Julian Lee

(Bloomberg) -- OPEC's crude production declined sharply last month after a political crisis slashed supplies from Libya.

OPEC production slumped by 480,000 bpd to 26.61 million bpd last month.

Targeting the industry would certainly hurt Tehran, but risks sending prices soaring.

Oil tankers waiting nearby Iran's biggest crude-loading facility fled the area in the days since Tehran launched a missile salvo toward Israel on Monday and the world waits to see what the response will be.

(Bloomberg) -- The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, is rarely far from the center of global tensions. A major shipping route that handles almost 30% of the world's oil trade, it's closely watched for signs of disruption. The escalating conflict between Iran and Israel has again raised concerns that shipping through the vital waterway could be at risk.

(Bloomberg) -- Moscow's use of the tankers sanctioned for their involvement in the Russian oil trade is accelerating, with close to one-third of the blacklisted vessels back at work.

Large numbers of oil tankers are still anchored off Iran’s oil export terminals at Assaluyeh, even as vessels have fled the anchorage at Kharg Island, further to the north.

A cargo of Russian oil appears to have been switched between ocean-going tankers near a Spanish exclave in north Africa, restoring a clandestine practice that Madrid thought it had ended last summer.

In the icy waters east of Vladivostok, the oil tankers Kazan, Ligovsky Prospect and Kareliya have been stuck doing nothing ever since they were sanctioned by the US more than a year ago for their roles in transporting Russian oil.

Volatile weather and the US bird-flu outbreak are making the upcoming holiday menu more expensive as the price of coffee, cocoa and eggs soar. Meanwhile, OPEC expects oil demand to climb in 2025, driven by China, India and other Asian nations. Electricity use also is rising, with a key North American agency revising its projections significantly upward. Also revised higher is demand for coal, contrary to earlier estimates that said its use peaked last year.