Massive Oil Stockpile Release; Iran Market Volatility

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0:33Share PDF space. You've got your docs, your plans, your specs. And then invite the crew to build what's next. They talk off the team words. You're going to be render. They think that this design could be a contender. But when somebody wonders, what's the next steps? AI helps you finish the rest. Bolts are tight. Now your plans are fine. Run a smoother business when you're all aligned. Do that with Acrobat. Learn more at adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat. Being a small business owner isn't just a career, it's a calling. Chase for Business knows how much heart and effort go into building something of your own.

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1:51Breaking across the Bloomberg this morning, the International Energy Agency is proposing a release of emergency oil reserves that would be the largest ever in its history. Sources tell Bloomberg that the IEA has proposed a release in the range of about 300 million to 400 million barrels as governments seek to contain a spike in energy prices driven by the Middle East war. We get more from Bloomberg Middle East breaking news editor Patrick Sykes. That would be a huge amount of supply potentially to enter the market at a time when, of course, lots and lots of ships are stuck on the wrong side of the Strait of Balmuz in the Persian Gulf.

2:26and some of those producers in the Middle East have had to shut in production or cut it back at least as a result of the crisis. And Bloomberg's Patrick Sykes says the near total closure of the Strait of Hormuz have led to cuts from Persian Gulf producers that have so far shaved about 6 % of global oil output. And as the war enters its 12th daycare in the White House has been sending mixed messages. First, Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted and deleted a message that the U.S. Navy had escorted a tanker through the strait. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the military is still working on options to keep Hormuz open.

3:03The U.S. military is jarring up additional options following the president's directive to continue keeping the strait of Hormuz open. White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt and President Trump posted there were no reports of Iran laying mines in the strait, only to announce later that the U.S. had destroyed 10 inactive mine-laying boats. All this as attacks continue for a 12th day. And we get the very latest from Bloomberg's owner Ant in Dubai. Yesterday marked the most intense day of strikes on Iran by the U.S., according to American officials. And overnight into Wednesday, we have seen countries in the Persian Gulf intercepting various drone and missile launches from Iran.

3:46Some of them headed for, again, other energy assets, including the Sheba oil field in Saudi Arabia, as well as the eastern region in Saudi Arabia, again, which is home to some of the largest oil-producing assets in the kingdom. And Bloomberg's owner Ron says the UK Navy reported three ships hit by suspected projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf this morning. One of them was a cargo ship that had a fire on board. And one of the two members of the Iranian women's soccer team, who was granted asylum by Australia last night, has decided which draw her claim and return to Iran. Several members of the team were branded traitors after they failed to sing their national anthem before a Women's Asian Cup match last week.

4:31Well, Karen, analysts are weighing in on whether this will be a short or long conflict. Richard Haas is President Emeritus at the Council on Foreign Relations. The problem with the U.S. position is it only took one to start the war, us, but it's going to take three to end it. And that's mean, first of all, the United States is going to have to, shall we say, lean on Israel, to be blunt, to bring the war to an end sooner than the prime minister wants. even more difficult is the United States is going to have to persuade Iran to bring a war to this war to an end. And that I think is going to be the biggest challenge for this president who increasingly wants to wrap this up, declare victory, declare mission accomplished.

5:10But again, he doesn't have the power to do that. He's got to bring Iran around. Council on Foreign Relations President Emeritus Richard Haas spoke to Bloomberg's Romain Bostic and Katie Greinfeld. You can watch their full interview on our new video experience on the Bloomberg Business app. Well, we turn to politics at home now, Nathan. In one of the most conservative congressional districts in the U.S., a special election in Georgia to replace former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has produced an unusual runoff, a Democrat facing a Republican endorsed by President Trump. The Democrat Sean Harris is a retired Army general and cattle farmer.

5:45He leads Republican District Attorney Clay Fuller 37.3 to 34.9 percent, with 99 percent of the vote counted. Both candidates will face off again after neither of them won the majority in a 17-candidate field. Harris spoke with Bloomberg's balance of power before the votes were counted and said he has what it takes to win. My name is the name that people know and trust here in the district, and that's why we're actually going to win this thing tonight. And if we don't win it tonight, we're going to win the runoff because I'm getting Democrats, Independents, and yes, Republicans are voting for me.

6:19And Georgia Democrat Sean Harris will face Clay Fuller in an April 7th runoff to fill the remainder of Marjorie Taylor Greene's term this year. And Karen, it was also a primary election day in Mississippi and incumbent Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith will face Democratic challenger Scott Collum in November after they easily won their races. Hyde-Smith was endorsed by President Trump and with 93 percent of votes counted, she defeated Sarah Adlatka 80.8 to 19.2 percent. Column received 73 percent of the Democratic votes and House incumbents, including longtime Democratic Congressman Benny Thompson, also easily won their Mississippi primary races.

6:59And we are hearing now that the International Energy Agency is proposing a release of reserves, an oil stockpile release of about 300 to 400 million barrels. Still, NYMEX crude oil remains higher this morning, up 4.8 percent, up$4.03 at$87.48 a barrel. Brent is up 4.25 percent. It's at$91.41. And Karen, futures are lower this morning ahead of a key reading on inflation. Before the opening bell, we get the Consumer Price Index for the month of February. It's projected to show core inflation, stripping out volatile energy and food prices rose two-tenths percent last month. And right now, taking a look at Oracle and company news, shares are up 10 % in early trading revenue topped analyst estimates.

7:45And the software maker gave an outlook that suggested there is little let up in demand for AI computing. And Aragrana covers Oracle for Bloomberg Intelligence. It's actually very clean numbers. I think the thing that sticks out most is capital expenditure is not going to go up. I think people are worried about a lot of these cloud providers adding to CapEx. So that's a good thing. Revenue is slightly higher, CapEx remaining flat, the backlog is growing. So I think this is a good print from multiple facets. And Bloomberg Intelligence's Anurag Rana notes that before the report, Oracle's stock had lost more than 50 % of its value from its September peak as Wall Street grew worried about its high AI costs.

8:24Wall Street's biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase, Karen, is restricting its lending to private credit funds after marking down the value of certain assets in their portfolios. Sources say the devalued loans are to software companies. That is a sector that has been in the spotlight in recent weeks due to investor concern over the potential impact from artificial intelligence. This news is the latest sign of stress in a once booming segment of the credit market. And a programming note, markets may close on Friday, but the world does not. That's why we bring you a new live radio and TV show. Bloomberg this weekend is looking beyond the daily headlines to the bigger themes driving politics, business, and culture.

9:02Join David Gura, Christina Ruffini, and Lisa Matteo for smart conversations and in-depth interviews that help make sense of the week that's been and what comes next. Get Bloomberg this weekend live Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. Eastern on Bloomberg Radio, TV, and the Bloomberg Business App. Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. And for that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Karen. The Department of Homeland Security remains without funding approval from Congress as TSA agents are working without pay.

9:36That means long lines at security with increased sick calls. The former governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, is now president and CEO of the trade group Airlines for America. Is this the new norm? Is this the new populism politics where airlines and the American public are penalized every time these guys don't agree on something. Meanwhile, some U.S. airports, including San Francisco International Airport, use private contractors for security screenings. The private contractor's pay comes from a federal contract, so it continues even when the government shuts down. First responders are searching beneath the rubble of structures leveled by what appears to be a tornado that ripped through Newton County, Indiana, minutes after one was reported over the border in Illinois.

10:23Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran. We're still trying to assess damages. Injuries so far have been minor that have been reported. Sheriff Cothran says there's about a three-mile stretch of damage. New Jersey Governor Mikey Sherrill says she wants to scale back the state's new property tax relief program for senior citizens to help close a three billion dollar structural deficit. In her first budget address since entering office in January. Cheryl proposed$2 billion in spending reductions. The largest reduction would come from the shrinking size and eligibility of the Stay New Jersey tax benefit for homeowners age 65 or older who make below$500 ,000.

11:06Cheryl's$60.7 billion budget proposal would lower the qualifying income threshold for the tax benefit to$250 ,000. and reduce the maximum annual benefit to$4 ,000 from$6 ,500. Global News 24 hours a day. And whenever you want it with the Bloomberg News Now, I'm Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg, Karen. Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer. Thanks, Karen. Bam Adebayo was only the third-leading scorer on the Miami Heat, the 38th-leading scorer in the NBA, at least going into last night, when Adebayo exploded against Washington. and he scored 83 points.

11:49That's two more than Kobe Bryant scored in 2006. It's topped only by the 100 points that Will Chamberlain had in 1962. Upset in the World Baseball Classic, Italy beat the U.S. 8-6. If Mexico beats Italy and scores four or fewer runs, the U.S. is out. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. Sonesta Travel Pass makes traveling more rewarding, designed to help you get more out of every stay. Sign up at Sonesta.com to enjoy instant savings, bonus points, and valuable perks like early check-in, late checkout, room upgrades, and free stays over time.

12:30With Sonesta Travel Pass, every stay brings you closer to your next reward. Choose from more than 1 ,100 hotels across 13 distinctive brands and unlock the best available rates when you book direct with Sonesta Travel Pass. Here today, roam tomorrow. Join now at sonesta.com. Terms and conditions apply. So there's a lot of noise about AI, but time's too tight for more promises. So let's talk about results. At IBM, we work with our employees to integrate technology right into the systems they need. Now, a global workforce of 300 ,000 can use AI to fill their HR questions, resolving 94 % of common questions.

13:08Not noise, proof of how we can help companies get smarter by putting AI where it actually pays off, deep in the work that moves the business. Let's create smarter business, IBM.

13:31They think that this design could be a contender. But when somebody wonders, what's the next step? AI helps you finish the rest. Bolts are tight, now your plans are fine. Run a smoother business when you're all aligned. Do that with Acrobat. Learn more at adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat. Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio. Nationwide on Sirius XM. and around the world on Bloomberg.com and the Bloomberg Business App. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. As the war with Iran enters its 12th day, major moves may be on the way now to calm an energy market that has been whipsawed by the fast-moving conflict.

14:11Bloomberg News has learned that the International Energy Agency is now proposing the largest ever release of emergency oil reserves. For the latest, we're joined from Istanbul by Bloomberg News Middle East breaking news editor Patrick Sykes. And Patrick, before we got this latest word, We had already heard that this could be the biggest release since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. What's the latest we're hearing now? Yeah, indeed, that would be a huge amount of supply potentially to enter the market at a time when, of course, lots and lots of ships are stuck on the wrong side of the Strait of Balmuz in the Persian Gulf.

14:44And some of those producers in the Middle East have had to shut in production or cut it back at least as a result of the crisis. I think we'll be watching potentially later today for a final decision on those reserves. But potentially, yes, some released to the market in the form of supply. 300 to 400 million barrels a day is what sources are telling us. Will that be enough to calm the market as we are watching NYMEX and crude both spiking still this morning? I think the market will quite quickly. I mean, I'm sure it'll provide some limited relief, but I think longer term, the market will get quite quickly back to the question of duration in the Strait of Hormuz.

15:29This is an emergency measure. It'll provide some relief at the front end, but for longer term calming of the market, any return to the kind of price levels we saw before the start of the war, I think you need a resolution to the conflict and particularly to the security situation in Hormuz. What does the security situation look like right now? We've heard reports of some ships being hit potentially or targeted. Yeah, by my count, today has been one of the worst for attacks on shipping in the region. We've had three separate incidents reported by the UK Navy agency that looks at these, a cargo, a bulk carrier.

16:12So it just underlines, I think hours after Trump and his administration, We're talking about targeting Iranian mining capabilities to secure the strait. Iran appears to have responded with an uptick in attacks. It raises a question about whether the U.S. is ready to fulfill President Trump's promise to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. What's the situation there? Yeah, there was some confusion yesterday. One U.S. official had said that that had begun. One ship had passed and that was later denied by the White House and the posting question was deleted. I think if and when it comes, yes, perhaps similar to these reserves, right?

16:56It'll provide some relief in that traffic will be able to start moving again. On the other hand, those convoys are going to be themselves a target. And the rate of transit is still going to be very, very low with the kind of hardware you would need to commit to get them through. So you're looking at potentially resumption, but at a much lower volume still. This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed by 6 a.m. Eastern each morning on Apple, Spotify or anywhere else you listen. You can also listen live each morning starting at 5 a.m.

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