The release of oil market reserves has failed to calm crude prices

Hello, this is it Leonie Kidd Writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC’s Daily Open.

While I’m a CNBC veteran, today marks my first Daily Open newsletter, so bear with me as I find my feet. In the London newsroom this morning, it’s no surprise that oil is on everyone’s mind – especially when historic shock and awe from global energy agencies has failed to turn the market tide.

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It was an unprecedented move by the International Energy Agency and the US administration, but according to markets, it was not enough. Oil prices are rising again Brent Crude topped $100 per barrel on Thursday despite the IEA agreeing to a historic release of a record 400 million barrels of oil. The US said it would tap 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help lower fuel costs.

The energy picture is complicated by another development – Iran continues to send large volumes of crude oil to China through the Strait of Hormuz even as the US-Israel war with Iran threatens vast supplies through the critical waterway.

Global stocks are sensitive to energy movements. Asia-Pacific markets fell on Thursday with Japan Nikki 225 and Australia S&P/ASX 200 leading to collapse. European stocks are expected to open lower, while US futures are pointing to another negative session.

The escalating war in Iran has not distracted President Donald Trump from his trade war. The US administration on Wednesday launched trade investigations in more than a dozen countries with the aim of replacing reciprocal tariffs that were recently ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. The main targets are the EU, China and Mexico, with other countries including Switzerland, Norway, Japan, India and South Korea.

In other words, energy markets are volatile, supply chains are tightening and trade pressures are heating up (again). Global markets rarely enjoy manipulating all three simultaneously.

– Leonie Kidd

How an Iran war might affect the massive AI build of hyperscalers in the Middle East

Tech companies have poured billions of dollars into AI infrastructure projects in the Middle East over the past few years, drawn from cheap and readily available energy and land with local government support.

But a war with Iran in neighboring countries in the Middle East throws questions over the future of data center and digital infrastructure building in the region, especially if it is a protracted conflict, experts told CNBC.

Data centers have already been targeted, causing banking, payments, enterprise and consumer services to experience disruption.

– Kai Nicol-Schwarz