- Oil dropped Monday morning after two weeks of gains as the demand recovery continues to be threatened by the delta coronavirus variant
- The virus is muddling the outlook for consumption across the Asia Pacific. China faces a new outbreak, Thailand is about to expand its quasi-lockdown measures. (Bloomberg)
- Despite the virus's persistence, US oil consumption is rushing back much faster from the pandemic slump than first predicted
- The Energy Information Administration on Friday pegged May’s demand for US oil products at 20.094 million barrels, or about 7% higher than its original estimate
- The US and Israel promised to respond to a drone attack on a tanker that killed two last week in the Persian Gulf; they blamed Iran (WSJ)
- Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet said that Israel expected the international community to respond, adding, “in any case, we know how to send a message to Iran in our own way.”
- The accusation against Iran comes as the US and Iran are working on restoring the 2015 nuclear accord. Those talks have stalled recently as the US is waiting for Iran to return to the negotiating table, according to to the WSJ