Oil Surges Past $100 on Tanker Attacks; Apple to Unveil Foldable Phone

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news.

Nathan Hager (0:09)

Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager.

Karen Moskow (0:11)

And I'm Karen Moskow. Here are the stories we're following today.

Nathan Hager (0:15)

Karen, we begin with new market pressure from the war in the Middle East. This morning, Brent crude is trading above $100 a barrel for the first time since July.

That's after the US destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in response to an attempted ballistic missile attack in the US Navy warship. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the tit for tat should come as no surprise.

Marco Rubio (0:36)

The back and forth is pretty straightforward, and that is that Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships. And for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers.

Nathan Hager (0:46)

Secretary of State Rubio spoke to reporters in Colombia. But we get more from Bloomberg News Energy reporter Steven Stepchinski.

Steven Stepchinski (0:52)

It does seem at least with the rhetoric the traders are interpreting this rhetoric between the US and Iran as further spiraling away from a peace deal and threatening the flows of oil that have been getting through Hormuz. I mean, there has actually been quite a large increase in dark flows of oil going through the waterway, potentially 6 to 8 million barrels per day, according to the analysts and traders that my colleagues have spoken with. Still not near pre-war levels, but definitely much higher than we were just a few months back.

Nathan Hager (1:25)

Bloomberg's Stephen Stapchinski reports China has also been increasing its crude purchases in recent days, a pause in Chinese buying. It kept a lid on prices early in the conflict. But right now, Brent crude is at $100.29 a barrel. That is a gain of 2.4% on the session. West Texas Intermediate is up 2% at $94.87.

Karen Moskow (1:45)

Well, Nathan, the US trade war with Canada is escalating. The Trump administration is moving to block imports on certain Canadian products while slapping new tariffs on others in response to Canada's counter tariffs. We get the details with Bloomberg's Rosalind Matheson.

Rosalind Matheson (2:01)

What we're seeing is the US moving to ban imports of certain things, primarily dairy and alcohol, which is unsurprising in a way because Donald Trump was annoyed about some Canadian provinces barring US alcohol. You've also got an extension of the Section 338 tariffs to other items now, including things like golf carts, bed mattresses and so on. And the tariffs are due to take effect in a week. The import bans in three weeks, according to administration official.

Karen Moskow (2:30)

And Bloomberg's Rosalind Matheson reports, President Trump is also moving to cut Canada out of US government contracts under what's known as the multiple awards schedule. Canada's Trade Minister says he's in contact with US Trade Representative Jameson Greer, and Ottawa is assessing Washington's next move.

Nathan Hager (2:46)

Now, Karen, let's turn to the latest in midterm politics. New Hampshire has just held its primary election in the race for retiring Senator Gene Shaheen's seat. Democratic Congressman Chris Pappas held on to beat progressive Karishma Manzur 65 to 33 percent.

Chris Pappas (3:02)

We launched our campaign to make life better for families and small businesses, to challenge extreme politicians and corporate special interests and the billionaire class.

Nathan Hager (3:12)

Democrat Chris Pappas will now face former Senator John Sununu. In November, he won the Republican primary over former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown 68 and a half to 27 percent. This race, as I know, is about the future.

Chris Pappas (3:26)

It's not about today or tomorrow or even next year. It's about the next six years.

Where does the country go?

Nathan Hager (3:32)

Republican John Sununu is heading to November with a sizable war chest and President Trump's endorsement, though he's tried to downplay that on the campaign trail. Pappas has warned Democrats can't take a New Hampshire victory for granted. The data tracking group Ad Impact says Republicans plan to spend nearly twice as much in New Hampshire as Democrats do.

Separately, Governor Kelly Ayotte easily won her Republican primary with 92 percent of the vote. She will face Democrat Cindy Warmington, who ran unopposed.

Karen Moskow (4:00)

And Nathan, today is primary election day in Rhode Island. Democrat Dan McKee is hoping to avoid becoming the first incumbent governor in any state to lose his primary since 2018

He's facing a competitive challenge from former CVS executive Helena Foulkes. McKee narrowly defeated Foulkes in a multi-candidate Democratic primary four years ago.

Nathan Hager (4:21)

It's turn to markets now, Karen. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is stepping up efforts to exert influence across global exchanges. At an event in Texas, he challenged traders to test his resolve on boosting the Japanese yen, saying he has insight into what the Bank of Japan will do. Bessent dared markets to bet against him.