Travelers face persistently high airfares globally, up 25-30% from 2025, driven by soaring jet fuel prices from the US-Iran conflict, refinery shortages, Boeing and Airbus delivery delays, FAA staffing issues, and resilient travel demand.
S-Oil Corp., South Korea's third-largest refiner, reported a net profit of 514.6 billion won in Q2, reversing a year-ago loss. This was driven by high refining margins and strong lubricant earnings amid supply disruptions from the Middle East conflict, with steady demand expected in H2.
Europe faces severe disruption as record low water levels on the Rhine and Danube hinder cargo transport, forcing industries like chemicals, oil, and steel to reduce output. Nuclear power plants in Hungary and Romania have shut down reactors, increasing reliance on imports and raising power prices, while Serbia's fuel and grain shipments are also affected.
Fast Metals, a startup, has raised $4.3M to develop a chemistry-based process to extract valuable minerals like titanium and rare-earth elements from red mud, a waste product of aluminum refining, making the process economically viable.
The EU Council expanded sanctions against the Russian oil industry, targeting three Russian refineries, a major Belarusian refinery, a company selling Belarusian petroleum products, and a Georgian refinery allegedly involved in Russian oil trade, with a ban on transactions.
Russia possesses adequate fuel refining capacity and is even exporting, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. Despite a 20-30% surge in domestic demand due to panic buying and reduced production from refinery attacks, the country is fully supplied.
India's petroleum product exports may rise 25% by FY25, reaching $44.4 billion, driven by Indian Oil Corporation's (IOCL) expansion. New capacity by December 2026 will boost exports, despite India importing 90% of its crude oil.
Indian Oil Corporation's (IOCL) expansion, costing ₹75,000 crore, will increase its refining capacity to 98.05 MMTPA by December 2026. This aims to significantly boost India's petroleum product exports, potentially raising its export share to 15% of total revenues and strengthening the nation's position as a global refining hub.
UN debates peacekeeping options in Lebanon. US House committee removes amendment to end aid to Israel amid shifting public opinion. Washington imposes new sanctions on Cuba, threatening regime change. EU seeks deeper ties with South Caucasus nations. Russian oil refining shows signs of recovery after a June slump.
Russia is experiencing a severe petrol crisis, with widespread shortages, long queues at stations, and public anger. Ukrainian attacks on refineries have disrupted supplies, with about a third of refining capacity reportedly offline. President Putin acknowledged the "problems" caused by these strikes.
African governments, led by Kenya, Namibia, Mali, and Ghana, are pushing to refine critical minerals domestically, shifting from raw exports to value-added products, aiming to capture more economic value and transform their resource governance.
EU Commissioner Jozef Sikela offered Brazil a "more beneficial" critical minerals partnership, promising investment in domestic refining and technology to reduce EU reliance on China. This comes as Brazil, with vast rare earth reserves, seeks to process minerals locally, attracting competition from the US and China.
Guinea has banned the export of unrefined gold, effective immediately, to promote domestic processing, create jobs, and boost its economy. The move follows a meeting with gold producers and buyers, aiming to capture more value from its significant gold production.
Polish PM Donald Tusk cautioned against a political conflict with Ukraine, calling it a strategic mistake. This follows Poland revoking Zelenskyy's top honor after he supported renaming a unit after nationalists who massacred Poles in WWII. Meanwhile, Ukraine's attacks on Russian fuel supplies in Crimea have led to civilian gas sales suspension.
Anthropic co-founder Boris Cherny now advocates for loop engineering, where AI agents self-generate and refine prompts, moving beyond manual prompting. This shift mirrors sentiments from other AI leaders like OpenAI's Peter Steinberger and Google's Addy Osmani, who see AI agents operating more like managed employees than tools.
Ukraine has successfully attacked an oil refinery in Russia's Tyumen region, over 2,000km from its border, using newly developed long-range drones. President Zelenskyy confirmed the operation, highlighting the drones' capability to travel over 3,000km. Meanwhile, Russia struck Zaporizhzhia, killing five people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Russia's Tyumen Region, over 2,000 km from Ukraine. He also revealed the development of new long-range drones capable of operating over 3,000 km.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy gave Belarus one week to remove Russian military equipment used in attacks on Ukraine, threatening to do so himself. He also highlighted Belarus's role in supplying Russia's oil refining industry and the Russian army. Meanwhile, EU leaders discussed diplomatic channels with Russia, and Poland's president threatened to revoke an honor for Zelenskyy over renaming a military unit.
India's crude oil imports from Russia are projected to reach an all-time high of 2.35 million barrels per day in June, driven by Strait of Hormuz disruptions and continued demand. Russia has become India's primary supplier since the US-Iran conflict began.
Crimea has banned nighttime rides on mopeds, quad bikes, and motorcycles, citing their noise resemblance to drone attacks and alleging children are deliberately involved. Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on the peninsula, impacting supply routes and fuel availability. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian drone hit a Moscow refinery, halting operations, and Russia's strikes killed at least eight people across Ukraine.
China's crude oil production rose 1.1% to 91.31 mln metric tons in January-May 2026. However, crude oil processing volumes in May fell 9.1% year-on-year. Natural gas production increased 1.7% in the same period, while coal output declined.
Ukraine launched long-range missile and drone attacks deep inside Russia, hitting a military factory in Cheboksary and oil refineries in Samara and Vladimir regions. President Zelenskyy declared a new 'Day of the Unmanned Systems Forces'. Meanwhile, Russia reported arrests in Moscow car bombings and continued attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
Middle East oil official states refining capacity lost 3 million barrels daily (2020-2023). Market also lost 14 million barrels daily from Middle East producers due to war on Iran, infrastructure attacks, and Strait of Hormuz closure.
Groq aims to raise $650 million from existing investors to expand its inference neocloud business, leveraging its AI chip and systems, following a $20 billion licensing deal with Nvidia.
