximately 100 million barrels of emergency oil stocks, including more than 20 million barrels of diesel, as the...

Iran has managed to export some liquefied petroleum gas and jet fuel since July, despite a US naval blockade, shipping intelligence showed and people involved in security said.

Accelerating crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz aren’t translating into higher production of a dirty shipping fuel, according to a top Vitol Group executive, tightening supplies and sending prices soaring.

He thinks it’s about augmenting his power; voters think it’s about helping them solve their problems. 

The continuing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could cause an increase in food insecurity in Asia and Africa, an UN official warned on Wednesday, October 14, asking both the US and Iran to allow free shipments, particularly of fertilizers.

“It is absolutely crucial to get the deal in the next few weeks. Otherwise, we will miss the planting session,” UN Under Secretary General Jorge Moreira da Silva told Reuters on the sidelines of the ongoing annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand.

Almost one third of all global supplies of urea and around half of sulphur used to pass through the Strait of Hormuz before the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February and Iran blocked traffic through it in retaliation.

Most countries in Asia and Africa get their urea products, used in the majority of fertilizers worldwide, from the Gulf nations.

Given the fact that global fertilizer supplies from Russia had already been affected due to the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia imposed by the EU and US, the restrictions on the Gulf have intensified already existing shortages pushing up prices and making farming more expensive for the majority of farmers.

Food prices are already rising in different countries in Asia and Africa and it is expected that if the supply constraints remain the same, food production could be impacted and prices will rise further in the coming days, affecting millions of people in the region.

The crisis is further intensified due to the rising cost of oil, particularly diesel which is extensively used in farming.

The Strait of Hormuz was the source of around a quarter of world energy supplies before the war. Despite the claims that supplies of energy have been normalized in recent days the global oil prices remain much higher than the pre-war period.

According to a Reuters’ report, fertilizer supplies from the Strait of Hormuz have remained negligible despite resumption of other shipments including the oil in recent weeks.

Iran asserts control over the Strait of Hormuz

The UN set up a taskforce to facilitate the passage of fertilizers through the Strait of Hormuz in March itself. The taskforce has proposed an interim arraignment to resume the fertilizer supplies through the region with the consent of both the US and Iran.

Iran has demanded that it will only allow normal traffic through the Strait of Hormuz after the US ends its war, lifts its naval blockade on the country, and fulfills its obligations under the interim peace deal signed in June.

The US claims the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) are redundant and refused to lift the blockade.

Reuters reported the US State Department reiterating on Wednesday that it will continue to target Iran, accusing it of disrupting freedom of navigation and taking the global economy hostage.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out a fresh attack on a small vessel in the Gulf of Oman, allegedly linked to the IRGC on Wednesday.

The US and President Donald Trump have also repeatedly claimed the Strait was fully under its control and free for all kinds of navigation. CENTCOM also reiterated on Wednesday that Iran has no navy to control the Strait.

However, Iran has refuted the US claims, citing fresh attacks on several ships trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz without its prior permission.

At least two ships, one container ship and a large bulk carrier, reportedly bound for Singapore, sank after allegedly being hit by projectiles on Wednesday.

The IRGC also claimed that another tanker was hit by the Iranian Navy on Thursday after it ignored repeated warnings. The ship carrying oil caught fire in the attack.

“The Americans claim that the Strait of Hormuz is open and they control it, but this claim is far away from the realities on the ground,” Ali Ozmaei, IRGC Navy chief, said on Tuesday, asking the US armed forces to “step into the field and see who is in control of it.”

It blamed US restrictions on media reports for a wrong impression about the status of the shipping through the Strait and repeated that all ships wanting to transit through it must obtain prior Iranian permission if they want to avoid any kind of mishap.

U.S. Central Command says the United States and its regional partners control the Strait of Hormuz, citing more than 40 commercial ships moving through the waterway in the past 24...

Iran-backed group relies on Tehran's financial and military support and seeks to press Riyadh into concessions on Yemen; analyst warns the conflict could widen into a Gulf war

Shipowners are facing an increasingly fragmented fuel market as disruptions triggered by the Middle East conflict raise concerns about the availability and quality of supply.

Shipowners are facing an increasingly fragmented fuel market as disruptions triggered by the Middle East conflict raise concerns about the availability and quality of supply.

Diplomatic correspondent Lazar Berman on the drums of war again sounding in the Iran-US conflict, and the mounting allegations against the prime minister over actions before and after Oct. 7

Lo spread tra Btp italiani e Bund tedeschi ha raggiunto i 111 punti base in apertura. I rendimenti dei Btp sono però calati, anche se non al passo di quelli dei titoli di Berlino. I decennali si sono assestati al 4,51%, leggermente sotto i risultati di ieri, nonostante i dati sull’inflazione negli Stati Uniti facciano temere un nuovo aumento dei tassi dei Treasury Bond.

A tranquillizzare il mercato sono soprattutto le notizie sul traffico nello Stretto di Hormuz. Nonostante l’Iran abbia annunciato nuovi attacchi alle navi commerciali, i flussi di petrolio in uscita dal Golfo Persico si stanno avvicinando ai livelli precedenti alla guerra.

Spread in aumento ma i rendimenti sono in calo

L’apertura del 15 ottobre ha portato spread e rendimenti in due direzioni diverse. Il differenziale tra Btp e Bund è in aumento a 111 punti base, ed è tornato sopra ai 107 fatti registrare nei primi minuti di ieri. I rendimenti, al contrario sono in leggero calo, anche se quelli dei titoli tedeschi hanno ottenuto risultati migliori, ampliando quindi la forbice.

Btp meno sotto pressione, nonostante l’inflazione Usa

Nella giornata di ieri è stato diffuso un dato che avrebbe dovuto mettere i titoli di Stato europei sotto pressione: l’inflazione degli Stati Uniti. L’aumento dei prezzi è stato molto più alto del previsto, al 3,7%, e questo dovrebbe comportare un ulteriore rialzo dei tassi di interesse da parte della Fed.

La ritrovata fiducia dei mercati nella dirigenza della Fed ha però neutralizzato il possibile impatto di questo dato. Gli investitori credono nel fatto che il direttore Kevin Warsh possa alzare i tassi di interesse per contrastare l’aumento dei prezzi anche se la Casa Bianca non è d’accordo.

Di conseguenza, anche la pressione sui Treasury Bond si sta allentando, con i titoli statunitensi che sono scesi sotto il 5,1% di rendimento. Grazie a questa tregua, anche le tensioni su alcuni titoli europei si stanno allentando.

Continua l’instabilità in Francia

Fa eccezione a questa regola la Francia. Il Paese non sembra essere nelle condizioni di respingere la speculazione sui propri titoli di Stato, che hanno accumulato uno spread di 143 punti base, con un’altra variazione estrema in un giorno. I rendimenti sono saliti al 4,83% a causa sia del debito sempre più alto, sia dell’incapacità del Parlamento di trovare una maggioranza per far passare una legge di Bilancio che limiti la spesa.

Spread e rendimenti dei titoli di Stato europei all’apertura del 15 ottobre 2026

Titoli di Stato	Rendimenti	Spread
Bund tedeschi	3,40%	–
Btp italiani	4,51%	111
Oat francesi	4,83%	143
Bonos spagnoli	4,03%	63

La Spagna, invece, nonostante le elezioni imminenti, si mantiene relativamente stabile attorno ai 60 punti base di spread.

Le prossime aste dei titoli di Stato e i Btp Valore

Concluse le prime emissioni di ottobre, il Tesoro procederà a fine mese con le altre aste regolari. Le prossime si terranno:

• martedì 27 ottobre l’asta dei Btp Short Term e dei Btp€i;
• mercoledì 28 ottobre l’asta dei Bot;
• giovedì 29 ottobre l’asta dei titoli a medio e lungo termine.

Tra il 19 e il 23 ottobre si terrà anche l’emissione dei Btp Valore e dei Btp Valore Insieme, dedicati agli investitori privati.

UK agency says Singaporean-flagged ship hit by projectile and sank; unclear if two statements refer to same vessel

U.S. forces destroyed an Iranian-affiliated dhow in the Gulf of Oman on October 6 after determining that the vessel was conducting surveillance and helping target American warships, U.S. Central Command...

By Jonathan Saul and Renee Maltezou LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) – A container ship and a dry bulk carrier have both sunk near the Strait of Hormuz in the past...

Six months into a war that sowed upheaval in the Persian Gulf, Qatar found itself stuck. By late August, even limited shipments from the gas heavyweight had all but stopped following a projectile attack on one of its tankers outside the Strait of Hormuz. Pressure was growing, not only from energy-starved clients but also from inside an economy built on regular deliveries.

A Singapore-flagged containership has sunk after being struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, as a widening series of attacks on merchant shipping raises fresh questions about U.S....

A container ship has sunk near the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile and a separate dry bulk vessel is sinking in another incident, maritime security sources said on Wednesday.

Il costo del gasolio in Italia dipende oggi da vicende geograficamente lontane e da un decreto annunciato e non ancora arrivato. Finché l’Europa resta dipendente dalle importazioni, ogni crisi internazionale si traduce prima o poi in un rincaro alla pompa.

L'articolo Gasolio, il prezzo della geopolitica proviene da Lavoce.info.

A growing number of empty supertankers have been turning away from the Persian Gulf as escalating Iranian attacks threaten a critical transfer hub for wartime oil shipments.