News about Middle East

Global food inflation is expected to accelerate in coming months and persist into 2027, as war-related shipping disruptions and El Nino-driven drought squeeze cereal supplies. In Jakarta, parking attendant Muhamad Yasin, 63, says rice, tempeh and tofu now cost 15,000 rupiah, up from 7,000 to 8,000, forcing him to cut back on meals. The World Bank found food prices outpaced headline inflation in 22 percent of the 150 countries it analysed in the September quarter, up from 14 percent. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 136 points in September, its highest since November 2022. Attacks on Black Sea grain infrastructure, Red Sea insecurity and the US-Israeli war on Iran have disrupted shipments and raised fuel and fertiliser costs, pushing wheat prices up more than 30 percent in 2026.

Crude oil prices hovered near recent highs on Sunday as traders weighed Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil facilities and more tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf. Brent fell $1.04 to $108.82 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate lost 26 cents to $101.15. Fires broke out at an oil terminal and depot in St. Petersburg after a massive Ukrainian drone attack; the terminal exports about 120,000 barrels per day of refined products, but the extent of the damage is unclear. Ukraine had briefly paused energy strikes after Trump announced a truce on Oct. 11, but Russia kept hitting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, so Zelenskyy said Kyiv would resume strikes on Russian facilities. Two tankers were also attacked off Saudi Arabia on Friday, according to UKMTO, amid Iran's escalating attacks on tankers aimed at choking off regional crude exports.