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US natgas at Waha turns positive for the first time since February, as pipeline constraints ease
?U.S. The spot price of natural gas for Tuesday at the Waha Hub, in West Texas, turned positive for the first time since February. This is because the demand for fuel has increased with the arrival of summer air conditioning and as energy firms are finishing spring pipeline maintenance. Electric companies use more gas during summer as businesses and homes crank up the air conditioners. Gas-fired power plants account for about 40% of U.S. electricity generation. Prior to Tuesday, Waha's next-day price had been below zero for an unprecedented?90 consecutive days as pipeline restrictions from spring maintenance trapped the gas in the Permian basin, the nation’s largest oil-producing region in West Texas and eastern New Mexico. Analysts have said for years that negative prices, forcing some energy companies to pay other firms to take gas in conjunction with their oil production were a sign the Permian needed more gas pipelines. There will be more pipes later this year but not fast enough to deal with the current gas production. Analysts predict that energy firms will boost Permian production as new pipes are put into service, and as rising oil prices due to the Iran war encourage oil producers to extract more oil. The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that Permian Gas output will reach new record highs each month between May and November as new pipes enter service. In November, it is expected to reach 30.1 billion cubic foot per day (bcfd). This amount of gas could provide around a quarter of the fuel used in the U.S. One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to fuel five million U.S. households for one day. NEGATIVE GAS PRICES Permian energy firms are willing to accept some losses in gas, as they can compensate for the profits made from selling oil. In the past decade, negative gas prices were rare. Environmental rules were less strict and drillers were able to?flare off or burn some of their unwanted gases. In recent years, this gas has gained in value as a fuel for data centers that need a lot of power. It can also be exported via pipelines to Mexico or as LNG to other markets. Waha Hub: Spot prices The price of a million British thermal unit (mmBtu), which was minus 8 cents on Monday, rose to 42 cents on Tuesday. Daily Waha prices?averaged under zero for the first time in 2019. The price of Daily Waha was first?averaged below zero in 2019. The average Waha price per mmBtu has been negative $2.19 so far in 2026. This compares to a positive $1.15 for 2025, and a $2.88 positive over the last five years (from 2021-2025). (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens, Paul Simao, and Scott DiSavino)
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There are some flights to the Middle East that have resumed but there is still disruption.
Despite the fact that most of the suspensions remain in place after the U.S. and Israeli strikes against?Iran, which disrupted global travel in February. The following is a list of the current status of flights by alphabetical order. AEGEAN AIRLINES Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights were cancelled by Greece's biggest carrier until June 26. Dubai flights are canceled until August 31. Erbil and Baghdad flights will be canceled until September 30. AIRBALTIC AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has cancelled all flights to Dubai and Tel 'Aviv until June 28. AIR CANADA Canadian Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until October 24. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv up until the 28th of June. Air France-KLM Air France suspended flights to Tel Aviv until June 23. Flights to Beirut will be suspended until June 24, and flights to Dubai will be cancelled until June 30. KLM has suspended flights from Dubai to Riyadh until August 2, and until July 26 to Dammam and Riyadh. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has suspended its flights to Dubai and Riyadh until August 31. The U.S. carrier suspended service for the Atlanta-Tel Aviv routes through December 18. The airline plans to resume New York JFK to Tel Aviv flight on September 6?while its Boston to Tel Aviv route has been postponed until further notice. FINNAIR Finnair has cancelled all Doha flights up until October 2 and continues to avoid the airspace over Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. In October, it will resume Dubai flights that are only operated during the winter. British Airways, owned by IAG, has delayed the return of flights to Doha and Riyadh to August 1st. Flights from Amman, Bahrain, Amman, Dubai, Tel Aviv and Dubai are suspended until the end the summer season. They are expected to resume on the 25th of October. It plans to reduce the number of flights to Dubai, Doha and Riyadh to just one per day when it resumes, and to drop Jeddah from its list of destinations. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until August 1, as well as Doha-Tokyo until July 31. Polish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Riyadh and Beirut until 30 June. LOT will begin operating its winter route from Dubai in October. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa has announced that it will resume Tel Aviv flights as early as July 1, while ITA Airways confirms they will resume them on July 1. SWISS delayed the resumption until August, while Brussels Airlines suspended flights until October 24. The suspension of Dubai flights by Lufthansa SWISS and ITA Airways continues until September 13th. Lufthansa and SWISS have suspended flights until October 24 to Abu Dhabi, Amman Beirut Dammam Riyadh Erbil?Muscat Tehran. Eurowings, a low-cost carrier, has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until July 9 and until July 17. It also suspends its flights to Erbil and?Dubai until June 30, and to Amman and Abu Dhabi until October 24. ITA Airways also extended its suspension of flights to Riyadh through July 31. MALAYSIA AIRLINES From July 2, the Malaysian airline will resume limited service to Doha. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost carrier has delayed its planned launch of Tel Aviv and Beirut indefinitely and no new dates have been determined. ROYAL MAROC Moroccan airline announced that flights to Doha have been cancelled until 30 June. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to a?higher level of demand, the carrier has extended its Singapore-Dubai suspension until August 2. It also added services on Singapore-London Gatwick as well as?Singapore - Melbourne routes from late-March until October 24, in order to accommodate?higher demand. TURKISH AIRLINES SunExpress, Turkish Airlines joint venture with Lufthansa has cancelled flights to Dubai, Bahrain, Beirut, and Erbil, until July 14. WIZZ AIR Low-cost airlines have suspended flights from Europe to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman until mid-September. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Lioma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Olesska, Bernadette HOG, Alexander Klyve Gudbrandsen, Romolo TOSIANI, Boleslaw LaSocki). Matt Scuffham and Alexander Smith edited by Susan Fenton, Milla Nissi-Prussak Jonathan Ananda Joe Bavier, Louise Heavens, Louise Heavens, Louise Heavens, Louise Heavens, Louise Heavens, Louise Heavens, Louise Heaven, Bernadette Hogg, Romolo Tosiani.
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Sources say that the freight rates for Russian Urals are expected to ease in June.
Two trade sources reported that freight rates for tanker shipments of Urals crude oil from Russia's western port 'to India' eased in June compared to last month due to seasonal factors, increased 'availability' of vessels and shippers' optimistic view of the opening of Strait of Hormuz. Two trade sources said that the United States and Iran reached a deal on a peace agreement, which would end the?war? in Iran and allow free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Sources said that the blockade caused a dramatic increase in freight rates around the world, including on the Russian oil shipping markets. The agreement is expected to reduce freight rates and facilitate shipping through the Strait. Sources claim that the cost to ship Aframax cargoes from Primorsk (typically 100,000 tons) to India has dropped to $10 to $11 millions, down from over $13 million at the end of May. The cost to?ship Urals from Novorossiisk, a Black Sea port, to India via Suezmax tanks (140,000-ton cargo) has dropped to $15 million. According to sources, the'summer?season' facilitates tanker loading in Russia's western port and increases vessel turnover due to more favourable weather conditions. The tanker market was cooled by an expected drop in exports for June. The sources did add that the final June export programme could exceed expectations due to the ongoing drone attacks on Russian refineries, which are releasing available crude oil volumes.
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Seven anarchists arrested in Italy over Winter Olympics rail sabotage network
Seven people have been arrested by the Italian police for allegedly 'belonging to a militant anarchist network' and sabotaging a high-speed rail line during the Winter Olympics in February. In a?statement? on Tuesday, the police stated that a judge ordered that five suspects be kept in prison while two were placed under house-arrest. Charges include terrorist associations and subversion of democratic order. Two of the arrested people were accused by police of being involved in an attack on the Rome to Florence high-speed railway line that took place on February 14. Investigators claim that the'sabotage' was committed using improvised explosives. The damage caused to infrastructure is estimated at EUR455,000 ($528,000). The sabotage caused delays of over an hour during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics which took place from February 6-22. "The sabotage, along with another attack carried out at the same time on the Rome-Naples line, was claimed on the website ispiraazione.noblogs.org, created specifically a few months earlier," police ?said. The police added that the statement of the anarchists explicitly referred to timing and the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, as well as anti-militarist goals and violent attacks on infrastructure. According to police, this group is based in Rome, but maintains links with other cells located?in Bologna Milan and Naples. Rome's prosecutors issued search warrants for other suspects in investigation across?several Italian towns. The '40-page statement, posted on a website cited by the police, also claimed responsibility for the March sabotage of the Transalpine Pipeline.
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Yandex Bank is the target of UK sanctions against Russia's shadow navy
Britain imposed new sanctions on Russia Tuesday. They targeted Yandex Bank and a network that is linked to Russian military intelligence. Also, they targeted dozens of vessels suspected of shipping Russian gas and oil into third-country countries as part Moscow's shadow fleet. The package also included Evofinance Mosnarbank, Wildberries Bank and insurer Rosgosstrakh. "These sanctions are aimed at the ships, the money, and the people who support Russia's war economic, which in turn threatens European security," stated Prime Minister Keir starmer, who is in France for a Group of Seven summit. The G7 countries have sanctioned more than 20 oil tanks and several LNG vessels in the first ever sanctions imposed by a G7 nation on ships connected to Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project. According to the British government, Britain has sanctioned over 600 shadow fleet ships to date. In?March, Starmer granted permission to the military to board and detain vessels suspected of helping Russia to export oil in spite of Western restrictions. British 'commandos' intercepted an oil tanker sanctioned by the shadow fleet in the Channel, Sunday. The new sanctions target what Britain called a 'Russian military intelligence procurement network, centred around Neptune Co Ltd. They accused the company of secretly acquiring Western technologies for Russia's defense sector. $1 = 0.7443 pounds (Reporting and editing by William James, Sarah Young and Alistair Smout)
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Fujitsu's chairman resigns after 'woman-related inappropriate behaviour'
Fujitsu chairman Hidenori Furuta has resigned at his request on Tuesday after the company confirmed his "woman-related improper conduct", a spokesperson for the Japanese technology conglomerate announced. Fujitsu announced that it had withdrawn Furuta’s candidacy for a nonexecutive director at the upcoming?annual shareholders meeting? The spokesperson didn't comment on Furuta or any plans to replace Furuta. Furuta, who was contacted via LinkedIn, stated: "The?statement of the company speaks for itself." Furuta, who served as Fujitsu’s chief operating officer, executive Vice President and chief technology Officer, will become chairman of the company in 2024, according to its website. After the announcement, shares in 'Fujitsu' were barely moved, rising 0.2% during the afternoon session, in line with the benchmark index?Nikkei?225. In 2023, the?president of energy giant 'Eneos' was dismissed for misconduct during a social event while drunk. (Reporting and editing by Thomas Derpinghaus, Tom Hogue, and Kantaro Koiya)
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The US-Iran agreement promises an end to the war, but its implementation remains unclear
Shippers said it would take weeks before confidence returned after any reopening of Strait of Hormuz. And fundamental questions remain unanswered. U.S. president Donald Trump announced on Monday that a preliminary agreement had been signed between the U.S. The interim agreement would prolong a tenuous truce announced in April for another 60 days, and reopen Strait of Hormuz which Iran effectively closed since the U.S. attacked Iran in February. During the 60-day window, the next round of negotiations will address the difficult issues such as the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu's other arguments for war, including ending Iran's support of regional armed proxy forces and curbing the missile program aren't expected to be discussed during those negotiations. Trump announced that the deal was signed after arriving in France to attend a G7 summit. He said that Vice President JDVance would be attending a formal signing in Geneva, on Friday. Oil prices dropped on Monday, to their lowest levels since March 10, just a few days after the Strait of Hormuz was closed between Iran and Oman. This narrow waterway is responsible for one-fifth of all oil trade in the world. Brent crude futures fell 0.3% in Asian trading to $82.96 per barrel. The deal is the biggest step forward in resolving the conflict. It has resulted in the deaths of at least 7,000 people - mostly in Iran and Lebanon - and upended the global energy markets. Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president, wrote in a social media post on Monday that "the interim agreement" was "an important step" towards stopping the fighting. However, he noted that "a final deal to achieve a lasting ceasefire has yet to be shaped." Vance said on CNN that the memorandum signed was a very general document. U.S. officials said that details would be revealed over the next couple of days. Vance stated that it contained "a very important sanctions relief package" (for Iran). Later, he told Fox News Trump could decide to release the deal before Friday. U.S. officials and Iranian officials claim that lifting sanctions, unfreezing assets abroad and creating a $300 billion reconstruction funds, funded by Gulf States, who host U.S. bases, could lead to substantial economic benefits for Iran. U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Iran must comply with U.S. requirements to never build a nuclear bomb and to stop supporting militias such as Hezbollah, in Lebanon, in order to receive these benefits. Iranian officials who have denied ever wanting to build a nuke say that they have not given much up by agreeing with the United States to resume diplomatic talks over Iran's nuclear enrichment program. These discussions were interrupted by the war. REBUILD CONFIDENCE The latest agreement may lift Iran's chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz but that is only a return to the status quo of the war. Shippers have said they will not resume traffic until they feel confident they can safely transit the Strait. Chief executive of Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, a shipping company with a fleet that includes more than 900 vessels, including tankers, said to the Financial Times that shipowners wouldn't sail through the Strait until they felt confident about the U.S. Iran deal. "Given what we've seen in the past couple of months, it seems reasonable to assume that it will take a few weeks or even a month," Tamura said before Trump announced his deal. According to the FT, Tamura's opinion has not changed despite the agreement between Washington DC and Tehran having been finalised. Iran has indicated that it will maintain a 'control' over the strait with Oman. The U.S. has said that the strait would be toll-free during 60 days, and they expect this provision to be included in a final agreement. Trump stated in a Truth Social posting that oil-laden ships were beginning to leave the strait "going along the Southern 'Highway', which is completely safe, secure and pristine". NETANYAHU - "STOOD FIRM" Another key issue is the fighting in Lebanon between Israel, a U.S.-aligned country, and Hezbollah, allied with Iran. This conflict has resulted in the displacement of 1.2 million people. Iran said that the 'deal' requires an end to all hostilities in the region, but Netanyahu stated that Israel would maintain its forces in southern Lebanon and retain the right of response to Hezbollah attack. He said at a Monday news conference that Iran wanted us to pull out of the deal, but he refused. Israel has not taken part in the Iranian peace talks directly. An official from the United States said that the withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon was not part of the agreement. In March, after Hezbollah entered the war, it had invaded the country. Abbas Araqchi, Iranian foreign minister, said that Israeli attacks must cease immediately.
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Norwegian Air will buy Nordic Leisure Travel Group at $843 Million
Norwegian Air, a budget airline, announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to?buy the package holiday company Nordic Leisure Travel Group. The deal is worth around 8.94 billion Swedish crowns (US$842.90m) in cash and stocks. Norwegian stated that the 'deal', which includes tour operator and hotel brand names, would create a Nordic Travel Group serving 'roughly 30 millions customers annually. Revenues will increase by close to 50%, and earnings will be accretive starting in 2027. Norwegian Air CEO Geir Carlsen stated in a press release that "we?see an opportunity to grow our hotel and holiday sales amongst our existing customers." The deal, which is backed by Geveran's largest shareholder, is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, including EU antitrust clearance. It is expected to close in the second half of 2026. Norwegian stated that upon closing Strawberry Equities, funds managed by Altor and TDR Capital will become "significant shareholders".
Sources say that the Moscow oil refinery stopped production on 16 June after a drone attack.
Two industry sources confirmed that a Moscow oil refinery stopped operations on Tuesday after a?Ukrainian drone attack. Sources said that the strike was claimed by Ukraine and caused a fire at the primary refinery CDU-6, which can process 21,400 metric tonnes of oil per day. This is 53% of its capacity.
Sources who requested anonymity as they were not authorised to speak in public said that the refinery is expected to resume its operations at its second primary unit soon. This unit can process 18,800 tons per day. The local?emergency service said earlier on Tuesday that the fire at the refinery was put out, and operations were not affected. Sergei Sobyanin, the Moscow mayor, said that a facility on site was?damaged without providing further details.
The refinery, located in the southeast part of Moscow?supplies fuel to Russia?s capital.
Gazpromneft did not respond immediately to a comment request.
Sources claim that the refinery will process?11,6 million metric tonnes of crude oil by 2024 (or about?230,000 barrels a day) and produce 2.9 millions?tons gasoline, 3.2million tons diesel and 1.3million tons bitumen. Reporting by Kirsten Doovan; Editing by Kirsten Doovan
(source: Reuters)