The world's oil buffer is disappearing faster than at any point in recorded history. Two months into the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, global inventories are drawing down at a pace that has already exceeded the previous quarterly record.

The UAE has left OPEC, lost a proxy war with Saudi Arabia in Yemen, armed a militia accused of genocide in Sudan, recognised Somaliland alongside Israel, and welcomed an Iron Dome battery onto its soil.

Fitch Ratings has raised its 2026-2027 oil and gas price assumptions on a longer Strait of Hormuz closure, assuming reopening around July, with Brent expected at USD100-110 per barrel through July before falling to USD70 by September.

The Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) held a series of high-level meetings in Washington to discuss progress on the $25bn Atlantic African Gas Pipeline (AAGP)