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Iran’s attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas field will have repercussions for energy supplies, Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during a presser in Doha.
The damaged facilities produce about 17% of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas export capacity. It will take three to five years to repair the damage, QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi said in an interview with Reuters. The LNG plant had already halted production after a previous drone strike but the subsequent attacks dealt more damage.
Iran stepped up attacks on energy assets after US President Donald Trump called for restraint. The price of oil and natural gas jumped amid the escalating attacks that are leading to long-term damage to major energy facilities.
Israel came in for a rare public rebuke from Trump over an airstrike yesterday on Iran’s South Pars gas field. In a social media post, he asserted that Israel acted without Washington’s knowledge.
The UK, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands issued a joint statement calling on Iran to stop attacks on energy sites and other civilian infrastructure. They also called for an end to the shipping gridlock in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking at the White House this afternoon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US is looking to remove sanctions on Iranian oil as part of efforts to reduce energy prices. It would be a stunning reversal of US policy that used sanctions as a way to bring Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged for a sixth meeting. The deposit rate was left at 2% today. However, ECB policymakers would be ready to raise interest rates as soon as their next meeting if the conflict in Iran pushed inflation too far above target, we’re told. The ECB sees inflation peaking at 6.3% in the first quarter of 2027 under a severe version of how the conflict in Iran may play out. The extreme scenario — published alongside quarterly economic projections — would also trigger a short recession in the 21-nation bloc.
Lagarde also urged governments not to go overboard on help for voters to weather the surge in energy prices, pleading fiscal restraint. “Any fiscal responses to the energy price shock should be temporary, targeted and tailored,” she said.
The Bank of England also held rates today at 3.75% after the Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously. It said it “stands ready to act” against a surge in inflation. That prompted traders to ramp up bets on an interest-rate hike as soon as next month. Minutes from the meeting pointed to a major hawkish shift by the panel while the Iran conflict disrupts oil. The committee opened the door to hikes, with Governor Andrew Bailey warning that policy must “respond to the risk of a more persistent effect on UK CPI inflation.”
An estimated $11 billion was spent in just the first six days. Read the Story
European Union leaders were not able today to break the deadlock over a €90 billion ($103 billion) loan to Ukraine. Some leaders left fuming over the refusal by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s to budge until he regains access to Russian oil. During a summit in Brussels, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attended via videolink, nearly every EU leader spoke in favor of unlocking the aid. But Hungary, backed by Slovakia, stood its ground, we’re told. The clash comes as Ukraine faces the prospect of running out of money as early as next month unless the aid is released.
Kenya’s Lamu port is a surprise refuge with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Vessels bound for the Middle East divert and discharge cargo at the rarely used facility, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) north of the much busier Mombasa Port. Lamu has received 74 vessels since the start of the year, the Kenya Ports Authority said in a X post. That’s about a third of all ships it serviced since it opened in 2021. The port received just two container ships in the first quarter of last year. Shipping lines have limited access to the Dubai’s Jebel Ali, the busiest container port outside of Asia — and are avoiding the Red Sea, opting instead for the longer journey around southern Africa.
Novo Nordisk won approval to sell a high-dose version of its blockbuster Wegovy obesity shot in the US. It will allow the Danish drugmaker to offer weight loss closer to that of rival Eli Lilly’s competing shot Zepbound. Novo will start selling the high-dose Wegovy shot in the US in April, it said in a statement today. It will come in the form of a single-dose pen, the company said. The higher dose is critical to Novo’s efforts to keep up with Lilly after a trial showed Zepbound delivers more weight loss than the standard dose of Wegovy.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are among investment banks offering hedge fund clients ways to bet against the $1.8 trillion private credit market, we’re told. The firms have assembled baskets of listed companies with exposure to the space. Goldman’s indexes vary from one focused on European financial institutions with private credit exposure to a group of business development companies and another alternatives managers more broadly. JPMorgan’s basket meanwhile includes alternatives managers and BDCs, the people said. Clients can also invest in the indices.
Written by: Jennifer Duggan @Bloomberg
The post “Qatar Assesses Damage as Energy Strikes Escalate” first appeared on Bloomberg
