Iran war underscores risks of Trump's relentless focus on oil

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Iran war is underscoring the risks of President Donald Trump’s relentless focus on fossil fuels as he pursues what he calls American energy dominance. As crude oil prices rise above $100 a barrel and gasoline prices surge toward $4 a gallon, experts say Trump’s strategy of blocking clean energy such as wind and solar power has made the U.S. more vulnerable to supply shocks caused by the war. A key access point for the global oil market called the Strait of Hormuz is effectively blocked by Iran. Trump has moved to release millions of barrels of oil from a strategic reserve. Even so, oil prices are likely to keep rising.

Iran intensifies attacks on Gulf energy sites after Israel struck its key gas field

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has intensified its attacks on oil and gas facilities around the Gulf, dramatically raising the stakes in a war that is sending shock waves through the global economy. Thursday’s strikes came in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian natural gas field. They sent fuel prices soaring and risked drawing Iran’s Arab neighbors directly into the conflict. Tehran targeted energy production, further stressing global supplies already under pressure because of Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz. That’s a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported. Lebanon’s health ministry says over 1,000 people have been killed in the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Asia scrambles to conserve energy as Iran war disrupts oil and gas supplies

NEW DELHI (AP) — Asian countries are racing to save energy and shield consumers as the war on Iran disrupts oil and gas flows. Since Feb. 28, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed sharply, and energy prices climbed. Experts at the U.N. and other groups warn the shock hit Asia hardest because it depends on imported fuel. Japan tapped stockpiles as gasoline prices rise. South Korea leaned on reserves and expanded coal and nuclear power. China has used big reserves and more renewables, but travel costs are rising. Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines added subsidies and controls. Pakistan, India, and Nepal rationed fuel.

The Strait of Hormuz has a long history of disruption

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran has thrust the Strait of Hormuz into the crosshairs of yet another geopolitical conflict. Nearly all traffic in the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the globe’s oceans has been ground to a halt, cutting off a critical passageway for the world’s flow of oil. Over the years, Tehran repeatedly threatened to close the strait in response to sanctions, for example, but never ended up cutting off traffic entirely. Still, ship seizures and past fighting in the region have raised alarm for commercial vessels, at times severely disrupting their ability to sail through.

The attacked South Pars natural gas field is an energy lifeline for Iran

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The South Pars natural gas field, which came under attack this week, is an energy lifeline for Iran. Iranian state media reported an Israeli attack on the field on Wednesday. In response, Iran attacked key infrastructure in other Middle East countries. The Iran war, now in its third week, has dealt a massive energy shock to the global economy by choking off most exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz. The South Pars attack targeted not Iran’s exports, but its biggest source of domestic energy supplies in a country that sometimes struggles to produce enough electricity.

Brent crude briefly tops $119 per barrel before pulling back, and stocks sink worldwide

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices climbed again because of the war with Iran, tightening their grip on the global economy and sending stock markets lower around the world. Brent crude briefly rose above $119 per barrel Thursday before pulling back to $112. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% and is on track for a fourth straight losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 359 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.8%. In Europe and Asia, where companies are more reliant on Middle Eastern oil, stock indexes sank more. Treasury yields rose as traders trimmed bets for a cut to interest rates this year by the Federal Reserve.

US applications for jobless benefits fall to 205,000 last week as layoffs remain historically low.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining in the same range of recent years despite a broadly tepid labor market. The number of Americans filing for jobless aid for the week ending March 14 fell by 8,000 to 205,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 215,000 new filings analysts forecast. Filings for unemployment benefits are viewed as a proxy for U.S. layoffs. The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending March 7 rose by 10,000 to 1.86 million, the government said.

Trade with Cuba collapses as Trump escalates pressure on Communist Party leadership

MIAMI (AP) — President Donald Trump this week said he believes he’ll have “the honor of taking Cuba” soon.  Without declaring a formal blockade, Trump and his administration have already crippled trade with the island and threatened the future of the Communist Party regime. In March, supplies of oil, food and other goods to the island collapsed, with no foreign-originating tankers arriving to Cuba, according to shipping data analyzed by Windward, a maritime intelligence firm. The volume of port calls, which includes tankers moving from one Cuban port to another, averaged around 50 per month in 2025 but fell to just 11 in March - all of them arriving from domestic ports. It was the lowest since 2017.

European Central Bank holds rates unchanged as energy shock from Iran war causes massive uncertainty

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank left its key interest rates unchanged Thursday and warned that the Iran war would boost inflation in the short term through higher energy prices but that the long-term impact on consumer prices and the economy was uncertain. The bank’s rate-setting committee left its benchmark deposit rate unchanged at 2%, where it has been since June 2025.

Average US long-term mortgage rate rises to 6.22%, highest level in more than 3 months

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in more than three months, a setback for prospective home shoppers this spring homebuying season. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.22% from 6.11% last week. One year ago, the rate averaged 6.67%. Only three weeks ago, the average rate had dropped to just under 6% for the first time since late 2022, but it has risen every week since the war with Iran started, rattling financial markets and stoking worries about higher inflation due to a spike in energy prices.