🛢 📈 🔝 The price of Brent crude oil just hit an all-time high of $144.46 a barrel.

European and Asian refiners are paying ‌record high prices of near $150 a barrel for some crude oil grades, far exceeding prices for paper futures, highlighting the worsening supply crisis from the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.

The Iran war has forced the shutdown of at least 12 million barrels per ​day - about 12% of world supply - from the Middle East due to Iran's effective closure of ​the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, Brent oil futures reached $119.50 a barrel last month, ⁠the highest since 2022 although still short of the 2008 record high of $147.50. The nearby Brent contract is ​for June delivery.

Competition for supply from Asian and European refiners to replace disrupted Middle Eastern oil flows has ​helped to drive up the prices of replacement crudes for more immediate delivery, such as those in Europe and Africa.

As a result, some crudes are hitting records already. The outright price of North Sea Forties crude reached $146.09 a barrel on Tuesday, according to ​LSEG data, above the 2008 level and an all time high.

Oil price benchmark publisher S&P Global Energy Platts assessed the price ​of dated Brent ⁠on April 7 at $144.42, surpassing the previous record high of $144.22 reached in 2008, a Platts spokesperson said. Using the Platts dated Brent figure would put the price of Forties, and many other physical cargoes, well above $150.

Prices of refined products in Europe ⁠were close ​to record highs on Tuesday.

Jet fuel prices in Europe hovered at $226.40 ​a barrel, close to a record high hit in mid-March, LSEG data shows. Diesel prices were still shy of their record highs hit ​in 2022, standing at $203.59 a barrel on Tuesday.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/physical-oil-prices-hit-record-highs-near-150-barrel-hormuz-crisis-worsens-2026-04-07/

🇺🇸🇮🇱❌🇮🇷 — US/Israeli airstrikes struck Iran’s Iranian Aluminium Company (IRALCO) in Arak, the country’s largest aluminum producer.

🇺🇸🛢📉 — WTI Crude futures being traded at 108 USD (-5%) following the news of a deal

🇺🇸🛢📉 — WTI Crude futures being traded at 106 USD (-7.47%) as now

🇺🇸🏦 Blue Owl Capital, the poster child of the private credit boom, just closed at a record low:

The stock fell -1.4% to $8.45 on Monday, slipping below its previous low from late 2022, and is now down -68% from its all-time high.

Blue Owl has posted 8 consecutive months of losses and just came out of its steepest quarterly decline on record.

Furthermore, short interest on the stock hit a record high in early March, as investors increasingly use Blue Owl as a proxy to bet against the $1.8-$2.0 trillion private credit market.

The selloff intensified after the firm capped redemptions at 5% on two of its funds following a surge in withdrawal requests, with its technology-focused fund alone seeing requests exceed 15% last quarter.

🔗 Global Markets Investor

🇺🇸🏦 Private credit funds are facing a growing credibility crisis:

Redemption requests at Blue Owl Credit Income have EXPLODED from ~1% of outstanding volume in Q1 2025 to a RECORD 21.9% in Q1 2026.

Blue Owl capped withdrawals at 5%, meaning investors received LESS THAN A QUARTER of the money they requested.

The problem goes deeper than one fund, as Cliffwater's $31.6 billion flagship fund holds stakes in both Blue Owl and Ares funds that are also limiting redemptions, creating a domino effect.

Meanwhile, accounting rules allow these funds to value their holdings at the official net asset value, even when investors cannot actually sell at that price, raising questions about whether stated values reflect reality.

Cliffwater itself saw redemption requests surge to 14% in Q1 2026 and agreed to repurchase 7%, above its usual 5% cap.

Put simply, investors cannot get their money out, and at the same time, fund valuations do not reflect what holdings can actually be sold for.

🔗 Global Markets Investor

🇮🇷🕊🇵🇰 An Iranian source tells Qatar's Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Iran is leaning toward accepting a two-week ceasefire "out of respect for the Pakistani mediator... and in order to give diplomacy an additional chance"

📝 Patarames: Ceasefire = Iran lost the War

Deal with Iran's demands granted = Iran won the War

Simple

🔗 https://www.alaraby.co.uk/politics/%D9%85%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%AD-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%83%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D9%84%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86

📎 Faytuks

🇮🇷🕊🇵🇰 DropSite News correspondent, Jeremy Scahill, on X/Twitter:

A senior Iranian official told me that this proposal floated by the Pakistani PM for a temporary ceasefire is essentially the same as previous Trump attempts, which Iran has rejected. Iran has already delivered its terms for negotiating an end to the war.

“A balanced proposal, endorsed by all mediators, has already been conveyed to the American side,” the official said. “Washington now has at its disposal all the elements required to reach a decision that will bring an end to the war.”

🔗 Jeremy Scahill

🇺🇸🇮🇷🛢 — NOW: Oil prices are plunging following President Trump's announcement of a "double-sided" ceasefire with Iran.