Published: 4 hours ago
By Glen Hallick
Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – The following is a glance at the news moving markets in Canada and globally.
- A key Pakistani mediator said on Thursday that the United States and Iran could soon resume talks regarding the Middle East war. Reports said a breakthrough was made on “sticky issues” that could see the belligerents return to the bargaining table within days. Iran indicated it’s willing to extend the two-week ceasefire that ends April 22, however its nuclear program remains a major stumbling block. The U.S. said it could resume its attacks if an agreement is not reached.
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- The U.S. was just short of becoming a net crude exporter for the first time since 1943, reports said on Thursday. The gap between crude imports and exports narrowed to 66,000 barrels per day, as exports hit a seven-month high of 5.2 million BPD. With the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, about 20 per cent of the world’s crude supply cannot reach its buyers, forcing several countries to turn elsewhere including the U.S.
- Europe has about six weeks of jet fuel left, warned Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency on Thursday. The Middle East war is the main reason for the severe shortage, as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed. Birol added that Japan, South Korea, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh are also heading towards energy crises.
- China’s economy is growing a little bit faster than expected, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday. The NBS pegged growth at five per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, compared to pre-report forecasts of nearly 4.9 per cent. The increase came despite the impact the Middle East war is having on China’s economy.
- Slightly more than 124,000 new vehicles were sold in February, down 0.9 per cent from the previous February, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday. Of those sales, new car passenger cars dropped 3.8 per cent while those for new trucks slipped 0.5 per cent. New zero-emission vehicle sales jumped 47.2 per cent at more than 12,600.
