Economy

Trump's USA  Oil Market
Oil price surges nearly 10 percent after Trump's new statement

Oil prices are rising sharply after Donald Trump's announcement that the US is reinstating the blockade against Iranian ports and taking control of Hormuz.

At 20.20, North Sea crude oil is trading up around 10 percent to just over $83 per barrel, while American WTI oil is up almost as much to around $78.

Oil prices were up around 3 percent when the president's announcement came at 16.00.

The reinstatement of the blockade is another step in the escalation, says Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group to Bloomberg.

- It forces the oil market to price in a higher geopolitical risk, she adds.

Iran announced earlier in the day that it will not allow the US to control the Strait of Hormuz.

Russia sanctions
EU gas imports from Russia hit new records

EU imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Yamal, Russia's largest LNG facility, hit a new record in the first half of this year. This is reported by the Financial Times, citing the analysis company Kpler.

EU purchases rose to 9.9 million tonnes, an increase of 18 percent compared to the first half of 2025. Most of the gas was purchased by France, Belgium and Spain, which imported 3.6 million, 2.9 million and 2.7 million tonnes respectively.

The European buyers have paid around 6 billion euros, equivalent to 66 billion kronor, for the gas. Yamal is owned by the Russian energy group Novatek.

According to current sanctions, it is prohibited to import Russian gas to the EU unless it is done with reference to longer supply contracts. From the turn of the year, the sanctions will be tightened further. 

Trump's business
Trump bullish on crypto – saves himself in safer assets

At the same time as Donald Trump encouraged investors to invest in crypto projects, his asset managers increased their holdings in safer assets such as stocks and bonds. This is evident from the president's latest financial report, according to Reuters.

Trump withdrew over $ 1.4 billion, equivalent to around 13.6 billion kronor, from the family's crypto projects, while small savers made large losses.

According to Reuters analysis, Trump's portfolio of stocks and bonds has at least quadrupled in the past two years, to between $ 703 million and $ 2.6 billion, at the same time as crypto revenues poured in.

Until April this year, small savers in Trump-backed crypto projects had lost a total of $ 2.3 billion. 

Currency Market
Currency Strategist: “Then the krona is not doing well”

Since the turn of the year, the Swedish krona has been the currency within the G10 countries that has developed the weakest. This is what EFN writes. Since the turn of the year, the krona has lost 4.7 percent against the dollar.

Amanda Sundström, currency strategist at SEB, tells the site that the continued unrest in the Middle East and an increased inflation risk are weighing on the krona. The development of the dollar and interest rates in the US is also not in favor of the Swedish krona.

– American market interest rates are rising and then the krona is not doing well, Sundström tells EFN.

The krona is also now taking a hit from international investors borrowing money in Swedish kronor, since the currency is weak and the interest rate is low. The money is then exchanged for dollars and invested where it is expected to yield a return, for example in American tech stocks.

– This is a very risky strategy, but it works very well as long as it works, says Sundström.

Volkswagen crisis
CEO confirms: Mass layoffs may be needed

Volkswagen may need to shed an additional 50,000 employees to meet the challenges from competitors. This is what CEO Oliver Blume wrote in an internal message, which Reuters has read.

The message confirms for the first time information that the German automotive giant may shed as many as 100,000 employees in total, according to the news agency.

Blume writes that Volkswagen has 20 percent higher costs than comparable competitors. To address this, the company is now reviewing which adjustments “are necessary and possible”.

The car giant is under pressure from increasing competition from China and from US tariffs.