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Wildfires near Spokane destroy 700 buildings and force 64,000 people to flee
Officials said that wildfires burning on the outskirts Spokane in Washington for the third day had destroyed at least 700 structures and forced thousands of people to flee. The three fires were deemed the 'top priority' in terms of firefighting across the U.S., which includes the Pacific Northwest region, where hundreds of wildfires are burning, causing air pollution to worsen over a large area. Since Saturday, the Spokane fires, which are located on the northern edge of the city and home to 230,000 people, have burned more than 8,000 hectares (3,200 acres). Video footage of the fire zone shows a long column of smoke, which stretches through the treetops. Aerial tankers dropped scarlet colored fire retardant slurries on the blaze. Smoke billowed in the sky as fires ravaged forest land six miles (10 km?) from Spokane downtown. Other suburban homes were in a smoking ruin among charred wood. Video footage showed fires raging along the wooded ridgelines above nearby dwellings. Benjamin Cossel, spokesperson for the incident control center, said that as of Monday, 64,000 people had been given immediate evacuation orders. This is up from 4,000?a day before. Cossel stated that at least 700 structures, mostly residential, have been destroyed or damaged by fire. Aerial infrared scans revealed that another 400 homes and other buildings may also have suffered damage. Investigations were underway to determine the cause of these fires. Prepare for the worst At a press conference in the afternoon, Governor Bob Ferguson stated that "there are so many Washingtonians" who literally lost their lives within a short time. "In just a few hours, the lives of many Washingtonians were profoundly and dramatically altered." Cossel said that no injuries or deaths have been reported yet, but "there's a good chance" this will change as the flames subside, and search teams reach communities which were previously inaccessible due to fire activity. Unspecified numbers of people are reported missing, as the flames spread from wooded areas to neighborhoods and commercially-developed areas. "It's a wildfire that has turned into an urban conflagration," said the official. Spokane mayor Lisa Brown stated at a news conference that "we are still assessing potential lives lost". The footage from a body-mounted camera showed firefighters dousing the fires that had sprung up in a wooded area. Cossel reported that as of Monday only about 1,100 firefighters had been assigned to fight the Spokane fires. This is a fraction from the 29,200 firefighters nationwide who are primarily assigned to fighting wildfires in Oregon, Washington State and Idaho. On Sunday, the agency reported that there were more than 100 new large wildfires in 15 states. The majority of these fires are located in the Northwest. This is stretching the resources across the entire region. According to the state's Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove, the Spokane cluster is one of 15 major wildfires that are burning in Washington State alone. More than 250,000 acres have been set ablaze. He told reporters that this is a wildfire season unlike any other in the Pacific Northwest. "EXPLOSIVE" FIRE BEHAVIOR Fires continue to rage in British Columbia north of the U.S./Canadian border. Officials have described the fire behavior as "explosive". Cossel stated that the aerial firefighting assets available in Spokane are currently limited to four fixed-wing aircraft. There are no helicopters capable of dropping water. Cossel stated that fire managers were hoping their crews would be able to make more progress during the narrow window of cooler and less windy weather on Monday and Tuesday. Although fire activity has decreased in some areas compared to?Sunday's, authorities have been reluctant to lift the evacuations of most of this fire zone. Cossel stated that it was "the worst thing to do" to allow people to return home, only to have them evacuated again within 24 to 48-hours. Officials said that as of Monday, firefighters in the Spokane area had not been able to contain any of the three fires. The Interagency Fire Center documented 44,722 fires nationwide in the first half of this year, which is the highest number for the time of year since at least 10 years ago. Nearly 5.2 million acres were consumed, making it the worst period from January to August, 2022. Scientists say that the conditions driving wildfire activity across North America, Europe, and other places in recent years - especially prolonged droughts and extreme heat - are largely caused by climate change. Reporting by Dave Ryder, Spokane Washington; Additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman, Los Angeles; and Andrew Hay, Taos New Mexico. Editing and proofreading by Deepa Babington, Lincoln Feast.
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Oil steady, but Asian stocks rise on Wall Street's lead
Asian markets opened with modest gains as investors followed a rally around the world. Oil prices remained near their lowest levels for weeks, as the U.S. - Iran conflict remained stalemated. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan was up 0.1%. South Korean shares rallied as much as 2.1 percent. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.3% while S&P500 e-minis futures grew 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high overnight after data showed that U.S. Manufacturing Activity increased to its highest level in over four years in July. Chris Weston is the head of research for Pepperstone Group, in Melbourne. "Risk markets are clearly turning a corner," he said. If the positive tone of the European and U.S. stock markets continues, early buyers will emerge to support regional risk assets. Brent crude rose 0.6% to $84.29 per barrel as trading resumed in Asia. This follows a fall of?towards a three-week high on Monday, as U.S. president Donald Trump announced that he would not launch a new attack against Iran in a show of goodwill during peace talks. Tehran, however, has denied any talks are happening. The dollar rose 0.3% to 157.625 Japanese yen after U.S. authorities and Japanese officials intervened last week in a coordinated effort to "prop up" the yen. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures greenback strength against a basket six currencies, is near the lowest levels in the last two months, at 99.99. The yield on the 10-year Treasury?bond was up 0.2 basis points at 4.684%. The yield on the?10-year Treasury 'bond' was up 0.2 basis points at 4.684%. The market pricing indicates that the Federal Reserve meeting in September will result in an increase to interest rates. Fed funds futures indicate a 65% implied probability of a 25 basis-point increase at the U.S. Central Bank's next 2-day meeting, ending September 16. This is according to CME Group's FedWatch. John Williams, President of the Federal Reserve Bank?New york, said that he was 'optimistic' about inflation pressures easing gradually. However, if inflation does not slow down then rates will be raised by the Fed. Bitcoin and ether, the two most popular cryptocurrencies, both fell 0.5%, to $63,446.35 each and $1,857.44. (Reporting and editing by Gregor Stuart Hunter)
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Wildfires near Spokane destroy 700 buildings and force 64,000 people to flee
Officials said that wildfires burning on the outskirts Spokane in Washington for the third day had destroyed 700 buildings. They also forced thousands of people from their homes. The three fires are a top priority for the U.S. in general, and this includes the Pacific Northwest where, due to the severe drought, dozens of wildfires of various sizes have been burning since weeks, causing air pollution across a large region. Since Saturday, the Spokane area fires have burned more than 8,500 acres in and around the suburbs of the city. The city is home to 230,000 people west of the Rocky Mountain Foothills near Idaho's border. Benjamin Cossel is the spokesperson for incident command center. He said that as of Monday, 64,000 people had been given?immediate evacuating orders. This was up from 4,000 just a day before. Cossel stated that at least 700 structures, mostly in residential areas have been destroyed or damaged by fire. Aerial infrared scans also revealed that another 400 buildings including homes may have been damaged. The cause of these blazes was under investigation. He said that no injuries or deaths have been reported yet, but "there's a very high likelihood" this will change as the flames die down and search teams reach communities that are still inaccessible because of extreme fire activity. Unspecified numbers of people are reported missing after flames spread from?wooded to neighborhoods and commercially-developed areas. "It's a wildfire that has turned into an urban conflagration," said the official. Cossel reported that as of Monday only about 1,100 firefighters had been assigned to fight the Spokane fires. This is a fraction from the 29,200 personnel nationwide who are assigned to fighting wildfires, with the majority of them concentrated in Oregon, Washington State and Idaho. It reported that there were more than 100 new large wildfires in 15 states on Sunday, with the majority of them occurring in the Northwest. This is a region where resources are stretched thin. "EXPLOSIVE" FIRE BEHAVIOR Fires continue to rage in British Columbia north of the U.S./Canadian border. Officials have described the fire behavior as "explosive". Spokane's aerial firefighting resources are currently limited to four fixed wing tanker aircraft and no water-dropping helicoptors, according to Cossel. Cossel, a fire manager, said that they hoped to make more progress with their crews during the narrow window of cooler and less windy weather expected to dominate on Monday and Tuesday, before extreme temperatures, low humidities and gusty conditions return by midweek. Despite the fact that fire activity has decreased in some areas compared to Sunday, authorities are still reluctant to lift evacuations from most of fire zone. Cossel stated that it is "the worst thing to do" to allow people to return home, only to have them evacuated again within 24 to 48 hours. Officials said that as of Monday, firefighters still had not contained any of the three fires in the Spokane area. Interagency Fire Center has documented 44,722 fires nationwide from January through early August, which is the highest number in the last decade. Nearly 5.2 million acres have been consumed. Scientists say that the conditions driving an increase in wildfires in North America, Europe, and elsewhere over the past few years, including periods of extreme heat and prolonged drought, are mostly a result of climate change caused by humans.
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Cuba's electrical grid collapses once again, just a few hours after the last blackout
Cuba's electrical grid collapsed again on Monday. State-run media reported that the government was attempting to reestablish the system after a nationwide blackout occurred on Sunday. Cuba's old power generation system is being severely strained by fuel shortages, deteriorating facilities and the U.S. oil blockade. In recent months, blackouts that affect the entire island, which is home to about 10 million people, are becoming more frequent. Cuba experienced three outages in nine days?in July. Then, on Sunday night just before 11 p.m. In a social media post, Lazaro Alonso, the director of news at Cuba's government-run TV, said: "Despite the progress we made today, a oscillation caused the collapse." The U.S. oil blockade imposed after Trump's administration ousted Venezuelan President Nicola Maduro, in January, has crippled?already?aging energy infrastructure on the island. Mexico halted oil shipments to Cuba after U.S. pressure. Washington claims that the blackouts in Cuba are caused by mismanagement of Cuba’s state-run economic system. (Reporting and editing by Kylie Madry; Ayose Naranjo)
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Oil prices drop, stocks rise amid Iran peace hopes and yen firm as investors wait for further intervention
The yen gained strength after the U.S. confirmed a joint intervention by Japan and the U.S. to support the currency. Investors watched for further signs of intervention. U.S. President?Donald Trump held off on a new attack against Iran over the weekend. Trump announced on Monday that talks were underway with Iran, warning that this was the "last chance" to get Tehran to agree to a deal that would end the five-month war. Iran, however, denied that negotiations were taking place or were planned. Brent futures for the front-month fell by $6.35 or 7.0% to settle at $83 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), however, fell $4.33 or 5.1% to settle at $80.34. Dow Jones closed at a record high. Earnings optimism also helped to support equities. Peter Cardillo is the chief market economist of Spartan Capital Securities, based in New York. He said, "The sharp fall in oil prices due to Trump cancelling his severe attacks against Iran, and hopes for a diplomatic solution, got things moving this morning." He added that "sofar, most earnings have exceeded expectations" and the guidance was positive. According to LSEG, more than 300 S&P component companies have already reported earnings, and 85% of them beat expectations. Amazon's market cap surpassed $3 trillion on Monday for the first. This was aided by a sharp rally after its recent strong earnings, and signs that AI is driving new demand for cloud computing services. Amazon shares closed the day 4.6% higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 693.38?points, or 1.32 %, to 53.178.41. The S&P 500 rose to 7,600.50, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 540.04?points, or 2.13 %, to 25,913.90. The MSCI index of global stocks rose 10.50 points or 0.94% to 1,131.01. The pan-European STOXX 600 gained 0.45%. AstraZeneca shareholders punished the pharmaceutical company over reports of merger discussions with U.S. competitor Bristol Myers Squibb, which could make it the world's largest drugmaker with a combined worth of almost $400 billion. Investors are watching for more yen interventions after Japan's Finance Ministry announced on Monday that Japan and the U.S. have conducted a coordinated yen buying intervention. The intervention on Saturday underscored the resolve of both countries to prevent global spillovers from a yen selloff and Japanese government bonds. Trump stated on Sunday that U.S. was helping Japan to prop up the Japanese yen in a show of friendship and for the benefit of the global economy. The Japanese currency has strengthened to its highest level in three months against the dollar. The dollar index (which measures the greenback versus a basket including the yen, the euro and other currencies) rose by 0.26% at 99.97. Meanwhile, the euro fell by 0.17% to $1.1507. Tokyo's unilateral intervention, which took place between late April and May, caused a short yen recovery, but a June rate hike by the Bank of Japan did not provide much support. This highlights the challenges policymakers are facing due to rising oil prices, and the widening interest-rate gap with other major economies. As oil prices dropped, U.S. Treasury rates also fell. Traders continued to assess the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate increase if the war lasted. The yield on the benchmark 'U.S. The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. notes dropped 6.13 basis points, to 4.684%. On Friday, it reached the highest level since January 2025 at 4.747%. The 30-year bond rate fell 4.76 basis point to 5.2274%, after reaching 5.2811% Friday. Spot gold increased by 0.33%, to $4.054.44 per ounce. (Reporting from Caroline Valetkevitch and Nell Mackenzie, in New York; Additional reporting from Ankur Banerjee, in Singapore; Editing and editing by Barbara Lewis and Kevin Liffey).
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Data shows that US oil exports fell to the lowest level since eight months in July.
Ship?tracking data revealed that U.S. crude oil exports fell to 3,66 million barrels a day in July, the lowest in eight months. A short-lived?peace?deal' between the U.S. & Iran in June temporarily flooded the markets with?Middle Eastern crude and reduced demand for American oil abroad. After the Iran War, which cut Middle Eastern oil supplies and forced Asian and European nations to look to the U.S. for the rest of the year's supply, the U.S. surpassed Saudi Arabia as the top oil exporter. In May, U.S. oil exports reached a record monthly level of 5.7 million barrels per day. Since then, however, the decline has been steady. In June, a memorandum signed by Washington and Tehran allowed stuck tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This helped to increase oil supply on the market. During the period of the peace agreement, the number of tankers leaving the Strait?of Hormuz in a single day reached 42. U.S. oil exports into?Asia fell to 40% in July, down from 52% in the previous month. Top buyers such as Japan and South Korea took fewer shipments. Cargoes for Japan, which was the largest buyer of oil in June and in July, dropped?67% in July to 324,000 barrels per day from a high in May. Shipments to South Korea also fell 39%, to 474,000 barrels per day. The number of shipments to Europe fell to 1.7 million bpd from 2.5 million bpd as recently as May. The U.S. government released crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve in July, but exports slowed to just 31,000 barrels per day. Kpler data indicated that the two shipments were headed to France and Peru. Rohit Rathod is an analyst with Vortexa. He said that the high refinery utilization in the U.S. kept barrels from being exported. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's data, the four-week average U.S. refining utilization rate was 96.3%. This is the highest level since 2018. The input of crude oil into U.S. refineries has also reached its highest level for about seven years. EXPORTS TO SOAR IN AUGUST & SEPTEMBER The discount between U.S. West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude, traded globally, also shrank significantly in June. This is when most deals are made for July shipments, which further hurts exports. WTI's average discount to Brent was $4.17, down from $8.16 per barrel in May. When WTI becomes cheaper than Brent, more U.S. exports are encouraged. Analysts said that the spread between WTI and Brent has been widening more recently. WTI traded at a discount as high as $5.42 per barrel in July. This should encourage exports to August and September. Scott Shelton, an energy specialist with TP ICAP, says that ship fixtures to exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast have been extremely busy in the past few days. A larger-than-normal number of Very Large Crude Carriers were booked for Asia and Europe, and Aframax tanks as well. A Very Large Crude Carrier is capable of moving up to 2 million barrels. Aframax tanks can transport about 750,000 barrels. Shelton said: "U.S. crude exports are on the rise." Vortexa's Rathod stated that export volumes are expected to surpass 4 million barrels a day in August and in September, but they will not reach the 5 million bpd levels seen in April or May. According to Energy?Aspects, exports are expected to be 4.58 million bpd for August and 4.45 million bpd for September. Ben Cook, portfolio director of the Hennessy Transition Energy Fund, says that the U.S. may be asked to increase exports if the conflict escalates in the Middle East. Analysts and traders have stated that the U.S. only has a monthly capacity of 6 million bpd due to limited pipeline capacity, vessel accessibility and loading schedules. Reporting by Arathy S. Somasekhar, in Houston; Siddharth C. Cavale, in New York. Editing by Nathan Crooks & Paul Simao.
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Diamondback Energy beats quarterly profit estimates, raises production forecast
Diamondback Energy beat analysts' expectations on Monday for its second-quarter profits and raised its annual production forecast. The high global oil prices are due to supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict. The war in Iran that began in late February nearly stopped the flow of Middle East goods through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude went from an average of $69.82 per barrel in January, to $126.41 by April, and WTI from $65.17, to $109.64. Diamondback expects to produce over 1 million barrels of oil-equivalent per day by 2026, up from its previous projection of 972,000 BOEPD. The company produced 1018 Mboepd during the second quarter. This is up from 919 879?boepd one year ago. Diamondback, a shale producer based in the U.S. enjoys the benefits of higher commodity prices, just like other oil producers. The realized price per barrel of oil for the company was $94.33, up from $62.34 one year ago. According to LSEG, the Midland, Texas, based company reported an adjusted profit per?share of $6.48 for the three'months' ended June - 30. This was compared with analyst estimates of $6.01. (Reporting and editing by Sriraj Kalluvila in Bengaluru)
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Gold prices fall as markets consider Middle East instability and inflation risks
Gold prices fell on Monday, as concerns about inflation and the war in the Middle East remained. The markets will also be watching the U.S. Federal Reserve policy direction this week. Spot gold dropped 0.3% per ounce to $4,030.34 by 2:00 pm EDT (1800 GMT), and U.S. gold futures for delivery in August settled at $4,090.50, a 0.4% decline. Gold has been in a trading band for over a month, roughly between $4,000 and $4200. The fact that the market may be anticipating a rise in inflation is a positive factor, particularly in July when fresh data are expected to reverse much of the decline in June," Marex analyst Edward Meir stated. Three Fed officials, who dissented at last week's meeting and voted in favor of a rate increase, said that delaying the higher borrowing costs could keep inflation over the Fed's target of 2%. New York Fed President John Williams stated that the central bank is ready to increase rates if inflation pressures do not ease. Brent futures rose by more than 20% in the last month as a result of renewed fighting between Iran and the U.S., and after attacks on tankers near Oman raised?security concerns. The expectation that the Fed would keep rates high to combat inflation is exacerbated by higher energy prices, which weighs on gold. Iran said on Monday that there are no ongoing talks with the U.S., and?no plans?for any meetings. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim that talks would be held to justify calling off a?attack. This week, market participants will closely monitor a number of U.S. jobs reports. These include the ADP Employment Report and the Nonfarm Payrolls Data. South Korea's central banks said that they would buy gold from local producers in order to diversify their sources of supply, and increase their holdings of precious metal. Silver spot was unchanged at $57.63 an ounce. Platinum fell 1.6% to $1.615.25, while palladium declined 1.7% to 1,252.62. (Reporting by Sukanya Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
After a selloff, oil prices rise as the talks to end the US-Iran War remain in doubt
After plunging the previous session on 'concerns that Middle Eastern supply is still at risk,' oil prices rose slightly on Tuesday. A diplomatic solution to the U.S. - Iran war, which?has disrupted shipments,? seems unlikely.
Brent futures for the front-month rose $0.62 or 0.7% to $84.39 per barrel at 0055 GMT, after falling 7% to a 3-week low in the previous session.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI), which had fallen over 5% the previous session, was $0.61 or 0.7% higher.
Prices fell after U.S. president Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he would?hold off on new attack on Iran pending ongoing negotiations to end their war and settle the claims over control of?the Strait?of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz connects Gulf oil producers with global markets. Before the conflict, energy exports equivalent to 20% of daily consumption were transported through this waterway.
On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei denied Trump’s claim. He said that no negotiations were underway with the U.S. and no meetings had been scheduled.
The move lower is fragile, said Tim Waterer of KCM Trade. "Oil could rebound higher if the Strait of Hormuz comes under fire again or if missiles are fired once more."
The dispute over the Strait of Hormuz is still a major point of contention. Washington claims that the June memorandum required Iran to unlock the waterway. Tehran, however, argues that the document explicitly reserved its authority.
Analysts from?Barclays reported that in the week ending July 31, crude oil and refined products net exports across the Strait averaged at 4.2 million barrels a day, up from 3.2 million bpd during the previous week.
Shipping data revealed on Monday that six Saudi-flagged Supertankers recently changed their course and headed to'southern Africa. Two tankers 'laden with Saudi Oil? crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The data also showed that traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, slowed down after reports of vessel attacks.
Hormuz remains dangerous for vessels. The United Kingdom Maritime Trading Operations (UKMTO)?on Wednesday said that they received a report about an incident which occurred 20 nautical miles north of Al Khasab in Oman, after a cargo ship broadcast on VHF channel 16 that it was hit by a?unknown projectile.
While the fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis did not stop energy flow, it forced longer journey times, higher insurance rates, and sometimes, diversions. Waterer stated that the Strait of Hormuz is a double-chokepoint in the market, which prevents oil's geopolitical premium from being fully unwound. (Reporting by Ishaan Arora in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
(source: Reuters)