Foreign Office says its embassy is operating remotely and warns British citizens against traveling to Iran
Şeyma Erkul Dayanç
22 July 2026•Update: 22 July 2026
İSTANBUL
The UK has temporarily withdrawn its diplomatic staff from Iran because of the security situation, while continuing to advise British citizens against travelling to the country, according to updated government travel advice issued Wednesday.
“Due to the ongoing security situation, we have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw UK staff from Iran. Our embassy continues to operate remotely,” said the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
The FCDO reiterated that it “advises against all travel to Iran” and urged British nationals already in the country to “carefully consider” whether to remain.
It said British and dual British-Iranian nationals face “a very high risk of arrest, detention and questioning.”
He added that “holding a British passport or having perceived connections to the UK can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you.”
The FCDO also warned that the security situation in the Middle East remains “unpredictable.”
It said strikes and retaliatory attacks since July 8 have increased the risk of further escalation, urging British nationals in the region to prepare for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions.
The advisory noted that UK government support in Iran is “extremely limited,” adding that “no face-to-face consular assistance will be possible in an emergency.”
The Commodity Intelligence team will be on holiday from close of business today. The daily will recommence on Monday 10th August.
Xinhua | Updated: 2026-07-24 09:59
BEIJING - The People's Bank of China on Thursday announced that it will carry out a 500-billion-yuan ($73.6 billion) one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) operation on Friday, aiming to maintain ample liquidity in the country's banking system.
The central bank said this MLF operation will be conducted through variable-rate tenders with a fixed quantity, using a multiple-price auction.
With a 400-billion-yuan MLF maturing this month, the move will see a net injection of 100 billion yuan, according to the central bank.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202607/24/WS6a62c6f4a310986e2b467176.html
Forecasting is mostly a way of buying peace of mind. You want a number for the worst case so you can decide how frightened to be, and once you have that number, you quietly stop thinking and start bracing for it.
That instinct is not irrational. It is how you decide whether to refinance, whether to take the job across town, whether the August road trip is still on.
Then late February arrived, and the worst case got a number.
When the United States and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran shut the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel that carries roughly a fifth of the world's oil and refined products. The forecasts that followed were not subtle. Trading desks talked about crude at $150 a barrel. Some of them talked about $200.
You ran that math in your head. Most drivers did. One tank, times 52 weeks, times two cars in the driveway.
Five months later, that number still has not shown up. Brent crude futures peaked around $126 a barrel, comfortably below the 2008 record of $147, and averaged roughly $101 between the start of the war and June 11, before briefly retreating to prewar levels near $70 in early July, according to Reuters.
The distance between that forecast and your actual receipt is one of the most underrated personal finance stories of the year. It is also worth real money to you.
What 5 months of war actually did to oil prices
Start with what a closed Hormuz is supposed to mean. About 20% of the world's oil and refined products move through it, and before the war, 100 to 130 ships passed through the waterway daily, according to AAA. Traffic has been a fraction of that for most of the year.
That is the textbook definition of a supply shock. The textbook says prices go vertical and stay there.
They did not. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, has swung between roughly $68 and nearly $113 since the fighting began, AAA reported. It sat near $85 on Tuesday, July 21.
At the pump, the damage was real but bounded. Here is the shape of it.
Feb. 28 : This is the day the strikes began: the national average for regular gas was $2.98 a gallon, according to AAA.
May 21: The national average peaked at $4.56, its high for 2026, AAA reported.
Early July: Brent briefly retreated to prewar levels near $70 a barrel, Reuters reported.
July 20: The national average climbed back above $4 for the first time since June 17, AAA said.
July 21:WTI traded near $85, roughly $18 higher than a year earlier, according to AAA.
5 reasons the oil price spike never showed up
China was the surprise. The world's largest oil importer cut crude purchases to their lowest in nearly a decade by June, curbed fuel exports and shifted drivers toward electric taxis, the wire service reported.
The United States pumped harder. Domestic crude production hit a record 13.93 million barrels a day by April, and Washington drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a record 400 million-barrel release coordinated by the International Energy Agency in March.
Saudi Arabia rerouted. The kingdom pushed far more crude out of its Red Sea port at Yanbu, partly replacing barrels stranded behind Hormuz.
Traders stopped chasing headlines. Liquidity thinned, funds refused to build big bullish positions, and the market went numb to each new announcement out of Washington and Tehran. "Everybody is bullish now, but nobody is long," said Ilia Bouchouev of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
And there was simply more physical crude sitting around than the doomsday models assumed, which is why the European grades that help set the Brent benchmark flipped from a record premium in April to a discount.
https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/oil-spike-everyone-feared-never-020300378.html
New Delhi: Traders have stopped offering discounts on Russian crude sold to India as disruptions to Middle Eastern supplies have boosted demand for alternative grades, the head of finance at Indian state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp said on Thursday.
Refiners in India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, have raised purchases of Russian oil as supplies from traditional producers in the Middle East have been disrupted.
BPCL has secured crude supplies for August and is scouting for cargoes for September delivery, Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told analysts after the company's quarterly earnings.
He said the company is receiving offers from traders on Russian oil cargoes for September delivery.
"But definitely because of recent development in crude markets, now no one is offering any discount for Russian crude," he added.
Discounts for Russian Urals crude recently widened to more than $10 a barrel below dated Brent in Indian ports.
"Although markets witnessed a brief period of stability during June, the latest geopolitical development has reminded us how quickly it can reshape the operating landscape," Gupta said, adding that suppliers may not be in a position to supply some cargoes through Red Sea routes.
The disappearance of discounts follows a jump in global oil prices after Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and renewed disruptions to flows through the Strait of Hormuz after an escalation in hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, raising costs for refiners reliant on imported crude.
Higher crude costs are likely to squeeze profitability of Indian state refiners, which sell fuels at subsidised rates in their domestic market.
BPCL and Hindustan Petroleum Corp both reported quarterly net losses on Wednesday.
BPCL, which processes more than 800,000 barrels per day of crude, met 69% of its oil needs through spot purchases in the June quarter, Gupta said.
($1 = 96.5550 Indian rupees)
By Yongchang Chin and Rakesh Sharma
Jul 23, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Some Asian crude oil buyers are in talks with Saudi Aramco to potentially reroute flows around Africa after Houthi attacks on tankers in the Red Sea, according to traders familiar with the matter.
The refiners are mulling alternatives to using Bab el-Mandeb, the chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea, the traders said, asking not be named as talks aren’t public. These may include taking oil from the Egypt’s Sidi Kerir port in the Mediterranean, instead of the Saudi Red Sea hub at Yanbu, they said.
One option — if Asian buyers want to collect crude from the Mediterranean — could see Aramco moving oil from Yanbu to the Egyptian Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna, before it’s sent north via pipeline, the traders said. Alternatively, buyers may handle the Egyptian logistics after picking up from Yanbu.
India’s state-run refiners are weighing the alternative of sending crude through the Suez Canal using smaller ships, before transferring the cargo to very large crude carriers at a European hub for delivery to the South Asian nation by sailing around Africa, people familiar with the matter said. The companies have never used this route before.
Talks are ongoing and no decisions have yet been finalized, the traders said. Saudi Aramco declined to comment.
If cargoes originally planned on the shorter route — via the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb strait and onward to Asia — are rerouted, that would result in longer voyages via Egypt, and then around South Africa. That stands to lengthen journey times by as much as a month, the traders said.
Refiners in India are prepared to pay the higher freight charges for the more complex voyages because supplies remain tight, the people said.
The global oil market faces fresh turmoil after Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen said that they had struck two tankers in the Red Sea, expanding risks for regional energy flows after months of disruption. The Red Sea route has been a vital alternative for millions of barrels of crude that can’t go through the Strait of Hormuz because of the war between Washington and Tehran.
Oil futures rallied again on Thursday as traders sought to price in the implications of the attacks, which open a new front in the months-long conflict. Brent topped $98 a barrel, and is up by more than a third this month.
Sending oil through Egypt is typically how Saudi Arabia sells to customers west of the Suez Canal. Fully-laden very large crude carriers can’t pass through the waterway, meaning that smaller vessels or a pipeline are preferred.
https://gcaptain.com/asian-oil-buyers-in-talks-to-reroute-saudi-red-sea-flows/
A tanker carrying Saudi crude to India is believed to have reversed course after Yemen’s Houthi rebels warned they would intercept vessels transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the strategic gateway linking the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea.
Another Saudi oil tanker bound for China also reportedly turned back earlier this week.
The developments come as the Iran-backed Houthis seek to tighten pressure on Saudi shipping, threatening to further disrupt global energy supplies at a time when traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has also slowed amid renewed fighting between the United States and Iran.
Chinese Tankers Press Ahead
While some vessels altered course, supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil are exiting the Red Sea
According to LSEG shipping data, the Singapore-flagged Xin Long Yang, which had paused mid-sea and made a U-turn on Tuesday, resumed its southbound journey late on Wednesday. It was sailing past the Yemeni coast toward the southern Chinese port of Qinzhou.
The Chinese-flagged Cosnew Lake was following behind and was scheduled to discharge its cargo at Huizhou in Guangdong province.
Both vessels loaded Saudi crude at the Red Sea port of Yanbu earlier this week and are chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of China’s largest refiner, Sinopec. Shipping data also indicated both ships have Chinese crews on board.
Their passage through Bab al-Mandab is being closely watched as an indication of how strictly the Houthis intend to enforce the blockade they announced earlier this week.
Shipping data also showed that at least two other Unipec-chartered VLCCs scheduled to load Saudi crude later this month have slowed their approach to the Bab al-Mandab Strait and are circling in the Gulf of Aden.
Hormuz Transits
Earlier on Thursday, the Houthis said they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers for violating their blockade. Saudi authorities later confirmed the tanker Encelia was attacked and caught fire in the Red Sea, though its crew was safe.
The conflict has further disrupted shipping, with vessel traffic through both the Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz declining sharply. Data showed fewer tankers transiting the key waterways, while some ships switched off their tracking systems or altered routes amid rising security risks.
As of July 20, there were 253 laden tankers in the Gulf, including 102 oil tankers, 64 liquefied natural gas carriers and 66 liquefied petroleum gas carriers, according to LSEG data.
(With inputs from Agencies)
https://stratnewsglobal.com/world-news/houthi-blockade-tests-saudi-oil-shipments-to-india-china/
By Irina Slav - Jul 24, 2026, 1:45 AM CDT
President Trump has threatened to “punish” Iran for the Yemeni Houthis’ recent attacks on tankers in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, saying, “If they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.”
The U.S. president also said on his TruthSocial platform, “Please let this statement serve to represent, until further notice, that from this point forth, any and all damages done to Ships, Cargo, or anything related thereto, will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls. These damages may be very substantial but, nevertheless, this is the fair and equitable thing to do.”
Trump’s posts follow Houthi attacks on two Saudi tankers earlier in the week, which prompted other vessels to make U-turns and seek alternative routes out of the Middle East. Two Chinese tankers, however, have reportedly traversed the Bab el-Mandeb freely. The Yemeni Houthis, which are affiliated with Iran, declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia over the weekend, saying they would attack any tankers linked to OPEC’s top producer. Saudi Arabia has been using its Yanbu port on the Red Sea as an alternative oil export route to the Strait of Hormuz, shipping between 4 and 5 million barrels daily out of Yanbu.
Iran, meanwhile, issued its own warning to the United States and the world. “In a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil. If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe, and the security of the strait is in the absence of American forces. We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to pre-war conditions,” the speaker of the Iranian parliament and chief negotiator with the U.S., Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said.
Provisional data for 2025 show that the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption in the EU reached 26.2%, up from 25.2% in 2024. The share has been rising since the time series began in 2004 (9.6%). However, there is still progress to be made, as the EU’s 2030 renewable energy target is 42.5%. Achieving this target would require an annual average increase of 3.3 percentage points (pp) from 2026 to 2030.
Among EU countries, Sweden had the highest share of gross final energy consumption coming from renewable sources, with 65.4%. Sweden primarily relied on solid biomass, hydro and wind. Finland followed with 53.0%, relying on solid biomass, wind and hydro, ahead of Denmark with 48.2%, whose renewable energy is mainly sourced from solid biomass, wind and biogas. The lowest shares of renewables were recorded in Belgium (14.9%), Slovakia (16.3%) and Ireland (17.2%).
Source dataset: nrg_ind_ren
Half of EU electricity came from renewables in 2025
When it came to gross electricity consumption in the EU, renewable energy sources accounted for 49.9% in 2025, representing a 2.4 pp increase from 2024. For comparison, the share stood at 15.9% in 2004, when the time series began.
In Austria, 90.8% of gross electricity consumption came from renewable sources, and in Sweden that share was 89.2%. Denmark (77.7%), Portugal (65.6%), Greece (60.9%) and Spain (60.7%) also recorded renewable shares above 60%.
In contrast, Malta (11.2%), Czechia (19.2%), Luxembourg (23.3%), Slovakia (24.1%) and Cyprus (27.5%) registered the lowest shares.
Source dataset: nrg_ind_ren
Slow increase of the share of renewable energy in heating and cooling
The use of renewable energy sources in heating and cooling continued to increase in the EU, with the share reaching 27.4% in 2025, the highest value since the time series started in 2004 (11.7%). The share increased by 0.7 pp compared with 2024 (26.7%), slightly below the average annual increase from 2004 to 2025 (0.75 pp).
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20260723-1
Silver (SI=F) September futures opened at $60.01 per ounce on Thursday, July 23, 2026, down 0.5% from Wednesday's closing price. The silver price moved lower this morning, reaching $58.42 as of 8:40 a.m. ET.
Silver opened just above $60 on Thursday for the first time since July 10. The metal has gained 7.3% over the past week as investors weigh inflation concerns against safe-haven demand.
The gold/silver ratio at the open was 67.9, which is in line with the average since 2000. The ratio calculates how many ounces of silver it takes to purchase one ounce of gold. Investors use it as an indicator of each metal's relative value. A ratio value above 75 could signal that silver is undervalued and positioned for higher performance.
Current price of silver
The opening price of silver futures on Thursday, July 23, 2026, was 0.5% lower compared to Wednesday's closing price. Here's how today's opening silver price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
One week ago: +7.3%
One month ago: -3.1%
One year ago: +52.3%
For context, silver's year-over-year growth was 173.3% on May 14.
Panama is considering creating a government mining company to partner with First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) in a move that could reopen the shuttered Cobre Panama copper mine, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the discussions.
One proposal would give First Quantum a 60% to 65% stake, with the Panamanian state holding the balance and owning the mining concession. Another option would see the government lease the operation to the Canadian miner in exchange for royalties and taxes.
The mine, one of the world’s largest copper operations, was closed in late 2023 after Panama’s Supreme Court ruled First Quantum’s concession contract unconstitutional following nationwide protests over environmental and governance concerns. The shutdown erased about 4.5% of Panama’s GDP, removed more than 1% of global copper supply and wiped out roughly 40% of First Quantum’s revenue.
Shares in First Quantum Minerals initially gained 2.3% on Wednesday morning in Toronto before closing 0.7% down at $39.20 apiece, valuing the company at $32.9 billion (US$23.4 billion).
Law detour
The proposed state-owned structure could provide a legal path around a 2023 law banning new mining concessions. President José Raúl Mulino’s government has already allowed First Quantum to export stockpiled copper concentrate, restart the mine’s power plant and complete an environmental audit, which found the site met 88% of its environmental obligations.
Officials are expected to decide on a long-term solution before year-end. First Quantum has paused its US$20-billion arbitration claim against Panama while negotiations continue.
Analysts tapped by Reuters say a reopening would boost Panama’s economy, help ease a structurally tight global copper market and strengthen First Quantum’s balance sheet, though the government remains wary of renewed public opposition to the project.
“The discussions come as copper prices remain near record highs,” BMO Capital Markets said in note on Thursday.
https://www.northernminer.com/news/panama-mulls-state-miner-to-revive-cobre-panama/1003893287/
Jul 23, 2026 14:00
Copper futures decline on weak domestic demand and global trends, paring early gains. Prices fell on MCX, LME, and Comex after a China-driven rally.
New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) Copper futures pared early gains to trade marginally lower at Rs 1,334.65 per kilogram on Thursday as subdued domestic demand and weak global trends weighed on the base metal.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange, the red metal for the July delivery slipped by Rs 2.05, or 0.15 per cent, to Rs 1,334.65 per kg in a business turnover of 10,134 lots.
The August contract also decreased by Rs 3.90, or 0.29 per cent, to Rs 1,347 per kg in 6,679 lots.
Traders said sluggish demand from consuming industries in the domestic market kept pressure on copper prices.
In the global markets, copper futures declined USD 50.42, or 0.37 per cent, to USD 13,756.58 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.
Comex Copper futures for the September contract fell nearly 1 per cent to USD 6.45 per pound in New York.
The decline came after the industrial metal had rallied more than 3 per cent in the previous session on tightening supply conditions in China, brokerage firm Axis Direct said.
China's premium for imported copper climbed to above USD 100 per tonne, the highest since May 2025, after Beijing's crackdown on VAT fraud curtailed scrap availability, boosting demand for refined red metal imports, it added.
However, the rally faded as global prices turned lower on Thursday.
Paris (France) (AFP) – Coal-fired power generation is set to increase in 2026, driven by supply difficulties and soaring natural gas prices linked to the war in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.
The conflict in the Middle East, pitting the United States against Iran, has led since March 2026 to regular blockages of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of liquefied natural gas (LNG) transits, pushing some economies back toward coal.
As a result, "global coal-fired generation is expected to increase by 1.4 percent in 2026, after remaining roughly constant in 2025," the IEA wrote in a new report.
The increased use of coal-fired power plants is also explained by a surge in energy prices in 2026.
Up 30 percent compared with the first half of 2025, they are "at their highest level since the energy crisis of 2022 and 2023," which was triggered by the war in Ukraine, the IEA said.
Consequently, global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from electricity generation are expected to rise by one percent in 2026, with large regional disparities, the agency wrote.
Southeast Asia is expected to see its emissions grow by six percent, while the European Union should record a five-percent decline.
CO2 emissions should, however, stabilise in 2027, thanks to the growth of renewable electricity generation, which is "overtaking coal as the world's largest source of electricity generation, after reaching near parity in 2025," the report said.
Renewable supply is expected to increase by eight percent in 2026, and its share in global electricity supply should rise from 33 percent in 2025 to 37 percent in 2027.
The sector is being driven by solar power, whose generation is expected to surpass that of wind in 2026 and thus "become the world's second-largest source of renewable electricity generation after hydropower," the IEA wrote.
Overall, demand for electricity "forecast to stay on a solid upward trajectory," driven in particular by industry, electric vehicles and data centres, the IEA said.
It forecast demand growth of 3.6 percent in 2026 and 3.8 percent in 2027, compared with a three-percent increase in 2025.
Finally, the El Nino event, a natural climate fluctuation that warms temperatures and leads to changes in wind patterns, is proving stronger than expected this year.
This weather phenomenon "could affect electricity demand" by increasing cooling needs and limiting hydropower and wind power generation, the IEA said.
