DAVID MCHUGH

AP Business Writer

In this photo taken from a video provided by the Central Bank of Russia press service, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina holds a regular press conference following a board meeting in Moscow, Russia, on Friday, July 24, 2026. (Central Bank of Russia press service via AP)

Russia’s central bank gingerly cuts rates, caught between business complaints and inflation

Russia’s central bank made a smaller than usual interest rate cut on Friday, a compromise move to support stagnating economic growth even as inflation fueled by war spending remains higher than the bank’s target.

Two men wade in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz with vessels anchored in the background, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)

Middle East oil producers step up plans to bypass the Strait of Hormuz

Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz.

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A group of people stands in shallow water as a cargo ship appears anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

Iran warns oil tankers to use approved routes in Strait of Hormuz or face a ‘forceful response’

Iran’s joint military command has warned that all oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz must use its approved routes or face a “forceful response.”

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The Euro sculpture stands in front of the former headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, May 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)

Europe’s central bank head defends its recent rate hike to fight inflation

The head of the European Central Bank said the bank’s latest rate increase will help bring down inflation to its 2% target by next year.

Tankers and cargo vessels are seen in the Gulf of Oman, along shipping routes linking the Strait of Hormuz and the Arabian Sea, Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo)

The Strait of Hormuz’s future is unsettled in wake of latest strikes

Iranian drone strikes and US retaliation amid a shaky ceasefire have blunted an uptick in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

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China Shock 2.0: Surging Chinese exports threaten Europe’s economy, raising concern at G7 summit

For eight years, the United States has waged economic war on China, slapping big taxes on Chinese products before they enter America.

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French President Emmanuel Macron walks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, Monday, June 15, 2026. (Isabel Infantes/Pool Photo via AP)

China Shock 2.0: Surging Chinese exports threaten Europe’s economy, raising concern at G7 summit

For eight years, the United States has waged economic war on China, slapping big taxes on Chinese products before they enter America.

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A person stands in shallow water as cargo and commercial vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, June 8, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

Even with a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, it could take weeks or months for oil to fully flow

The tentative agreement to end the war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz would be good news for the global economy.

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A small motorboat passes anchored vessels in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Thursday, June 11, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

Analysis: Iran’s stranglehold on Strait of Hormuz loosens as Gulf Arab oil reaches market

Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz may be easing and its own oil problems now seem to be mounting.

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The European Bank is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Europe’s central bank raises rates to fight inflation from Iran war, the Fed to decide next week

The European Central Bank on Thursday became the first major central bank to raise interest rates in response to the Iran war.

People stand next to a vendor's cart on the beach as cargo ships and offshore service vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

Report: Disruption of Mideast energy supplies into next year would slam global economy

Prolonged disruption of energy supplies from the Middle East that lasts into next year would deal a severe blow to the global economy.

A container ship sits at anchor as a small motorboat passes in the foreground in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

US military says it intercepted Iranian attacks on 3 Navy ships in Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. military says that it intercepted Iranian attacks on three U.S. Navy ships as they transited the Strait of Hormuz and “targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces.”

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A container ship sits at anchor as a small motorboat passes in the foreground in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

Shipping firms are being whipsawed by changing stances and risks as they wait for Hormuz to reopen

With hundreds of vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf and costs piling up, shipping companies are being whipsawed by uncertainty over how and when the Strait of Hormuz might reopen more than two months into the Iran war.

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President of European Central Bank Christine Lagarde addresses the media during a press conference after an ECB's governing council meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Inflation hits 3% in Europe as Iran war spreads oil price shock

Soaring oil prices from the Iran war pushed inflation higher to 3% in Europe in April. And growth continued to underperform.

The UAE’s departure from OPEC shakes up the alliance that influences oil prices worldwide

The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the OPEC oil cartel has shaken up the 65-year-old alliance that produces some 40% of the world’s crude oil and exerts major influence over the price of energy around the globe.

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The sun rises behind tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran, Saturday, April 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Asghar Besharati)

US says it’s hunting for explosive mines in latest push to open the Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump says the U.S. Navy is clearing Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz. The vital sea route for Persian Gulf oil is closed to most ships, and that’s a strain on the global economy.

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A cargo ship sails in the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo)

More confusion looms over Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacks three ships near waterway

Confusion is deepening in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacked three ships near the crucial waterway that has plunged the world into an energy crisis.

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Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri,File)

How a US blockade on Iran has sanctioned ships turning around

Some Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels that have left the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz have stopped or turned around.

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Two police officers walk in front of an anti-U.S. billboard depicting American aircraft being caught by Iranian armed forces in a fishing net beneath the words in Farsi, "The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed, The entire Persian Gulf is our hunting ground," in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Iran’s proposal to collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz violates trade norms

To end the war with the United States and Israel, Iran is demanding the right to collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz as a precondition for reopening the waterway vital to world oil supplies.

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BERJAYA

The South Pars natural gas complex is an energy lifeline for Iran

Israel has again attacked Iran’s South Pars natural gas and petrochemical complex - an energy lifeline for Iran that both helps keep the lights on for civilians and provides a key source of export earnings.

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Schleswig-Holstein, Flensburg: Police officers stand next to a fallen tree in a wooded area south-east of Flensburg, Germany on Sunday, April 5, 2026. (Benjamin Nolte/dpa via AP)

3 killed as high winds topple a tree on an Easter egg hunt in Germany

German police say three people, including a 10-month-old girl, were killed Sunday when high winds toppled a tree during an Easter egg hunt.

Sweden stops sanctioned tanker suspected of causing Baltic oil spill after leaving Russian port

The Swedish Coast Guard has boarded a tanker suspected of causing an oil spill on the Baltic Sea. The vessel, Flora 1, is under European Union sanctions for transporting Russian oil.

Fuel prices are listed at a gas station in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Inflation increases to 2.5% in Europe as Iran war boosts energy prices

Europe’s inflation rate rose to 2.5% in March, according to official figures released Tuesday, as the Iran war sent energy prices sharply higher.

Cargo ships sail in the Arabian Gulf towards Strait of Hormuz in United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo)

Iran starts to formalize its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz with a ‘toll booth’ regime

Iran is cementing its hold over the Strait of Hormuz, demanding vessels give up detailed information and detour into Iranian waters before being vetted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

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The sun has set behind the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, late Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Top central banker thinks businesses may be quicker to raise prices due to Iran war

Businesses might be quicker to raise prices in response to the Iran war due to bitter memories of the energy price inflation that broke out after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Residents watch and take pictures as flames and smoke rise from an oil storage facility struck as attacks hit the city during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Alireza Sotakbar/ISNA via AP)

The targeting of key Gulf energy infrastructure raises the risk of long-term disruption

Escalating attacks on key oil and gas facilities in the Persian Gulf have increased the risk of an extended bout of higher prices for everything from gasoline and electricity to computer chips and food.

FILE - A partially constructed gas refinery at the South Pars gas field is seen on the northern coast of Persian Gulf in Asalouyeh, Iran, on Jan. 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

South Pars natural gas field is an energy lifeline for Iran

The South Pars natural gas field, which came under attack this week, is an energy lifeline for Iran.

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Newer skyscrapers flank the communist-era Palace of Culture and Science, foreground, in n, Poland, May 25, 2018. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz, File)

Poland is now among the world’s 20 largest economies. How it happened

Poland once was in economic ruins when communism fell more than three decades ago. Now it’s the 20th largest economy in the world.

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Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

US eases some Russian oil sanctions but crude prices stay high

The U.S. is temporarily easing part of its sanctions measures on Russian oil, a reflection of global worries about sharply higher oil prices due to the Iran war.

In this Jan. 18, 2016 file photo, an oil pump works at sunset, in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)

Iran war puts at risk key pipelines, terminals and refineries that supply the world with oil and gas

The Iran war threatens some of the world’s most critical oil and gas infrastructure. That includes the pipelines, refineries, and ports that keep energy flowing from the countries around the Persian Gulf.

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