04/03/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | MAR 4, 2026

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Energy infrastructure emerges as war target

UN says Iran war oil ‘chaos’ shows value of renewables

PARIS: The oil and gas price hikes triggered by the war in the Middle East show the importance of renewable energy, which is cheaper and more resilient to global turmoil, the UN’s climate chief said on Monday. “Along with its brutal human costs, this newest upheaval shows yet again that fossil fuel dependence leaves economies, businesses, markets and people at the mercy of each new conflict or trade policy lurch,” said Simon Stiell, the head of the United Nations climate body. “But there is a clear solution to this fossil fuel cost chaos – renewables are now cheaper, safer and faster-to market, making them the obvious pathway to energy security and sovereignty,” he said in a post on LinkedIn. European gas prices, which had already been rising sharply, skyrocketed on Monday morning after the Qatari state energy company announced it was halting production of liquefied natural gas following Iranian drone attacks on its facilities. Oil prices also soared by around eight percent as the war effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for nearly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil supplies. Besides their positive impact on the Earth, renewable energies have far less price volatility than fossil fuels in the face of geopolitical turmoil – especially solar, now the cheapest energy source in many places. – AFP Australia tells consumers no need to panic buy petrol SYDNEY: Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen said yesterday that consumers did not need to panic about fuel shortages amid concerns that the widening US-Israeli war against Iran could deplete the country’s stockpiles. Australia has 36 days of petrol, 34 days of diesel, and 32 days of jet fuel in reserve, the highest level in more than a decade, Bowen told reporters. “There is no need to rush to the service station and fill up,” he said. “I do understand people’s concerns but it’s important that people know we do have a good stock of petrol in reserve in Australia, there’s no immediate threat to petrol supplies in Australia.” Oil prices rose for a third day yesterday on fears of supply disruptions, with Israel attacking Lebanon and Iran responding with strikes against energy infrastructure in Gulf countries. Bowen said that while petrol costs could come under pressure from a spike in oil prices, regulators would take action against price gouging. “There is no need for panic buying, that will just make the situation worse,” he said. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he had written to the consumer watchdog, asking it to ensure fuel retailers “don’t use events in the Middle East to price gouge Australians”. – Reuters

o Markets also absorbing de facto halt to traffic in Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON: Energy prices surged as the war in the Middle East led to outages of key energy production operations and a critical waterway was essentially emptied of traffic. European natural gas prices finished Monday up more than 39% after surging more than 50% earlier in the day. Brent oil futures rose to above US$82 dollars a barrel, a gain of more than 13% early in the session. The benchmark finished up 7.3% at US$77.74 a barrel, up around US$15 compared with the start of 2026. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate ended at US$71.23 a barrel, up 6.3%. The surge in prices comes as key energy facilities emerge as targets in the war. Qatar’s state-run energy firm said it had halted liquefied natural gas production following Iranian attacks on facilities at two of its main gas processing bases. Earlier, the massive Ras Tanura refinery on Saudi Arabia’s Gulf coast went into partial shutdown after a strike by drones led to a fire. A terminal in Abu Dhabi was also attacked by a drone. In parallel, energy markets are also absorbing a de facto halt to traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global supply of oil and LNG travel. The waterway has not technically been closed, but major maritime companies have suspended travel through it as insurance costs soar amid heightened risk. Since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, the world’s largest

This handout satellite image courtesy of Vantor shows damage at the Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery. – AFPPIC/SATELLITE IMAGE ©2026 VANTOR

increasing US soybean imports to 20 million metric tons for the current season, but traders remained sceptical as higher prices make American soy uneconomical. Chinese buyers only restarted booking US soybeans in late October, slightly ahead of the two leaders’ last meeting. Analysts attributed the move to a goodwill gesture. Beijing has said it is closely watching whether Trump reaches for other levers to reimpose some of the duties struck down by the US Supreme Court. It did not retaliate when the White House announced a new temporary tariff of 15% on American imports from all countries late last month. – Reuters Monday’s level. Kpler analyst Michelle Brouhard described high oil prices as “the Achilles heel of (US President Donald) Trump,” adding that Iran was likely to look to keep crude prices lofty to pressure the US president ahead of midterm elections in November. Trump himself has said he expects the operation to go four or five weeks. After a bad start, Wall Street stocks finished Monday’s session mixed, a sign investors do not expect an especially lengthy impact. Oxford Economics predicted that Iran would struggle to keep the Strait of Hormuz quiet for long, but that a period of “lower-level disruption to trade flows” was more plausible. Oxford expects oil prices to rise to almost US$80 a barrel in the second quarter before eventually dropping back to US$60. “The duration of the conflict and the nature of any regime change in Iran is key to understanding the economic impact, but these remain highly uncertain,” Oxford said. – AFP

severe implications for Europe’s energy security,” said a note from Eurasia Group that pointed out that European gas markets are “very tight” after a cold winter. Petroleum-importing countries within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are required to keep 90 days of emergency crude stockpiles that in theory should limit price increases. But under a “worst-case scenario” gamed out by Eurasia Group, damage to Iran’s oilfields permanently hits the country’s exports, while the precarity to Hormuz traffic persists. “In that case, the combination of heightened risk to traffic, the long-term loss of Iranian exports, and the short term loss of other regional production would be enough to push the Brent per barrel price close to US$100 per barrel,” said Eurasia, which projected prices of US$75-US$85 a barrel as a more likely outcome. The last time oil prices topped US$100 a barrel was at the start of the Ukraine war, when natural gas prices also spiked well above

shipping firms – Italian-Swiss MSC, Denmark’s Maersk, France’s CMA CGM, Germany’s Hapaq Lloyd and China’s Cosco – have ordered their ships to find shelter and stay safe. The exodus of ships from the waterway will prevent some 15 million barrels per day of oil from reaching global markets, estimated Rystad Energy senior vice-president Jorge Leon. “Whether the Strait is closed by force or rendered inaccessible by risk avoidance, the impact on flows is largely the same,” Leon said in a note. “Nations with strategic petroleum reserves may take action and release volumes if the disruption of the Strait risks being extended.” The upheaval in the Middle East poses particular risks for Asian countries, the market for about 80% of the petroleum through the Hormuz, according to the International Energy Agency. But the conflict also poses risks to Europe, a major market for LNG from Qatar. “The closure has potentially

US, China trade chiefs to meet mid-March BEIJING: Top US and Chinese trade negotiators are expected to meet in mid-March, signalling that plans for a summit between President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping remain on track despite US strikes on Iran, Bloomberg News reported. the US Supreme Court struck down the duties. The discussions could also cover the future of Taiwan, the report said, with Beijing stepping up military exercises around the democratically governed island in recent years to reinforce its sovereignty claims. request for comment, nor did the Chinese Commerce Ministry. Earlier in the day, the South China Morning Post reported that Beijing and Washington had begun talks on restarting reciprocal investment.

Boeing is in talks to sell as many as 500 jets to China, which would represent a major breakthrough for the company in the world’s second-largest aviation market, where orders have stalled amid US-China tensions. The aircraft maker is one of the largest US exporters and historically sent around a quarter of its planes to China, though Boeing has not secured a major Chinese purchase since Trump’s first term in office. Meanwhile, Trump said last month that China was weighing up

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are expected to meet in Paris late next week to discuss potential business deals linked to the highly-anticipated leaders’ meeting, the report said. Chinese purchase commitments for Boeing aircraft and US soybeans are expected to be on the agenda, the report said, citing people familiar with the meeting’s planning, along with the future of Trump’s tariffs aimed at curbing fentanyl flows, after

Trump is set to arrive in Beijing at the end of March, but the US military campaign against Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a risky Caracas raid in January has put Xi on the back foot, analysts say. Reuters could not immediately verify the Bloomberg report. The US Department of State and Department of the Treasury did not immediately respond to Reuters’