Atira 2 oil tanker boat sails through the waters of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, April 28, 2026.
Asghar Besharati | Getty Images
Hello, my name is Justina Lee from Singapore on behalf of Leonie.
Tensions between Iran and the United States continue to rise, while news of recent deadly attacks on ships in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea, and of a worsening oil spill near Oman, have renewed concerns about supply disruptions.
In Asia, Japan’s July producer price rise was lower than analysts expected, while traders welcomed technical bullishness in South Korea’s benchmark Kospi.
What you need to know today
Oil prices are rising on concerns about supply disruptions following news of recent deadly attacks on ships in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea, as well as a worsening spill near Oman.
Rising tensions between the United States and Iran are also a cause for concern. Despite President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that the United States has “full control” of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has pushed back on that claim.
“The Strait of Hormuz remains closed and will not reopen until Iran’s terms are accepted,” the Persian Gulf Straits Authority said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is increasing oil exports through Mediterranean pipelines to avoid attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea.
In Asia, the latest data on Japan’s producer price inflation was weaker than analysts expected, slowing slightly to 7.2% year-on-year in July. In Japan, which is suffering from soaring energy costs, electricity prices are expected to be the biggest contributor to the producer price index in July.
In South Korea, traders cheered as the benchmark Kospi headed towards a technical bull market, spurred by a resurgence in global AI trading, following last month’s historic selloff. Fundstrat Global Advisors believes there is still room for Korean stocks to rise further, supported by the recovery in momentum of leading Korean memory chip makers.
In the high-tech sector, Chinese company Yangtze Memory Technologies, which is rapidly gaining market share in the crucial chip sector, has outperformed U.S. rival Micron and Japan’s Kioxia, according to data released by Counterpoint.
—Justina Lee
And finally…
‘No one wants it’: Cyclospora terrorizes consumers as lettuce prices plummet to record
Lettuce prices soared in July as Cyclospora outbreaks in several states prompted restaurants to avoid leafy greens.
Vegetable prices have fallen 16.4% since June, the largest single-month drop on record, according to seasonally adjusted data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lettuce also recorded the sharpest month-on-month decline within the CPI food category in July, with overall prices increasing by 0.1% over the period.
“It’s very likely due to the strongyle outbreak and consumers not wanting to buy lettuce right now,” said Jeremy Hopedahl, an associate professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas. “Consumers just want to stay away from this product.”
—Alex Harring
