EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: MAY 2026 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 4,697.700000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 05/13/2026 DELIVERY DATE: 05/15/2026
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED
099 H DEUTSCHE BANK AG 24
118 C MACQUARIE FUTURES US 5
363 H WELLS FARGO SECURITI 113
555 C BNP PARIBAS SEC CORP 71
661 C JP MORGAN SECURITIES 106
709 C BARCLAYS 96
905 C ADM 3
TOTAL: 209 209
MONTH TO DATE:
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR MAY/2026: 209 CONTRACTs NOTICES FOR 20,900 OZ or 0.6500 TONNES
total notices so far: 4067 contracts FOR 406,700 OZ OR 12.650 TONNES
SILVER NOTICES: 112 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR .560 MILLION OZ /
total number of notices filed so far this month : 5444 CONTRACTS (NOTICES) for 27 million oz
SILVER//OUTLINE
INITIAL STANDING FOR JANUARY: 22.915 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 1.185 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW NORMAL STANDING ADVANCES TO 49.445 MILLION OZ// TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR .100 MILLION OZ//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 49.545 MILLION OZ!!
INTIAL STANDING FOR FEBRUARY/SILVER: 13.505 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S HUGE 0.005 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP / : NEW STANDING FOR SILVER AT THE COMEX ADVANCES TO 25.180 MILLION OZ. BUT WE MUST ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 25 CONTRACTS FOR .125 MILLION OZ AND THEN OUR SECOND EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF .0600 MILLION OZ TO OUR THIRD HUGE 2.825 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK!!
INITIAL STANDING FOR MARCH: A SURPRISINGLY LOW 31.076 MILLION OZ/ FOLLOWED BY A TINY QUEUE JUMP OF 1 CONTRACTS OR 0.005 MILLION OZ/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 46.060 MILLION OZ
INITIAL STANDING FOR APRIL: 7.120 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 1 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP WHERE 5,000 OZ WILL TAKE DELIVERY OVER ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND. NEW STANDING FOR SILVER AT THE COMEX THUS ADVANCES SLIGHTLY TO 16.565 MILLION OZ PLUS WE MUST ADD OUR 4TH EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 17 CONTRACTS OR 0.085 MILLION OZ. THESE WILL BE ADDED TO OUR OTHER 3 ISSUANCES //NEW TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK//1.165 MILLION OZ// NEW TOTAL SILVER STANDING 17.730 MILLION OZ//
INITIAL STANDING FOR MAY: 31.495 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY OUR HUGE QUEUE JUMP OF 101 CONTRACTS FOR 0.505 MILLION OZ/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 31.975 MILLION OZ/.//
SUMMARY OF OUR MAY 2026 COMEX CONTRACT MONTH:
JULY: 50.925 MILLION OZ (QUITE SMALL)
AUGUST: 59.455 MILLION OZ (QUITE SMALL)
SEPT. 50.510 MILLION OZ.(QUITE SMALL)
OCT; 82.020 MILLION OZ (WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH)/ OCC WANTS TO REIN IN THESE ISSUANCES!
NOVEMBER: 36.425 MILLION OZ
DEC: 45.765 MILLION OZ
JANUARY 2026: 134.270 MILLION OZ (WILL BE A VERY STRONG MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL!)
FEB : 82.130 MILLION OZ
MARCH: 56.075 MILLION OZ
APRIL; 44.44 MILLION OZ//FINAL.. SMALL THIS MONTH.
MAY 35.295 MILLION OZ
AND JULY: 46.720 MILLION OZ//
AUGUST: 4.70 MILLION OZ INITIAL STANDING PLUS TODAY;S 5,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 10.960 MILLION OZ
SEPTEMBER: 68.040 MILLION OZ NORMAL DELIVERY(INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING AND EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS) PLUS 3.0 MILLION OZ EX FOR RISK = 71.040 MILLION OZ. (THIS IS THE FIRST AND ONLY ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR SILVER SINCE MAY.)
OCTOBER: 39.565 MILLION OZ OF NORMAL DELIVERY INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING
PLUS
2.110 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK//TOTAL OZ STANDING IN OCT ADVAN
NOVEMBER: INITIAL STANDING AT 11.575 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 195,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF 9.155 MILLION OZ//STANDING ADVANCES TO 19.670 MILLION OZ/
DECEMBER: INITIAL AMOUNT STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 49.33 MILLION OZ// FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER STRONG 835,000OZ QUEUE JUMP+ DEC. FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK 0F .850 MILLION OZ + LAST WEEK.S 495,000 OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK AND THEN A 3RD ISSUANCE IF 1.00MILLION OZ THEN FINALLY DEC 249ISSUANCE OF 1.35 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK//NEW TOTAL EX FOR RIS IS 3.685 MILLION OZ // STANDING ADVANCES TO 68.415 MILLION OZ//
JANUARY: INITIAL STANDING 22.915 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 1.185 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP//NORMAL STANDING ADVANCES TO 49.445 MILLION OZ// TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 0.100 MILLLION OZ//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 49.545 MILLION OZ
FEB: 13.399 MILLION OZ IS OUR INITIAL STANDING FOR SILVER! TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP FOR 5,000 OZ AND THEN ADD OUR 3 EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 3.010 MILLION OZ STANDING ADVANCES TO 28.190 MILLION OZ!!
MARCH: INITIAL AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING IS 31.076 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY A FINAL 0.210 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW TOTAL STANDING ADVANCES TO 46.060 MILLION OZ
APRIL 2026: INITITAL AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING 7.120 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 5,000 OZ QUUE JUMP //NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 16.565MILLION OZ PLUS 1.165 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK.NEW TOTALS 17.730 MILLION OZ
MAY: INITIAL AMOUNT OF SILVER WILLING TO STAND; 31.495 MILLION OZ/ TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 101 CONTRACTS/0.505 MILLION OZ//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 31.975 MILLION OZ//(FOLLOWING MANY EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS TO LONDON EARLY DURING THE MAY DELIVERY MONTH)
1.MAY SUMMARY FOR MAY TONNES WHICH STOOD FOR DELIVERY:
4. AUGUST: 60.547 TONNES OF INITIAL GOLD FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY THE NET MONTH’S QUEUE JUMP OF 47.2312 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD THE FOLLOWING EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE RECEIVED FOR THE MONTH: 5.4432 TONNES EX FOR RISK/AUG 7 , AUG 11: 2.413 TONNES EX FOR RISK AND AUG. 12 OF 2.
5.SEPT: INITIAL 8.093 TONNES OF GOLD PLUS TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 0.4883 TONNES PLUS 2.2827 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK TODAY//NEW TOTAL EX. FOR RISK/MONTH = 22.923//NEW TOTAL STANDING FOR GOLD SEPT ADVANCES TO = 48.801 TONNES!!
6.OCTOBER: 90.012 TONNES OF INITIAL GOLD STANDING WITH TODAY’S TINY 0.00311 TONNES QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS DURING OCT OF 76.1656 TONNES
THEN WE MUST ADD OUR 14.553 TONNES OF OUR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/6 OCCASIONS//NEW TOTAL OF GOLD STANDING ADVANCES TO 197.5141 TONNES OF GOLD.
7.NOVEMBER BEGINS WITH 15.651 TONNES INITIALLY STANDING FOR DELIVERY FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2.323 TONNES FOLLOWED BY ALL PREVIOUS QUEUE JUMPS IN OF OF 21.3775 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 4.5596 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 43.9716 TONNES OF GOLD.
8. DECEMBER BEGINS WITH INITIAL STANDING OF 83.813 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.0TONNE QUEUE JUMP WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF: 37.163 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 115.390 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR 4 EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR DECEMBER OF 6.587 TONNES/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 121.977 TONNES
9. JANUARY: INITITAL STANDING: 13.785 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFER OF 0.08709 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF 30.7117TONNES //NEW TOTAL QUEUE JUMPS 30.7117//NORMAL DELIVERY OF GOLD ADVANCES TO 36.8958 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR SIX EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 22.315 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 59.2108 TONNES.
FEB; INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 93.567 TONNES OF GOLD TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT 0.0248 TONNES 0.1555 TONNES QUEUE JUMP TO 41.2082 TONNES/ NEW NET QUEUE JUMP INCREASES TO 41.233 TONNES// AND THEN WE ADD OUR SIX EXCHANGE FOR RISK: 10,080 CONTRACTS OR 31.251 TONNES//NEW STANDING REDUCES TO 157.878 TONNES
MARCH:: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 8.099 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD TODAY’S FAIR 4600 OZ QUEUE JUMP (0.2320 TONNES) AND THEN WE ADD OUR THREE EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 22.3818 TONNES //NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 67.6648 TONNES/
APRIL: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY: 52.600 TONNES FOLLOWED BY OUR 278 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 27800 OZ/ (0.8646 TONNES)/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 70.286 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR 2ND EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 1498 CONTRACTS FOR 149800 OZ OR 4.659 TONNES. THE NEW TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL IS 2239 CONTRACTS OR 223900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES AND THIS WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TOTALS (70.762 TONNES) TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND IN APRIL (77.726 TONNES)
MAY: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND: 12.24 TONNES OF GOLD TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 209 CONTRACTS OR 20900 OZ (.6500 TONNES) TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCES FOR .4353 TONNES/STANDING NOW ADVANCES TO 15.0633 TONNES OF GOLD.
STANDING FOR THE LAST 5 MONTHS JANUARY TO MAY:
FINAL STANDING FOR GOLD, JANUARY CONTRACT AT 59.2108 TONNES OF GOLD
FEBRUARY: INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 157.878 TONNES!! WHICH INCLUDES ALL QUEUE JUMPING, THREE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFERS TO LONDON AND OUR SIX ISSUANCES EXCHANGE FOR RISK!!
MARCH: INITIAL STANDING AT 8.099 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FINAL DAY: 0.2320 TONNES QUEUE JUMP AND THEN ADD +22.3818 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 67.6648 TONNES
APRIL: INITIAL STANDING 52.600 TONNES PLUS 27,800 OZ QUEUE JUMP (0.8648TONNES): NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 70.286 TONNES PLUS OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 223,900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES/NEW STANDING: 77.726 TONNES
MAY: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND; 12.24 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 209 CONTRACTS/20900 OZ// 0.6500 TONNES/ TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK: 00.4353 TONNES///NEW STANDING IS NOW ADVANCES TO 15.0633 TONNES
JAN. 2025: 257.919 TONNES (ISSUANCE WILL BE PRETTY GOOD THIS MONTH BUT MUCH LOWER THAN LAST MONTH)
FEB: 207.21 TONNES//EX FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE (WILL BE A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
MARCH 130.84 TONNES//QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH.
APRIL; 208.57 TONNES. STRONG THIS MONTH
MAY: 113.499 TONNES OF GOLD EFP ISSUANCE//QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH
JUNE: 97.79 TONNES OF GOLD EFP ISSUANCE/EXTREMELY SMALL
JULY : 150.877 TONNES// QUITE SMALL
AUGUST: 175.86 TONNES A LOT LARGER THIS MONTH.
SEPT. 116.13 TONNES VERY SMALL
OCT. 252.72 TONNES//CERTAINLY MUCH LARGER THIS MONTH/VERY STRONG
NOV: 124.74 TONNES
DEC: 190.04 TONNES//GOOD SIZED THIS MONTH FINAL.
TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED FOR YEAR 2025: 2,026.20 TONNES (LOWER THAN LAST YR 2,569.00 TONNES
JANUARY: 209.08 TONNES ( (WILL BE A STRONG MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL)
FEB. 176.35 TONNES (WHICH IS A FAIR ISSUANCE)
MARCH: 214.67 TONNES//WILL BE STRONG ISSUANCE THIS MONTH
APRIL; 88.00 TONNES// WILL BE VERY SMALL THIS MONTH
MAY 43.567 TONNES
HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS
YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST STARTS TO RISE BUT SO IS THE OPEN INTEREST OF SPREADERS. THE OPEN INTEREST IN WILL CONTINUE TO RISE UNTIL ONE WEEK BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH (OCT), AND THAT IS WHEN THE CROOKS SELL THEIR SPREAD POSITIONS BUT NOT AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY. THEY WILL USE THE SELL SIDE OF THE EQUATION TO CREATE THE CASCADE (ALONG WITH THEIR COLLUSIVE FRIENDS) AND THEN COVER ON THE BUY SIDE OF THE SPREAD SITUATION AT THE END OF THE DAY. THEY DO THIS TO AVOID POSIT
WHAT IS ALARMING TO ME, ACCORDING TO OUR LONDON EXPERT ANDREW MAGUIRE IS THAT THESE EFP’S ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO WHAT ARE CALLED SERIAL FORWARD CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS AND THESE CONTRACTS ARE LESS THAN 14 DAYS. ANYTHING GREATER THAN 14 DAYS, THESE MUST BE RECORDED AND SENT TO THE COMPTROLLER, GREAT BRITAIN TO MONITOR RISK TO THE BANKING SYSTEM. IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE, THEN THIS IS A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD AS WE NOW WITNESS A MONSTROUS TOTAL EFP’S ISSUANCE AS IT HEADS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE.
The crooks also use the spread in the TAS account (trade at settlement). They buy the spot TAS (e.g. June) and sell the future TAS two months out (e.g. August). Then they unload the front month (i.e. unload the buy side first so the price of gold/silver falls. This occurs in the middle of the front delivery month cycle. They unload the sell side of the equation, two months down the road. The crooks violate position limits as the OCC refuse to hear our complaints.
First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:
SILVER:
1.TODAY WE HAD THE OPEN INTEREST AT THE COMEX IN SILVER ROSE BY A MEGA MEGA STRONG 3085 CONTRACTS TO AN OI OF 106,885.
EFP ISSUANCE 789 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
JULY 789 CONTRACTS and 0 ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 0 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON. IF WE TAKE THE COMEX OI GAIN OF 3085 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 789 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A MEGA MEGA SIZED GAIN OF 3874 OI OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR GAIN OF $3.62
THUS IN OUNCES, THE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS 19.370 MILLION PAPER OZ
OCCURRED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE.OF $3.62
2.ASIAN AFFAIRS MAY 14 /2025
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 28.08 PTS OR 0.67%
HANG SENG CLOSED UP 40.53 PTS OR 0.15%
Nikkei CLOSED UP 587.43 PTS OR 0.94%
//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.70%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 6.7910
/ OFFSHORE CLOSED UP AT 6.7893 Oil UP TO 102.19 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 108.200 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL MIXED
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING UP (6.7910) OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING UP TO 6.7893 ONSHORE YUAN TRADING BELOW OFF SHORE AND UP ON THE DOLLAR// / AND THUS STRONGER/OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING UP AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS STRONGER
1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A STRONG 5068 CONTRACTS UP TO AN OI OF 381,564 CONTRACTS (OI) , HAVING ADVANCED FROM OUR NEW LOW OI SET LATE LAST MONTH AND SURPASSING THE PREVIOUS ALL TIME LOW IN OI OF 354,581 SET APRIL6/2026. PREVIOUS TO THAT THE ALL TIME LOW IN OI WAS 390,000 SET IN THE YEAR 2001 WHEN GOLD WAS TRADING $260.00. THE CME SHOULD BE PROUD OF THEMSELVES AS MANY HAVE ABANDONED THIS CROOKED ARENA!!THUS OUR NEW ALL TIME LOW OF COMEX OI HAS NOW BEEN SET AT 354,581 WITH GOLD AT AN EXTREMELY HIGH $4,700.00 WHICH MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE!!!
WE HAD SOME T.A.S. LIQUIDATION DURING WEDNESDAY’S TRADING. IT SEEMS THAT SOME OF THE SPECULATORS CONTINUED AGAIN TO GO MASSIVELY ON THE LONG SIDE BUT ALSO SOME SPECULATORS STILL GOING TO THE SHORT SIDE WITH THE BANKERS NOW TAKING THE LONG SIDE,AND CENTRAL BANKS SUPPLYING THE NECESSARY PAPER, AS WELL AS COVERING THEIR SHORTFALL. THERE ARE ALSO SOME SPECULATORS WHO CONTINUALLY GO TO THE SHORT SIDE AND AND OF COURSE THEY WILL BE ANNHILATED ON CENTRAL BANK COMMAND!!
CENTRAL BANKS ALSO TENDERED THEIR NEW LONG CONTRACTS AT THE END OF THE DAY FOR PHYSICAL GOLD. YOU CAN VISUALIZE THIS WITH THE STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING AT THE COMEX FOR THIS MAY CONTRACT MONTH!!
THE STRONG SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OCCURRED DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE IN GOLD (UP $18.75).
WE THUS HAD A STRONG SIZED GAIN IN OI ON BOTH OF OUR EXCHANGES, THE COMEX AND LONDON’S EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL EQUATING TO 7,078 CONTRACTS (OR 22.01 TONNES) DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE, AS WE WERE INFORMED OF A FAIR CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE.EQUATING TO 2028 CONTRACTS.
THEN WE WERE NOTIFIED TODAY OF A ZERO CONTRACT FOR RISK ISSUANCE IN GOLD TOTALLING 0 CONTRACTS FOR 0 OZ OR 0.000 TONNES OF GOLD. WE HAD OUR FIRST ISSUANCE FOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK ON MAY 7, SO THIS IS OUR 2ND ISSUANCE FOR OUR MAY GOLD MONTH. THIS GOLD WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL MAY DELIVERIES TO GIVE US OUR FINAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND AT THE COMEX..
HISTORY OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE THIS YEAR: FEBRUARY THROUGH MAY
FEBRUARY:
DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE FEBRUARY CONTRACT MONTH, WE HAD TWO IDENTICAL MONSTER 3,000 CONTRACT ISSUED FOR THE SAME 9.33 TONNES OF GOLD, AND THESE WERE THE HIGHEST EVER IN TONNAGE EVER ISSUED BY THE COMEX. ALTOGETHER THE TOTAL ISSUANCE FOR FEB TOTALLED SIX.(31.251 TONNES).
MARCH:
THURSDAY MARCH 17 WE RECEIVED ITS INITIAL 2000 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 6.22 TONNES. LAST FRIDAY: 0 ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK. BUT ON MONDAY MARCH 23 WE RECEIVED NOTICE OF OUR SECOND EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 2,200 CONTRACTS (220,000 OZ OR 6.843 TONNES) AND NOW FRIDAY WITH A MONSTER 2996 CONTRACTS FOR 9.3138 TONNES. THESE THREE ISSUANCES WILL NOW BE ADDED TO THE REGULAR AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING, I.E. 22.3818 TONNES TO OUR NORMAL GOLD STANDING TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND FOR PHYSICAL GOLD FOR MARCH!
APRIL;: 2 EXCHANGE FOR RISK SO FAR, I.E. 2239 CONTRACTS FOR 223,900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES AND THIS TOTAL TONNES WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND IN APRIL
MAY: TWO ISSUANCES SO FAR FOR 140 CONTRACTS OR 14,000OZ OR 0.4353 TONNES.
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A LITTLE HISTORY OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK DECEMBER THROUGH TO MAY:
IN DECEMBER WE HAVE RECORDED 5 ISSUANCES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/4 FOR DEC AND THE LAST ONE ON DEC 31 FOR JANUARY. WE NOW HAVE 3 CHOICES FOR THE RECIPIENT OF THIS ISSUANCE AND IT MUST BE A CENTRAL BANK. YOU WILL RECALL THAT THE BUYER ASSUMES THE RISK OF THAT DELIVERY. (THUS TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER IS 6.56 TONNES/4 OCCASIONS.
MONTH OF JANUARY/EXCHANGE FOR RISK
IN JANUARY THEY HAVE 6 TOTAL ISSUANCE : 3.446 TONNES EARLY, THEN JAN 9 ISSUANCE OF 9,331 TONNES AND THEN JAN 16: 0.1996 TONNES JAN 26: 1.499 TONNES, JAN 27: 3.160 AND FINALLY JAN 29: 4.659 TONNES TONNES//TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK JANUARY 22.315 TONNES WHICH WAS ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELVERIES.
AND FEBRUARY:
FEB EXCHANGE FOR RISK: NOW 6 ISSUANCES: 10,080 CONTRACTS FOR 1,008,000 OZ OR 31.251 TONNES!
HERE ARE THE CHOICES FOR THE RECIPIENT OF THOSE ISSUANCES:
1 THE CENTRAL BANK OF ENGLAND. BUT THEY RECEIVED CLEARANCE THAT THEIR GOLD IS BACK SO IT IS NOT LIKELY THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THEIR RESERVES.
2. THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE USA: THE FED. LOGICAL CHOICE AS THEY CLAMOUR TRYING TO REDUCE THEIR 106+ TONNES OF SHORTAGE. HOWEVER THEY SEEM NOT TO BE IN A HURRY TO COVER THEIR HUGE SHORTFALL
3. THE CENTRAL BANK OF CHINA AS THEY BATTLE WITS WITH THE USA.
TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR DECEMBER IS 6.56 TONNES AND THIS WAS ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TOTALS..
THE JANUARY ISSUANCE OF 17.656 TONNES WAS ADDED TO OUR DAILY DELIVERY TOTALS!!
FEBRUARY ISSUANCES 6 FOR; 31.251 TONNES !! AND THIS WAS ADDED TO OUR DELIVERY TOTALS FOR THIS MONTH.
MARCH: CME ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 2000 CONTRACTS FOR 200,000 OZ OR 6.22 TONNES OF GOLD DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF MARCH, AND THEN MONDAY, MARCH 22, WE RECEIVED ITS SECOND NOTICE ISSUANCE OF 2200 CONTRACTS OR 220000 OZ (6.843 TONNES). THEN FINALLY WE RECEIVED NOTICE OF OUR THIRD EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 2996 CONTRACTS OR 9.3188 TONNES. TOGETHER ALL 3 ISSUANCES TOTAL 22.3818 TONNES WHICH WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY SCHEDULE.
APRIL: 2 EXCHANGE FOR RISK SO FAR FOR 223,900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES. AND THIS TOTAL WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND FOR APRIL!!
MAY: TWO ISSUANCES SO FAR FOR 140 CONTRACTS, 14,000 OZ OR 0.4353 TONNES OF GOLD. THIS TOTAL WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERIES IN MAY TO GIVE US WHAT WILL STAND IN MAY.
DETAILS ON OUR NEW MAY COMEX CONTRACT MONTH//
IN TOTAL WE HAD A STRONG SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 7078 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE ($18.75). HOWEVER, OUR FRIENDLY PHYSICAL LONDON BOYS HAD ANOTHER FIELD DAY AGAIN THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK AS THEY WERE READY FOR THE FRBNY.S CONTINUED ORCHESTRATED ATTACKS VERY EARLY IN THE COMEX SESSIONS AS THEY TRIED TO ABSORB EVERYTHING IN SIGHT FROM THEIR DAILY ATTACKS. LONDONERS EXERCISED THEIR BOUGHT CONTRACTS FOR PHYSICAL GOLD VIA THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ROUTE AND THANKED THE FRBNY AND OUR SHORT SPECULATORS FOR THEIR THOUGHTFULNESS.
LONDON ANNOUNCED EARLY IN THE YEAR (AND SCARCITY CONTINUES TO THIS DAY) THAT THEY WERE OUT OF GOLD. WRONGLY IT WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THEIR SHIPPING PHYSICAL GOLD TO COMEX FOR STORAGE DUE TO TRUMP’S INITIATION OF TARIFFS. THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT THIS GOLD LEFT LONDON TO OTHER CENTRAL BANKS, AND COMEX BANKS HAVE BEEN PAPERING THEIR LOSSES (DERIVATIVE) WITH KILOBAR ENTRIES. BOTH COMEX AND LBMA ARE WITNESSING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF GOLD LEAVING THEIR VAULTS.
THE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS THROUGHOUT THE MONTHS OF JUNE THROUGH MAY/ CONTINUES TO DISTORT OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS GREATLY ALTHOUGH THE T.A.S. ISSUANCES IN GOLD HAVE GENERALLY BEEN ON THE LOW SIDE COMPARED TO SILVER WHICH HAVE BEEN HUGE. TODAY’S NUMBER HOWEVER IS A HUGE SIZED T.A.S ISSUANCE CONTRACTS .THE CME NOTIFIES US THAT THEY HAVE ISSUED 14,367 T.A.S CONTRACTS. THESE ARE GENERALLY USED FOR RAID PURPOSES TO STOP GOLD’S RISE AND TO TEMPER HUGE LOSSES IN OTC DERIVATIVE BETS AND IT IS NOW IN FULL FORCE WITH TODAY’S RAID ON OUR PRECIOUS METALS.
IT SURE LOOKS LIKE THE BIS HAS SOMEHOW LOOKED THE OTHER WAY WITH ITS GOLD SWAPS WITH THE FRBNY AS THIS ENTITY FOR THE FED REFUSES THE BIS MARCHING ORDERS TO COVER AND THAT MAY EXPLAIN THE STRONG NUMBER OF T.A.S. ISSUANCES IN DECEMBER , JANUARY AND THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY TO GO ALONG WITH OUR HUGE NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED DURING THESE MONTHS INCLUDING FEBRUARY’S 6 EXCHANGE FOR RISK WHICH ALSO INCLUDED TWO MONSTER 9.3312 TONNE ISSUANCE (FEB 10 AND FEB 12). TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK/FEB EQUALS 31.251 TONNES!! AND MARCH’S THREE ISSUANCES FOR 22.3818 TONNES! OTHER CENTRAL BANKS ARE PAYING ATTENTION AS THEY TAKE DELIVERY OF HUGE AMOUNTS OF PHYSICAL GOLD. APRIL HAD 2 EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCES FOR 6.694 TONNES. AND NOW MAY WITH ITS 2ND ISSUANCE FOR 0.0963 TONNES///TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR MAY: 0.4353 TONNES ISSUED MAY 6 AND MAY 12.
HERE IS A SUMMARY OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY ON OUR LAST 12 MONTHS:
1.APRIL AT 209 TONNES
2. AND THIS CONTINUED INTO MAY WITH FINAL STANDING AT 90.23 TONNES.
3. JUNE WHICH IS A HUGE DELIVERY MONTH , FINAL STANDING WAS RECORDED AT A STRONG 93.085 TONNES. //(TOTAL NET QUEUE JUMPING FOR THE JUNE MONTH: 31.027 TONNES.)
4. IN JULY WE HAD HUGE DELIVERY NOTICES ESPECIALLY FOR A NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH WITH INITIAL STANDING AT 17.947 TONNES PLUS MANY QUEUE JUMPS + 3.75 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 41.106 TONNES OF GOLD // FINAL TOTAL TONNES STANDING JULY: 41.106 TONNES
5. FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST:
INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR AUGUST: 60.547 TONNES PLUS THE MONTHS HUGE QUEUE JUMPS OF 47.2312 TONNES +44.696 TONNES EX FOR RISK (7 ISSUANCES) //NEW STANDING 152.208 TONNES WHICH IS MONSTROUS!!!
6. FINAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR SEPT; INITIAL STANDING; 2,602 CONTRACTS OR 260,200 OZ FOR 8.093 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.4883 TONNES QUEUE JUMP TO GO ALONG WITH TODAY’S 1.244 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE TODAY AND // TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE SEPT: 22.923 TONNES//NEW TOTALS STANDING ADVANCES TO 48.801 TONNES OF GOLD!!!
7. OCTOBER:
OCTOBER: INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 90.164 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR LATEST OCT 30 QUEUE JUMP OF 0.00311 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OCT 29 QUEUE JUMP OF .4096 WHICH FOLLOWS; OCT 28 QUEUE JUMP OF .5069 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OCT 27 OF 0.3048 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS: OCT 24 OF 0.8615 TONNES, FOLLOWING OCT 23 QUEUE JUMP OF 1.695 TONNES OCT 22 JUMP OF 8.622 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS OCT 21: 3.8600 TONNES TO OCT 20 QUEUE JUMP OF 7.695 TONNE
SUMMARY FOR OCTOBER STANDING:
NOVEMBER WHERE INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING IS REGISTERED AT 15.651 TONNES OF GOLD FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2 TONNES AND FOLLOWED BY ALL OTHER NOV QUEUE JUMPS OF 21.3775 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 4.5596 TONNES.
/STANDING ADVANCES TO 43.9716 TONNES OF GOLD.
DECEMBER: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY IN THIS ACTIVE MONTH IS 83.813 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.05 TONNES QUEUE JUMP. THIS FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPING: 37.163 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 115.390 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR FOUR EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 6.559 TONNES//NEW STANDING THUS INCREASES TO 121.977 TONNES
JANUARY: INITITAL STANDING: 13.785 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR QUEUE JUMP OF 0.000 TONNES WHICH FOLLOWS ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF 30.7117TONNES //NEW TOTAL QUEUE JUMPS 30.7117//NORMAL DELIVERY OF GOLD ADVANCES TO 36.8958 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR SIX EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 22.315 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 59.2108 TONNES.
FEBRUARY: . FEBRUARY: INITIAL STANDING: 93.566 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 0.0248 TONNES WHICH MUST BE ADDED ALL OTHER QUEUE JUMPS OF 41.2087 TONNES QUEUE JUMP//TOTAL QUEUE JUMP FOR FEB::ADVANCES TO 41.233 TONNES///STANDING ADVANCES TO 126.628 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR SIX EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 31.251 TONNES/NEW STANDING RISES TO 157.879 TONNES
MARCH: INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 8.099 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 0.2320 TONNES AND THEN WE ADD OUR THREE EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 22.3818 TONNES////NEW STANDING FOR GOLD ADVANCES TO: 67.6648TONNES WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY HUGE FOR A NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH!!
APRIL 2026: INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 52.20 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S SMALL 500 OZ QUEUE JUMP/ TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCES TOTALLING 223,900 OZ OR 6.964 TONNES//STANDING ADVANCES TO 77.726 TONNES WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY HUGE
MAY: INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD WILLING TO STAND: 12.24 TONNES OF GOLD TO WHICH WE ADD OUR NEXT QUEUE JUMP OF 6300 OZ (.1959 TONNES) TO WHICH WE ADD OUR TWO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR 14,000 OZ OR 0.4353 TONNES////NEW TOTALS STANDING FOR GOLD ADVANCES TO 14.4073 TONNESS
HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 48 MONTHS 2021-2024
DEC 2021: 112.217 TONNES
NOV. 8.074 TONNES
OCT. 57.707 TONNES
SEPT: 11.9160 TONNES
AUGUST: 80.489 TONNES
JULY 7.2814 TONNES
JUNE: 72.289 TONNES
MAY 5.77 TONNES
APRIL 95.331 TONNES
MARCH 30.205 TONNES
FEB ’21. 113.424 TONNES
JAN ’21: 6.500 TONNES.
TOTAL YEAR 2021 (JAN- DEC): 601.213 TONNES
YEAR 2022: STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX
JANUARY 2022 17.79 TONNES
FEB 2022: 59.023 TONNES
MARCH: 36.678 TONNES
APRIL: 85.340 TONNES FINAL.
MAY: 20.11 TONNES FINAL
JUNE: 74.933 TONNES FINAL
JULY 29.987 TONNES FINAL
AUGUST:104.979 TONNES//FINAL
SEPT. 38.1158 TONNES
OCT: 77.390 TONNES/ FINAL
NOV 27.110 TONNES/FINAL
Dec. 64.000 tonnes
(TOTAL YEAR 656.076 TONNES)
JAN/2023: 20.559 tonnes
FEB 2023: 47.744 tonnes
MAR: 19.0637 TONNES
APRIL: 75.676 tonnes
MAY: 19.094 TONNES + 1.244 tonnes of exchange for risk = 20.338
JUNE: 64.354 TONNES
JULY: 10.2861 TONNES
AUGUST: 38.855 TONNES(INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)
SEPT: 15.281 TONNES FINAL
OCT. 35.869 TONNES + 1.665 EXCHANGE FOR RISK =37.0355 tonnes
NOV: 18.7122 TONNES + 16.2505 EX. FOR RISK = 34.9627 TONNES
DEC. 47.073 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 51.707 TONNES
TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES
2024/STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX
JAN ’24. 22.706 TONNES
FEB. ’24: 66.276 TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)
MARCH: 18.8398 TONNES + 1.1695 EX FOR RISK = 20.093 TONNES
APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL
MAY/ 2024 8.5536 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/= 11.9325
JUNE; 95.578 TONNES. + 1.045 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =96.623 THIS IS THE HIGHEST RECORDED GOLD STANDING SINCE AUGUST 2022
JULY: 11.692 TONNES
AUGUST 69.602 TONNES//FINAL STANDING
SEPT. 13.164 TONNES.
OCT 39.474 TONNES + + 20.917 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =60.391 TONNES
NOV . 11.265 TONNES +4.665 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/TUESDAY + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 19.0425 TONNES
DEC: 80.4230 TONNES PLUS DEC MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTAL 14.6836 TONNES EQUALS 95.1066 TONNES
total year 2024: 540.30 tonnes
COMEX GOLD TRADING BEGINNING MAY,. CONTRACT;
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY $18.75)
WE HAD SOME T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION WEDNESDAY // COMEX SESSION// DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE , OUR LONG SPECULATORS REMAIN RELENTLESS POURING INTO THE COMEX STARTING TO BUILD ON ITS OI //
OTHER EASTERN CENTRAL BANKS TENDERED FOR PHYSICAL EVERY NIGHT WHICH ALSO EXPLAINS THE HUGE NUMBER OF TONNES OF GOLD THAT STOOD FOR GOLD DURING THESE PAST SEVERAL MONTHS
WEDNESDAY NIGHT//THURSDAY MORNING
THE CROOKS COULD NOT STOP OTHER CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, THEY EXERCISED AGAIN FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL WEDNESDAY EVENING/THURSDAY MORNING AND THUS OUR HUGE NUMBER OF GOLD CONTRACTS STANDING FOR DELIVERY AT THE COMEX. CENTRAL BANKERS WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE GOLD
ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $18.75
WE HAD 6658 CONTRACTS REMOVED FROM THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL.
NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES : 7078 CONTRACTS OR 707,800 OZ OR 22.01 TONNES
MAY DELIVERY MONTH
MAY 14 2026
| Gold | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz | nil |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz | ENTRIES; 2 i)HSBC 96,453.000 OZ (2000 kilobars) ii) JPMorgan: 143,039.799 oz (4449 kilobaers) total withdrawal: 239,492.799 oz 6.449 tonnes |
| Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz | 0 ENTRY |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz | DEPOSITS/CUSTOMER 0 ENTRY xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx |
| No of oz served (contracts) today | 209 CONTRACTS OR 20,900 OZ 0.6500 TONNES OF GOLD |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 636 Contracts 63,600 OZ 1.978 TONNES |
| Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month | 4067 notices 406700 oz 12.650 TONNES |
| Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month | NIL oz |
| Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month |
dealer deposits: 0
0 ENTRY
DEPOSITS/CUSTOMER
0 ENTRY
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
comex withdrawals:
ENTRIES; 2
i)HSBC 96,453.000 OZ
(2000 kilobars)
ii) JPMorgan: 143,039.799 oz
(4449 kilobaers)
total withdrawal: 239,492.799 oz
6.449 tonnes
xxxx
adjustments: 1
Brinks: dealer to customer: 96,453.000 oz or 2000 kilobars
COMEX IS DRAINING GOLD
chaos inside the comex
THE FRONT MONTH OF MAY OI STANDS AT 845 CONTRACTS HAVING A GAIN OF 141 CONTRACTS.
WE HAD 68 CONTRACTS SERVED ON WEDNESDAY SO WE GAINED ANOTHER HUGE 209 CONTRACTS OR 20900 OZ (0.6500 TONNES) UNDERWENT A QUEUE JUMP TO TAKE DELIVERY OVER ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND.
.
JUNE IS A HUGE DELIVERY MONTH AND HERE THE OI FELL BY 6463 CONTRACTS DOWN TO AN OI OF 213,012
JULY LOST 23 CONTRACTS DOWN TO AN OI OF 1115.
We had 209 contracts filed for today representing 20,900oz
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer and 0 notices issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 209 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 106 notice(s) was (were) stopped (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for MAY. /2026. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (4,067) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of MAY (845 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today 209 x 100 oz per contract) equals 470,300 OZ OR (14.628 Tonnes of gold) to which we add our TWO exchange for risk issuance for 14,000 oz or 0.4353 tonnes//new standing for gold/May again advances to 15.0633 tonnes.
THUS: INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for MAY. /2026. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (4,067) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of MAY( 845 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today 209 x 100 oz per contract) equals 470,300 OZ OR (14.628 Tonnes of gold) plus we must add our TWO exchange for risk issuances of 14,000 oz or 0.4353 tonnes/new standing advances to 15.0633 tonness
new total of gold standing in MAY ADVANCES TO 15.0633 TONNES//
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR MAY 15.0633 TONNES TONNES WHICH IS NOW STRONG FOR THIS NORMALLY NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MAY.
confirmed volume WEDNESDAY confirmed 162,213// poor// many have left the arena
COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION
NEW PLEDGED GOLD:
241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC 5.94 TONNES
204,937.290 OZ PLEDGED MANFRA 3.08 TONNES
83,657.582 PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1 1.690 tonnes
265,999.054, oz JPM No 2
1,152,376.639 oz pledged Brinks/
Manfra: 33,758.550 oz
Delaware: 193.721 oz
International Delaware:: 11,188.542 oz
the number provided do not match from yesterday!!!
total pledged gold: 1,907,747.506 oz 59.34 tonnes pledged gold lowers
total inventories in gold declining rapidly
total pledged gold: 1,907,747.506 tonnes oz 59.34 tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD 28,717,998.972oz
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 15,701,327.881OZ 488.3772 tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD 13,076,671.091 oz//eligible gold leaving hand over fist
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON 13,793,580 oz ((REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)=
429.03 Tonnes //
total inventories in gold declining rapidly
SILVER COMEX
MAY DELIVERY MONTH
MAY 14
| Silver | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory | NIL oz |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory | 1 entries i) Stonex: 714,393.560 oz total withdrawal: 714,393.560 oz |
| Deposits to the Dealer Inventory | 1 entries i) Into Stonex: 501,435.700 oz total deposit 501,435.700 o |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory | DEPOSIT ENTRIES/CUSTOMER ACCOUNT 3 ENTRIES i) Into Asahi: 602,163.302 oz ii) Into CNT 600,003.600 oz iii) Into Delaware: 15,022.117 total deposit 1,217,189.059 oz |
| No of oz served today (contracts) | 112 CONTRACT(S) (0.560 MILLION OZ |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 951 Contracts (4.755 MILLION oz) |
| Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) | 5,444 contracts 27.200 MILLION oz |
| Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month | NIL oz |
| Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month |
DEPOSITS INTO DEALER ACCOUNTS
1 entries
z
i) Into Stonex: 501,435.700 oz
total deposit 501,435.700 oz
DEPOSIT ENTRIES/CUSTOMER ACCOUNT
3 ENTRIES
i) Into Asahi: 602,163.302 oz
ii) Into CNT 600,003.600 oz
iii) Into Delaware: 15,022.117
total deposit 1,217,189.059 oz
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
withdrawals: customer side/eligible
one entry:
i) Stonex: 714,393.560 oz
total withdrawal: 714,393.560 oz
adjustments 2
addition to eligible: Asahi: 921,652.790 oz
ii) Brinks: dealer to customer: 44,152.000 oz
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 80,426 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 315,101 Million oz
registered silver dropping in numbers
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR MAY
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF MAY /2026 OI: 1063 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A GAIN OF 42 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 59 CONTRACTS SERVED UPON ON WEDNESDAY SO WE GAINED 101 CONTRACTS OR 0.505 MILLION OZ AS THESE BOYS ENTERTAINED A MASSIVE QUEUE JUMP WHERE THEY WILL TRY THEIR LUCK AND TAKE DELIVERY ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND.
JUNE SAW A GAIN OF 99 CONTRACTS UP TO 2912 OI CONTRACTS
JULY SAW A GAIN OF 1649 CONTRACTS UP TO 78,644 CONTRACTS
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 112 or 0.560 MILLION oz
CONFIRMED volume WEDNESDAY; 66,,985 good
AND NOW MAY. DELIVERIES:
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in MAY. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 5444 X5,000 oz = 27.200 MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of MAY (1063) AND the number of notices served upon today (112 )x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the MAY 2026 contract month: (5,444 )Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of MAY (1063) minus number of notices served upon today (112)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the MAY..contract month equating to 31.975 MILLION OZ.+
NEW STANDING ADVANCES T0: 31.975 MILLION OZ WHICH IS STILL PRETTY GOOD FOR THIS ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MAY.
We must also keep in mind that there is considerable silver standing in London coming from our longs
There are ONLY 80.426 million oz of registered silver
JPMorgan as a percentage of total silver: 140.287/315.101 million: 44.49
The record level of silver open interest is 234,787 contracts set on April 21./2017 with the price on that day at $18.42. The previous record was 224,540 contracts with the price at that time of $20.44.
BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE MASSIVE FRAUD
MAY 14 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $20.95 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:/ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1036.280 TONNES
MAY 13 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $18.75 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:/ //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1036.280 TONNES
MAY 12 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $38.20 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 2.285 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1036.280 TONNES
MAY 11 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $2.80 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 0.515 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1033.995 TONNES
MAY 8 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $22.00 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 0.283 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1033.480TONNES
MAY 7 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $15.50 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.853 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1033.197TONNES
MAY 6 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $124.70 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.718 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1034.05TONNES
MAY 5 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $33.75 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1035.768 TONNES
MAY 4 /2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $106.65 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1035.768 TONNES
MAY 1 /2026/WITH GOLD UP $13.45 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.427 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1035.768 TONNES
APRIL 30/2026/WITH GOLD UP $19.80 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 5.142 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1039.195 TONNES
APRIL 29/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $45.70 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.285 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1044.337 TONNES
APRIL 28/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $85.85 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.285 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1044.337 TONNES
APRIL 27/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $41.10 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: // //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1046.62 TONNES
APRIL 24/2026/WITH GOLD UP $13.95 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.29 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1046.62 TONNES
APRIL 23/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN 28.35 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.000 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1050.91 TONNES
APRIL 22/2026/WITH GOLD UP 26.40 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1052.91 TONNES
APRIL 21/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN 11.90TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD //:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1052.91 TONNES
APRIL 17/2026/WITH GOLD UP $71.30 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1052.91 TONNES
APRIL 16/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $15.00 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT 2.285 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1051.783 TONNES
APRIL 15/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $24.15 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT 2.289 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1049.478 TONNES
APRIL 14/2026/WITH GOLD UP $83.55 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.714 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1047.192 TONNES
APRIL 13/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $50.60 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.514 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1048.906 TONNES
APRIL 13/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $50.60 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.514 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1048.906 TONNES
APRIL 10/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $11.90 TODAY/SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.724 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1052.42 TONNES
APRIL 9/2026/WITH GOLD UP $42.50 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.429 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1052.990 TONNES
APRIL 8/2026/WITH GOLD UP $88.95 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1054.419 TONNES
APRIL 7/2026/WITH GOLD UP $5.25 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 3.429 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1054.419 TONNES
APRIL 6/2026/WITH GOLD UP $5.30 TODAY/NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1050.99 TONNES
APRIL 2/2026/WITH GOLD DOWN $132.75 TODAY/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 3.714 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1050.99 TONNES
GLD INVENTORY: 1033.995 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL GOLD INVENTORY
SILVER
MAY 14 WITH SILVER DOWN $3,79: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.448 MILLION OZ OF SILVER OZ INTO OF THE SLV// / // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.524 MILLION OZ
MAY 13 WITH SILVER UP $3,62: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.086 MILLION OZ OF SILVER OZ INTO OF THE SLV// / // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 486.087 MILLION OZ
MAY 12 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.48: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.176 MILLION OZ OF SILVER OZ INTO OF THE SLV// / // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.990 MILLION OZ
MAY 11 WITH SILVER UP $5.10: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.995 MILLION OZ OF SILVER PUT OF THE SLV// / // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.814 MILLION OZ
MAY 8 WITH SILVER UP $1.25: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.689 MILLION OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV// / // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.809 MILLION OZ
MAY 7 WITH SILVER UP $2.26: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: / // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.130 MILLION OZ
MAY 6 WITH SILVER UP $3.75: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.724 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.130 MILLION OZ
MAY 5 WITH SILVER UP $0.21: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.734 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.604 MILLION OZ
MAY 4 WITH SILVER DOWN $3.05: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.734 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.604 MILLION OZ
MAY 1 WITH SILVER UP $2.38: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.905 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.338 MILLION OZ
APRIL 30 WITH SILVER UP $2.03: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.991 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 485.243MILLION OZ
APRIL 29 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.95: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.234MILLION OZ
APRIL 28 WITH SILVER DOWN $2.05: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.234MILLION OZ
APRIL 27 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.39: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:/ // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.234MILLION OZ
APRIL 24 WITH SILVER UP 0.92: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.54 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 487,23MILLION OZ
APRIL 23WITH SILVER DOWN $2.35: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.489 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 488,773MILLION OZ
APRIL 22 WITH SILVER UP 1.43: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.352 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 491.262MILLION OZ
aPRIL 21 WITH SILVER DOWN 3.71: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.352 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 491.262 MILLION OZ
APRIL 17 WITH SILVER UP $3.09: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.453 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 490.900 MILLION OZ
APRIL 16 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.00: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.132 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 490.477 MILLION OZ
APRIL 15 WITH SILVER UP $0.01: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.588 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 491.579 MILLION OZ
APRIL 14 WITH SILVER UP $3.99: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.633 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 490.991 MILLION OZ
APRIL 13 WITH SILVER DOWN 0.79: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.589 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 491.624 MILLION OZ
APRIL 10 WITH SILVER DOWN 0.16: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.724 MILLION OZ OUT THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 492.213 MILLION OZ
APRIL 9 WITH SILVER UP $0.91: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.173 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 492.937 MILLION OZ
APRIL 8 WITH SILVER UP $3.50: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 490.764 MILLION OZ
APRIL 7 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.89: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 490.764 MILLION OZ
APRIL 6 WITH SILVER UP $0.41: TINY CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A SMALL WITHDRAWAL OF 0.224 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 490.764 MILLION OZ
APRIL 2 WITH SILVER DOWN $3.57: TINY CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.091 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV // :INVENTORY RESTS AT 490.988 MILLION OZ
CLOSING INVENTORY 487.524 MILLION OZ OF SILVER
GOLD COMMENTARIES:
1.PETER SCHIFF
2. MATHEW PIEPENBERG/EGON VON GREYERZ
ALASDAIR MACLEOD
JESSE COLUMBO\
This is a post from Jesse Colombo’s The Bubble Bubble Report—a bestselling newsletter focusing on precious metals investing and global economic risks. We specialize in detailed reports and analyses.
Copper’s Breakout Is a Bullish Omen for Silver
As I expected, COMEX copper futures have broken through a critical ceiling that had impeded its progress all year, a highly bullish signal for both copper and silver.
| Jesse ColomboMay 14∙Paid |
A few weeks ago, I published an analysis titled “An Interesting Setup in Copper & Silver,” in which I showed that COMEX copper futures were capped beneath the $6 to $6.50 resistance zone, with pressure building and a breakout likely ahead that would be highly bullish for both copper and silver. As I expected, that breakout has now occurred, and it is giving silver a healthy boost. In today’s update, I’ll show how this thesis is playing out and what to expect next.
Let’s start with the daily chart of COMEX copper futures, with the $6 to $6.50 resistance zone highlighted in blue. Over the past week, copper has surged and decisively broken through this zone, which had capped its progress over the past year. This breakout is a highly bullish signal that points to further gains in the near term.
To learn more about support and resistance zones, I recommend reading my two-part tutorial on the topic (Part 1 and Part 2).
Further confirmation of COMEX copper futures’ breakout comes from the move in the world’s other major copper contract, London Metal Exchange Grade A Copper futures, which smashed through the $13,500 resistance level in Wednesday’s trading.
For reference, the LME copper futures contract is quoted in U.S. dollars per metric tonne, while the COMEX copper futures contract is quoted in U.S. dollars per pound.
As I’ve been showing in recent analyses, London Metal Exchange copper futures broke out of an ascending triangle pattern a few months ago (as shown in the longer-term chart below), marking the start of a new bull market.
I’ve been bullish on copper for the past two years for the reasons outlined in this detailed report, and I expect it to continue much higher over the next decade alongside precious metals.
While physical gold and silver are my preferred way to play the secular bull market in metals, for those interested in this copper thesis, there are exchange-traded funds (ETFs) such as the United States Copper Index Fund (CPER) that track the price of copper.
In tandem with copper’s breakout this week, the United States Copper Index Fund broke above its $37 to $39 resistance zone, issuing a bullish signal:
In addition to copper-tracking ETFs, there are also ETFs that track copper mining stocks, the most popular being the Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX).
COPX is rising alongside the price of copper, and I am now watching the $96 to $100 resistance zone that formed at the January and February peaks. A successful breakout above that zone should lead to further bullish price action.
As you may know, I’ve developed a proprietary indicator called the Synthetic Silver Price Index (SSPI), which I use to confirm silver’s price moves. It often proves highly valuable in determining whether those moves are legitimate or simply fakeouts (i.e., traps set by the “smart money”). To learn more about the SSPI, read this tutorial about it.
The SSPI is essentially the average of copper and gold, and it closely matches silver’s movements. The logic is that both metals exert a strong influence on silver, so when silver’s moves are confirmed by copper and gold—and therefore by the SSPI—they are more likely to be legitimate.
As the SSPI chart below shows, the indicator recently broke out of a channel pattern, signaling further strength ahead and boding well for silver. Another tailwind for both the SSPI and silver would be an acceleration in gold’s nascent breakout in the days ahead.
Now let’s turn to silver, which is now rising nicely after breaking out of the triangle pattern I highlighted earlier this month:
Now that silver has broken out of its triangle pattern, I’m watching three additional major hurdles: the $80 to $85 resistance zone, $95 to $100, and finally $115 to $120. The good news is that silver has already cleared the first, leaving the final two next in line.
Breakouts above horizontal resistance levels and zones are more reliable than breakouts above diagonal resistance lines like the top of the triangle pattern, so I would like to see those zones surpassed for added assurance.
I would like to see silver close decisively above each resistance zone, and with each successive breakout, the odds of the next powerful leg higher will increase significantly. The final breakout above the $115 to $120 zone, which formed at the late-January peak, is the most important, as it would signal that silver has once again entered blue-sky territory and that the correction of the past few months is fully behind it.
To conclude, copper’s recent surge and breakout is a highly bullish signal for both copper and silver, as the two metals are closely correlated. Copper is now in blue-sky territory and should continue providing a tailwind for silver, and if silver can clear its remaining two resistance zones, the next leg of its bull market should begin. As always, I’ll keep you posted on what I’m seeing.
If you enjoyed today’s update, I recommend checking out my other related reports:
- Counting Down to Silver’s Next Major Breakout
- Encouraging Signs in Silver
- Bank of America Sees Silver Soaring to $135 to $309 This Year
- Gold & Silver Volatility Has Plunged
- Gold Is Ready for Liftoff
- An Interesting Setup in Copper & Silver
- The Roadmap For Silver
- What My Proprietary Indicator Says About Silver
- Why It’s Still Early for Silver
- The Bullish Case For Gold & Silver Miners
JOHN RUBINO
3.CHRIS POWELL AND HIS GATA DISPATCHES:
4.ANDREW MAGUIRE LIVE FROM THE VAULT 271 and 270
MUST VIEW…
LONDON PAUL//MUST VIEW
5. COMMODITY REPORT/JET FUEL./…
Rising Jet Fuel And Ticket Prices Could Disrupt Summer Air Travel
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 07:15 PM
Submitted by Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com
Summer travel could be disrupted for millions of airline passengers as airlines pass on higher jet fuel prices onto air fares and cancel unprofitable routes, according to the global association Airports Council International.
The surge in jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East crisis leads to higher air fares. Passengers should be prepared for higher ticket prices for longer, Stefano Baronci, the Airports Council International’s director general of Asia Pacific and Middle East, told Bloomberg in an interview published on Wednesday.
Supplies of the fuel from the Middle East cannot move past the Strait of Hormuz, while Asian refiners slashed exports amid reduced run rates and preference and/or orders to keep more supply for their respective domestic markets.
So, the recent crash in global exports of jet fuel – which is the most stressed barrel during the ongoing supply shock – was not unexpected.
Jet fuel supplies from Northeast Asia and India West Coast crashed and tightened the global jet fuel market so much that officials and airline executives started talking about fuel shortages in a few weeks’ time.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), warned in mid-April that Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of remaining jet fuel supply.
But the Airports Council International’s Baronci dismissed concerns about shortages, noting that the high prices remain the key problem for the industry going forward. With higher air fares, demand destruction is inevitable and airlines could opt to slash more routes this summer, he added.
Earlier this month, Lufthansa Group, Europe’s biggest airline, said it expects the surge in jet fuel prices to cost it an additional $2 billion this year as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz “is leading to a shortage in kerosene supply and thus to a significant increase in kerosene prices.”
The war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have severely constrained Europe’s jet fuel supply, while jet fuel prices spiked to over $200 per barrel in April before easing to about $150 a barrel this month, which is still way above pre-war levels.
END
GOLD: PIERRE LASSONDE. (SPECIAL THANKS TO ROBERT LAMBOURNE FOR SENDING THIS VIDEO TO US)
“I Could Not Be More Bullish”: Pierre Lassonde’s $17,250 Gold Target
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS THURSDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 64.65 PTS OR 1.52%
HANG SENG CLOSED DOWN 29.94 PTS OR 0.11%
Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 599.11 PTS OR 0.95%
//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.65%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 6.7859
/ OFFSHORE CLOSED UP AT 6.7851 Oil UP TO 101.23 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 106.25 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING UP (6.7859) OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING UP TO 6.7851 ONSHORE YUAN TRADING BELOW OFF SHORE AND UP ON THE DOLLAR// / AND THUS STRONGER/OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING UP AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS STRONGER
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS THURSDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED UP 6.7859
OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 6.7851
1.HANG SANG CLOSED DOWN 29.94 PTS OR 0.11%
2. Nikkei closed DOWN 599.11 PTS OR 0.95%
WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE OIL UP TO 101.23
BRENT; 106.25
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN
USA dollar INDEX UP TO 98.42/// EURO FALLS TO 1.1710 DOWN 6 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield:RISES TO. +2.632 UP 4 FULL BASIS PTS/ VERY TROUBLESOME//Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 157.91… JAPANESE YEN NOW FALLING AS WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE ENDING OF THE YEN CARRY TRADE AGAIN AND THE REPATRIATION OF YEN DENOMINATED BONDS TRADING IN THE USA/EUROPE. JAPAN 30 YR BOND YIELD: 3.918 UP 10 FULL BASIS PTS
3c Nikkei now ABOVE 17,000
3d USA/Yen rate now well ABOVE the important 120 barrier this morning
3e Gold UP /JAPANESE Yen DOWN CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: UP( 6.7859 AND OFFSHORE: UP AT 6.7851
3f Japan is to buy INFINITE TRILLION YEN worth of BONDS. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion USA
Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and NOW they will have OVER 50% of all Japanese debt.
3g Oil UP for WTI and BRENT UP this morning
3h European bond buying continues to push yields LOWER on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD DOWN TO +3.0836// Italian 10 Yr bond yield DOWN to 3.827// SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 3.503%
3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.788%
3j Gold at $4695.00 //Silver at: 87.08 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $100.00
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble UP 0 AND 45/ 100 roubles/73.14
3m oil (WTI) into the 101 dollar handle for WTI and 106 handle for Brent/
3n Higher foreign deposits moving out of China// huge risk of outflows and a currency depreciation. This can spell financial disaster for the rest of the world/
JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 157.91 // 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 2.632% UP 4 BASIS PTS STILL ON CENTRAL BANK (JAPAN) INTERVENTION//YEN CARRY TRADE NOW UNWINDING//YEN BOND TRADING OVERSEAS REPATRIATED.//JAPAN 30 YR: 3.918 UP 10 PTS..: USA/SF this 0.7820 as the Swiss Franc . Euro vs SF: 0.9157
USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: 4.459 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 5.032 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.963 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 45.45 UP 3 BASIS PTS/LIRA GETTING KILLED//IDIOTS FOR SELLING GOLD
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 5.055 DOWN 2 PTS
30 YR UK BOND YIELD: 5.722 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.572 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.228 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS.
1a New York Opening report
Futures At New Record High On Tech, Tehran, Trade, Taiwan And Tariffs
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 08:30 AM
US futures are higher as we await color on the Trump-Xi summit and US- Iran negotiations, which are said to be ongoing, and as the tech meltup continues. What is known so far is that Trump / Xi agree that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, Hormuz should reopen without a toll or militarization; the countries will look to increase investment in each other as NVDA H20 chips are approved for a set of Chinese companies. In short, markets are higher on what BBG calls the 4 Ts: Tehran, Trade, Taiwan and Tariffs, to which we can also add Tech. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures are up 0.3% while Nasdaq futures rise 0.2%. In pre-market trading, Cisco soared 16% after the company reported results that beat expectations and raised its full-year forecast as it laid off thousands to fund capex. Mag7 stocks are higher led by NVDA again; semis are mostly lower despite KOSPI adding 1.7%, while Cyclicals are seeing a bid. Cyclicals, esp Consumer Disc and Fins, would be among the biggest beneficiaries of a reopening of SoH (oil down, yield curve bull steepens, lower inflation expectations). Bond yields are flat to down 1bp, the USD is flat, and commodities are mostly lower. Energy commodities are still rallying but Metals are weaker dragged by the PGMs as Ags come for sale. Today’s macro data focus is on Retail Sales and Jobless Data.
In premarket trading, Magnificent Seven are mostly higher: Nvidia (NVDA) is up 1.5% as the semiconductor giant’s CEO Jensen Huang joined President Donald Trump on his visit to China. Huang told reporters in Beijing that “the meetings went excellent.” (Tesla +1%, Apple +0.4%, Microsoft +0.2%, Meta Platforms +0.1%, Amazon -0.1%, Alphabet -0.2%)
- Canada Goose (GOOS) rises 5% after the parka and other apparel maker reported revenue for the fourth quarter that easily beat even the most bullish analyst projection. The stock is down 18% YTD through Wednesday’s close.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) soars 15% after the networking-equipment company delivered a better-than-anticipated sales forecast and announced plans to cut thousands of jobs, an attempt to focus on the fast-growing AI market.
- Doximity (DOCS) tumbles 23% after the healthcare software firm gave a full-year forecast that was weaker than expected, with AI investments pressuring the company’s earnings.
- EquipmentShare (EQPT) gains 4% after the equipment-rental company reported revenue for the first-quarter that beat the average analyst estimate.
- Precigen (PGEN) jumps 17% after the drugmaker reported product revenue for the first quarter that topped the average analyst estimate.
- Staar Surgical (STAA) climbs 21% after the healthcare supplies firm reported earnings per share for the first quarter that beat Wall Street analysts’ estimates.
- Stubhub (STUB) is up 14% after the ticketing company reported better-than-expected first quarter results and reiterated its annual forecast. Morgan Stanley analyst notes that gross merchandise sales and revenue should improve in the second half of the year.
- Viking Holdings (VIK) rises 2% after the cruise line operator posted first quarter revenue that climbed about 17% from the year-ago period.
In corporate news, Cerebras Systems raised $5.55 billion in its US IPO, as the AI chipmaker seizes on the surging demand for semis. The deal, said to be 20x oversubscribed, priced at $185 per share, above an increased, upsized range. It follows Wednesday’s report about Arm and majority owner SoftBank making an approach to acquire Cerebras weeks before the IPO. In other corporate news, Lululemon’s incoming CEO gave her first speech to employees this week, pledging to put the athleisure brand back on track. QVR Advisors is closing its volatility-focused multistrategy hedge fund and looking to sell the management company, following months of losses and investor redemptions.
With the Trump-Xi talks underway, markets may expect a focus on the “four T’s” — Tehran, Trade, Taiwan and Tariffs — with scope for constructive headlines across all four topics. Of course, Tech remains the biggest upside driver of all: Cisco Systems soars in premarket after raising its full-year forecast. Cisco delivered a better-than-anticipated sales outlook and announced plans to cut thousands of jobs to focus on the fast-growing AI market. Analysts highlight the company’s accelerating growth rate. Elsewhere in AI, Alphabet’s bond fundraising continues at pace: the latest sale over four months is for quadruple the amount of bonds Alphabet had sold in its first 26 years in business.
“Ingredients for the big top in markets are still missing, namely multiple Fed hikes, wider credit spreads or an overheating growth pulse,” said Manish Kabra, chief US equity strategist at Societe Generale. “The bull case for the S&P 500 stays intact.”
Trump’s summit with Xi Jinping shifted the spotlight from the war in Iran that has left a key conduit for Middle East oil flows all but closed for more than two months. The Chinese leader signaled that Beijing is moving toward greater openness as traders look out for business deals and purchasing commitments from the world’s second-biggest economy.
“I would expect the summit to matter more for sentiment than for a grand policy reset,” said Ulrich Urbahn, head of multi-asset strategy and research at Berenberg. “The market is likely looking for a de-escalation tone, fewer tariff threats, and no new restrictions on trade, technology, or geopolitics.”
Meanwhile, excessive risk-taking, particularly from the retail crowd, is showing no sign of abating as leveraged ETF assets under management hit a record $180 billion, with growing impact on underlying assets.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rose 0.4% as local markets rose for a second day, led by technology shares that were boosted by better-than-expected results from Cisco Systems in the US. Trading volumes were lighter than usual, with markets in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland closed for a holiday. to 614.14 with 164 members down, 407 up, and 29 little changed. Here are some of the biggest movers on Thursday:
- Legal & General shares rise as much as 5.2% as the Financial Times reports speculation over whether the financial services firm could be sold or broken up.
- Watches of Switzerland shares rise as much as 14%, hitting the highest since early 2024, after the watch retailer said annual adjusted Ebit will be ahead of its previous guidance. Analysts said the confident outlook for the year ahead should also push up consensus. Barclays hiked its price target on the stock to a new Street-high.
- Premier Foods shares rise as much as 6.2% after the food company reported profits slightly ahead of expectations and hiked its dividend. Analysts flagged that sales growth improved through the year and that the balance sheet is stronger.
- 3i Group shares fall as much as 25%, the steepest drop since January 2009, after the private equity group flagged slowing sales growth at its discount retailer Action. RBC analysts said the retailer, 3i’s largest single investment, has left itself much to do in the second half to meet its guidance.
- CIE Automotive shares slip as much as 7% after Mahindra Overseas Investment Co. Mauritius sold its stake in the Spanish auto parts firm at €29.37 per share, a 6% discount to the last closing price.
- Shurgard shares drop as much as 5.9% after the self-storage company reported a weak set of results, according to analysts. Pricing pressure in the UK was flagged as a key headwind. Guidance was maintained, although Stifel said factors outside its control could weigh on expectations later this year.
Earlier in the session, Asian stocks edged higher as investors poured into the region’s top chipmakers while keeping watch on talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%, boosted by Samsung, Alibaba and TSMC. Shares advanced in South Korea and Taiwan, while benchmarks in mainland China fell amid the ongoing US-China summit. In their meeting Thursday, Trump said China and the US will have a “fantastic future,” while Xi stressed stability in trade between the world’s top economies. The leaders had discussed expanding market access for US businesses and China’s potential interest in purchasing more US energy and agriculture, among other things.
In rates, treasuries slightly richer across the curve, supported by steady oil prices and marginally bigger gains for bunds and gilts. S&P 500 futures also hold small gains, led by technology stocks. US session includes April retail sales data and several Fed speakers. US 2- to 10-year yields are 1bp-2bp lower on the day, slightly outperforming long-end tenors; 10-year near 4.455% trails German and UK counterparts by about 2bp. IG dollar issuance slate empty so far, with weekly volume $48 billion vs $50 billion predicted. Six names priced $14 billion Wednesday, with issuers paying about 2.7 basis points in new issue concessions on deals that were 3.4 times covered
In FX, Bloomberg’s Dollar Spot Index steadied after three days of gains, while 30-year Treasury yields held above 5%. USD/CNY and USD/CNH fell to the lowest levels since February 2023; Xi Jinping signaled China is moving toward greater openness during his meeting with US business leaders. GBP/USD steadied around 1.3518; Keir Starmer’s efforts to hold back a potential leadership challenge showed new cracks
In rates, treasuries advance, pushing US 10-year yields down 1 bp to 4.46%. European government bonds outperform with UK and German 10-year borrowing costs falling 3 bps each.
In commodities, oil prices are steady with WTI crude near $101/barrel and Brent crude futures near $106 a barrel. Precious metals are mixed.
Economic data slate includes April retail sales and import/export prices and weekly jobless claims (8:30am) and March business inventories (10am). Fed speaker slate includes Miran (8am), Schmid (10:15am), Hammack and Bowman (1pm), Williams (5:45pm) and Barr (7pm)
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 mini +0.2%
- Nasdaq 100 mini +0.2%
- Russell 2000 mini little changed
- Stoxx Europe 600 +0.5%
- DAX +1.3%
- CAC 40 +0.6%
- 10-year Treasury yield -1 basis point at 4.46%
- VIX little changed at 17.84
- Bloomberg Dollar Index little changed at 1193.97
- euro little changed at $1.171
- WTI crude +0.8% at $101.78/barrel
Top Overnight News
- Xi Jinping has told American chief executives travelling with Donald Trump that China’s door to business “will only open wider and wider” as the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies meet in Beijing. FT
- Beijing granted permission on Thursday for hundreds of American slaughterhouses to resume beef shipments to China, 15 months after Chinese officials had signaled displeasure with President Trump’s initial tariffs by allowing the industrial facilities’ licenses to expire. WSJ
- Scott Bessent said he had no news on additional access for Nvidia chips in China, but said there may be a large Boeing order. BBG
- Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned President Trump that any mishandling of Taiwan could lead to “an extremely dangerous situation,” directly raising a point of tension that has loomed over the meeting. Xi’s statement, while in line with China’s longstanding position, threatened to dim the mood of a visit both countries hoped would stabilize ties.
- The BoJ should raise interest rates as soon as possible if there are no clear signs of an economic slowdown, board member Kazuyuki Masu said in comments that appear to increase the chances of a June rate hike. RTRS
- Data centers in space are gaining traction as an idea to get around constraints limiting expansion on Earth. SpaceX and Blue Origin have both announced plans to build and launch. BBG
- Russia pummelled cities across Ukraine with dozens of missiles and more than 1,400 drones on Wednesday into Thursday, as a three-day ceasefire collapsed in a relentless 24-hour bombardment, which killed at least a dozen people. FT
- US President Trump’s proposals are reportedly facing opposition in Congress. These include a gas tax holiday and federal funding for a new ballroom in the White House: Semafor
- US Pentagon has not signed new contracts to replenish its munitions supplies: NBC
- London office leasing bounced back from Covid-era lows, with tenant floor-space expansions reaching a six-year high on rising demand from finance and professional services firms. BBG
- India is considering a significant reduction in taxes paid by foreign investors on the nation’s bonds as authorities seek to align policies with global norms and attract inflows, people familiar said. BBG
Trump-Xi Summit
- In the White House official statement, it stated that US President Trump had a good meeting with Chinese President Xi, in which the two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation. On the Iran conflict, the two sides agreed that the Strait must remain open and that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. However, Taiwan was not mentioned.
- US President Trump told Chinese President Xi that they’ve had a fantastic relationship, and they are going to have a fantastic future together, while he added that he has such respect for China and that he tells everybody Xi is a great leader. Trump also stated that the relationship between the US and China will be better than before, with trade to be totally reciprocal on their behalf and he looks forward to doing business with China.
- Chinese President Xi said to US CEOs that China’s door will only open wider, adds China welcomes US to strengthen reciprocal cooperation in China, according to Xinhua.
- Chinese President Xi told US President Trump it is a pleasure to meet him in Beijing, while he has always believed that the common interests between China and the US outweigh the differences. Xi stated that the success of China and the US is an opportunity for each other, and he looks forward to discussions with US President Trump.
- Chinese President Xi said talks are the only right way to resolve disputes and that there are no winners in a trade war, while he also commented that the Taiwan issue is the most important in US-China ties, and if the issue is not handled well, the two countries will clash, according to Xinhua.
- China People’s Republic Chair Qiang said the US and China should focus on cooperation, and continue to be friends.
Iran War news
- US President Trump’s team is now discussing options for military escalation to break the deadlock, Axios reported. US officials don’t expect Trump to take any dramatic steps during his trip but think he could make his next move immediately afterward. One option is to resume “Project Freedom,” while another is to launch a new bombing campaign focusing on Iranian infrastructure.
- Pakistan Foreign Ministry said the peace process is intact, its holding on, we remain engaged and hopeful, Journalist Mallick reported.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said although Iranian forces are ready to “deliver a crushing and devastating response to foreign aggressors, we do not seek war.”
- US Secretary of State Rubio said US hopes to convince China to play a more active role in persuading Iran to back down on its actions in the Gulf, according to Reuters.
- US intelligence report emphasised that China acted to maximise its advantage and achievements against the US following the war in Iran on the diplomatic, military, economic and intelligence levels, according to WaPo.
- UKMTO reports an incident 38NM northeast of Fujairah, UAE. The vessel has been taken by unauthorised personnel whilst at anchor and now bound for Iranian territorial waters.
- Israel is to inform the Lebanese delegation that its strategy that it will not be committing to a comprehensive ceasefire, Al Hadath reported citing sources. Israel may offer to avoid bombing northern Bekaa and Beirut
- Iraqi sources reported hearing the sound of several explosions in Erbil, Iraq, while a drone strike hit an Iranian opposition camp north of Iraq’s Erbil, according to Fars. It was also reported shortly after that a second drone strike hit an Iranian opposition camp north of Erbil, according to security sources.
- Israeli raid was reported on the town of Arnoun in the district of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah said it targeted a Merkava tank with a guided missile in Tel Nahas on the outskirts of the town of Kafr Kila and achieved a confirmed hit, according to Al Jazeera. It was also reported that Hezbollah conducted 17 operations against Israeli forces on Wednesday.
- Israeli PM Netanyahu reportedly made a secret visit to the UAE in the midst of the Iran operation, where he met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while the visit resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE. However, the UAE later denied the report of a visit.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks traded mixed following the mostly positive lead from Wall St, where markets were choppy and gradually brushed aside the firmer-than-expected PPI data amid strength in tech and communications, while the focus turns to the Trump-Xi summit, which has begun in Beijing, although it has provided very little so far to excite markets. ASX 200 was lacklustre as weakness in consumer staples, tech, health care and energy counterbalanced the resilience in the top-weighted financials sector, while a lack of tier-1 data added to the humdrum mood. Nikkei 225 initially climbed to a fresh record high, before fading the gains amid quiet catalysts. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed as participants digested earnings releases, including from the likes of Alibaba and Tencent, which both beat on the bottom line but disappointed on sales, while participants now await any concrete outcomes from the Trump-Xi summit.
Top Asian News
- Japan considers drafting an extra budget, according to Kyodo. However, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara said no immediate need for a supplementary budget.
A broadly positive start for European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.5%) to begin Thursday’s session. The DAX 40 (+1.4%) is the clear outperformer, supported by Infineon and Rheinmetall while the FTSE 100 (+0.2%) underperforms, as 3i Group slumps after its FY total return missed estimates. European sectors hold a positive bias. Tech tops the sector pile while Financial Services lies at the bottom. Newsflow surrounding European tech has been light, but gains in US-listed Cisco after-hours seem to have passed through to the broader tech area. A Reuters report suggesting that the US approved H200 chip sales to Chinese companies also helped to lift sentiment.
Top European News
- Former UK Deputy PM Rayner is prepared to put her herself forward in any leadership race if required, Sky News’ Rigby reported citing sources.
- Former UK Deputy PM Rayner said she’s been cleared of any tax wrongdoing by HMRC.
- Afzal Khan told Sky News he has no plans to give up his seat for Manchester Mayor Burnham. This is a denial of earlier reports.
- Leadership candidates are considering making an early statement that Chancellor Reeves would actually be retained as Chancellor to secure market stability in the event of a longer leadership contest, according to Mail on Sunday’s Hodges citing UK MPs.
- BoE is set to water down stablecoin rules after industry pressure, with Deputy Governor Breeden stating that initial plans may have been ‘overly conservative’ and the central bank is ‘looking very hard’ at alternatives, according to FT.
- British Chambers of Commerce warned UK manufacturers and construction groups will be hit by significant financial and logistical problems as a result of ministers’ plans to double tariffs on steel imports from July 1st, according to FT.
FX
- DXY continues higher into of a packed session of US data and Fed speak. Today’s focus, aside from the scheduled data/speakers, will be on the US/China summit, where we recently saw a positive US readout with no mention of Taiwan and agreement that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open. So far, the Buck has yet to move significantly to the aforementioned updates and resides within narrow 98.41-98.55 parameters.
- In terms of notable news overnight, the US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to Fed Chair – to remind, Powell’s term officially terminates tomorrow. In terms of some analyst commentary on the Greenback, MUFG wrote this morning that the “Buck could strengthen if there is any indication that the Fed’s tolerance for looking through higher inflation is diminishing”, while ING wrote “face‑to‑face summits involving the US President have tended to generate a slew of conciliatory headlines, which can bolster risk assets”.
- USD/JPY continues to chop with a c. 45 pip move lower this morning, seen on hawkish remarks from BoJ’s Masu, who said the central bank needed to raise rates “at the earliest stage possible”. Masu, at the last BoJ confab, was not one of the three hawkish dissenters, meaning the vote split could theoretically be 5-4 should former dissenters maintain their votes. Markets are reluctant to fully price a June meeting hike, with just 15bps of tightening expected. The move seen on Masu’s remarks has since been faded as oil prices remain high.
- GBP trades with mild losses, with a strong regional GDP report ultimately overlooked by ongoing political unrest. Latest UK political updates suggest former Deputy PM Rayner may put herself forward in a leadership race after HMRC cleared her tax case. Rayner has indicated she favours supporting Manchester Mayor Burnham, which potentially strengthens his bid. Burnham, however, still needs to find an MP willing to step aside to spark a by-election and give Burnham a route to Parliament; reports and denials on the seat in question continue. Some analysts are circulating a survey from Survation, which indicates that soft-left Burnham is the most popular candidate amongst Labour members by a margin. Cable finds support at the round 1.3500 mark.
Central Banks
- BoJ’s Masu said they need to raise the rate at the earliest stage possible, and due attention should be paid to whether inflation triggered by the yen’s depreciation may raise people’s inflation expectations and, in turn, affect underlying inflation. Masu said the BoJ will continue to raise rates in response to economic, price, and financial developments, as well as noted that Japan has clearly entered an inflationary phase. Masu said there were mixed views among policy board members at the April meeting on whether to raise the policy interest rate immediately, while he judged at the April MPM that the situation did not warrant a hasty policy rate hike. Masu also commented that he is convinced the BoJ needs to raise the policy interest rate further, so that it falls solidly within the estimated range of neutral interest rate, and warned that if inflation is not contained at an appropriate level, this could lead to a vicious cycle in which firms have to further raise wages to retain workers. Furthermore, he noted that given Japan is no longer in a deflationary period, negative real rates should be addressed as soon as possible.
- Fed’s Collins (2028 voter) said she expected the Federal Reserve would need to maintain restrictive policy for some time but hoped the economy would eventually permit more rate cuts later this year. Collins stated that further rate hikes could become necessary to cool inflation pressures and said current Fed policy remained “well positioned” to address risks. It was later reported by WSJ that Collins said she is watching the extent to which tariffs continue to pass through the price chain and that the Fed may need to raise rates if inflation pressures broaden in the coming months, but sees inflation pressures from the Iran war eventually subsiding.
- ECB’s Kazaks said can’t yet see full impact of Iran war on inflation, and the situation is a bit worse than the ECB’s baseline scenario.
Fixed Income
- Global fixed benchmarks are firmer this morning, attempting to clamber off recent lows, as energy prices remain stable in today’s session. Geopolitical updates overnight were lacking, but attention this morning was on reports that a vessel off the coast of the UAE has been taken by unauthorised personnel. Later reports by Axios stating that US President Trump’s team is now discussing options for military escalation to break the deadlock failed to move benchmarks.
- USTs are firmer by 5 ticks, and currently trading within a 110-02 to 110-06+ range. Strength, which appears to be a bounce-back from the lows seen on Wednesday, following a hotter-than-expected PPI report. Oxford Economics outlined that following both CPI and PPI, its PCE “nowcast points to a 3.8% y/y rise in headline prices.
- Bunds are stronger by c. 30 ticks, and trades within a 124.80 to 125.03 range. Price action has followed the above, with a lack of fundamental European drivers this morning. It is also worth noting that today is Ascension Day, celebrated across parts of Europe, so lower volumes are possible. From a policy perspective, ECB’s Chief Economist Lane stated on Wednesday that the surge in energy prices may require the Bank to deliver hikes. He continued his hawkish remarks by suggesting that an increase in selling price expectations suggests input cost pressures will map into higher output prices in the coming months.
- Gilts are performing in-line with peers, and trade within an 86.14 to 86.48 range. A strong GDP report this morning is having little follow-through on price action. ING opines that it does not change much for the BoE, which is “singularly focused on the impending inflation spike”. UK traders also eye the domestic political situation, with reports on Wednesday suggesting that Health Minister Streeting is preparing to resign as soon as today. Close allies suggest he has more than the required 81 MPs to launch a leadership contest, though others question these claims. Another growing risk is Former Deputy PM Rayner being cleared of any tax wrongdoing by the HMRC, which gives her better credibility should she decide to launch a challenge.
- JGBs underperform vs peers, following hawkish commentary from BoJ’s Masu, who stated that there is a need to raise rates at the earliest stage possible. The 10yr now resides at levels not seen since 1997. Elsewhere, the 30yr auction overnight gave an indication that demand remains strong at these elevated yields, as the b/c rose to 3.49x (prev. 3.12x). However, the wider tail suggests that some buyers are potentially holding out for a 4% yield.
Commodities
- In geopolitics, the US and Iran both signalled a preference for diplomacy. US VP Vance said Washington is making progress in talks and remains focused on a diplomatic path “for now”, reiterating that Tehran must not obtain nuclear weapons. Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi also said Iran does not seek war. However, tensions remain elevated: Tehran warned that new confrontations with the US are possible, said its forces are ready to deliver a “crushing” response if attacked, and confirmed it is preparing new navigation laws for the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, Iran accused Kuwait of unlawfully attacking an Iranian boat and detaining four Iranian citizens near an island allegedly linked to US operations. Shipping risks also rose after UKMTO reported that a vessel northeast of Fujairah was taken by unauthorised personnel and moved toward Iranian waters.
- Crude markets are holding a mild positive bias but trade off best levels following the diplomacy-first approach by the US and Iran, whilst the positive US-China commentary could also be underpinning the benchmarks. Some mild pressure was seen in energy benchmarks after a WH statement outlined that the US and China agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open. WTI July resides in a 95.48-98.13/bbl range while Brent July sits in a USD 104.57-107.13/bbl range. Sticking with energy, Dutch TTF meanwhile is choppy but posts mild gains (+0.2%) above EUR 47/MWh at the time of writing.
- In terms of metals, spot gold is choppy within a narrow range, and largely within yesterday’s parameters after finding support near yesterday’s trough (4,669.53/oz). Newsflow has remained somewhat light this morning with no real macro drivers. Spot gold resides in a USD 4,669-4,719/oz while spot silver consolidates with modest losses above USD 87/oz after gaining for yet another session yesterday, bringing the win streak to seven straight sessions. HSBC raised its average silver price forecasts to USD 75/oz in 2026 and USD 68/oz in 2027.
- Copper futures pulled back from record levels despite the broadly positive risk sentiment, with 3M LME copper briefly dipping under USD 14,000/t to trade in a current USD 13,887.50- 14,132.78/t range.
Trade/Tariffs
- China renewed export licenses for more than 400 US beef plants, according to customs data.
- EU officials said they are open to collaboration with the UK, but the UK will need to relax its trade and economic integration stance in order to progress towards a more ambitious deal, Politico reported.
US Event Calendar
- 8:30 am: United States Apr Import Price Index MoM, est. 1%, prior 0.8%
- 8:30 am: United States May 9 Initial Jobless Claims, est. 205k, prior 200k
- 8:30 am: United States May 2 Continuing Claims, est. 1780k, prior 1766k
- 8:30 am: United States Apr Retail Sales Advance MoM, est. 0.5%, prior 1.7%
- 8:30 am: United States Apr Retail Sales Ex Auto MoM, est. 0.7%, prior 1.9%
Central Bank Speakers
- 8:00 am: United States Fed’s Miran Appears on Bloomberg TV
- 10:15 am: United States Fed’s Schmid Speaks on Payments Innovation
- 1:00 pm: United States Fed’s Hammack Gives Opening Remarks
- 1:00 pm: United States Fed’s Bowman Delivers Pre-Recorded Remarks
- 5:45 pm: United States Fed’s Williams in Moderated Discussion
- 7:00 pm: United States Fed’s Barr speaks on Balance Sheet
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
This time yesterday I was finishing off the EMR looking across the ocean, thinking that work travel wasn’t actually that bad. Today I’m writing it on a bus in gridlocked LA rush hour traffic. I landed at LAX to find that traffic suggested 1hr 45 minutes to my hotel. However, the maps app suggested a bus and metro route that was slated to take 1 hr 25 mins. I gambled but then waited 30 minutes for a bus and that’s now where you find me. Not moving, along with around 70 other passengers!
Markets have been moving much faster than my bus over the last 24 hours though, with US equities last night surging to new highs, with the S&P 500 advancing +0.58%. That was led by fresh gains for tech stocks, with the NASDAQ (+1.20%) and the Magnificent 7 (+2.00%) reaching record highs of their own. The Mag-7 has now risen by over +27% in just over six weeks, while the Philly semiconductor index (+2.57% yesterday) is up +68% over that period. While there wasn’t a single clear catalyst, positive sentiment around the tech mega caps was a dominant theme as several of the Mag-7 CEOs were among the business leaders joining Trump’s visit to China. This included the Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang who must have been delighted to see his stock up (+2.29%) for a sixth day and to fresh records ahead of earnings next Wednesday. If only the West Coast tech gurus could find an answer to LA traffic.
It’s early in Asia and as long as I’m reading this correctly, while trying to avoid motion sickness, markets continue to be bouyant. The KOSPI is up over a percent and the Nikkei, alongside Nasdaq futures, are up around two-thirds of a percent. European futures are up nearly a percent but it’s still early in the session and perhaps a few hours before you wake up and read this. Obviously the world awaits news from the first Trump/Xi meeting today.
Ahead of that, the market mood was also supported by an easing in oil prices even as the Strait of Hormuz remained blocked with no new signs of progress towards a resolution. Brent crude retreated by -1.99% to $105.63/bbl while WTI was down -1.14% to $101.02/bbl. The drop in oil helped European stocks mostly match US gains, as the STOXX 600 (+0.79%) advanced alongside the DAX (+0.76%), the CAC 40 (+0.35%), and the FTSE MIB (+1.00%).
That said, it was not all good news, with nearly two thirds of the S&P 500 actually declining yesterday as blue chip names underperformed. A key challenge was an incredibly strong PPI inflation print, which led markets to price a growing chance of Fed rate hikes. In fact, the monthly PPI reading surged to +1.4% in April (vs. +0.5% expected), marking the biggest monthly surge in producer prices since March 2022. And in turn, that pushed up the year-on-year measure to +6.0% (vs. +4.8% expected), which is the fastest annual pace since December 2022. Moreover, it wasn’t just an energy story, as the core PPI measure excluding food, energy and trade was up +0.6% for the month (vs. +0.3% expected). So for investors, the print pushed back against the idea it was simply a one-time energy shock, and led to growing fears about broader inflation persistence.
That PPI print led to an immediate reaction in rates markets, pushing US Treasury yields to their highest in months, though this reaction then eased as oil prices edged lower. By the close, fed funds futures were little changed, pricing a 40% chance of a hike by year-end, while 2yr yields were down -1.1bps on the day. Yields still inched higher further out the curve, with the 10yr yield (+0.6bps) reaching its highest level since last July at 4.47%, while 30yr yields were up +0.9bps to 5.03%. That came as yesterday’s auction saw 30yr bonds issued at a yield of above 5% for the first time since 2007.
Meanwhile, Kevin Warsh was formally confirmed by the Senate as Fed Chair in a 54-45 vote. He will take over the role as Powell’s term as Chair ends on Friday. Trump’s pick comes in as the FOMC has sounded increasingly doubtful on prospects for further easing. The latest such comments came from Boston Fed President Collins yesterday, who said rates should remain on hold for “some time”, adding that she “could envision a scenario in which some policy tightening is needed” though this was not most likely.
Otherwise in the UK, the political news has shown no sign of letting up, as speculation continues to swirl around PM Keir Starmer’s position. In terms of the latest, it was reported in the Times yesterday, and then in several other outlets, that Health Secretary Wes Streeting might challenge Starmer for the leadership as soon as today. Clearly we’ll have to see what happens, but if Streeting wants to launch a formal challenge, he requires nominations from 20% of Labour MPs, so all eyes on whether he can do that and trigger a contest.
Interestingly, if there is a contest right now, it would also mean that Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is unable to run as it stands, as he’s not currently an MP in the House of Commons. So that’s led to speculation about whether Energy Secretary and former leader Ed Miliband might run instead although there is some talk overnight of a Labour MP in Manchester prepared to stand down to give Burnham a chance to win a by-election relatively quickly. However, he would still need to be selected as a candidate by the ruling NEC and hold off the strong Green Party in that particular seat.
While this manoeuvring is going on, Starmer himself has made clear that he intends to fight on, so it’s a volatile situation that keeps shifting. Indeed, in the last week alone, the Polymarket odds of a Starmer resignation in 2026 have fluctuated between 47% and 91%, and it’s now back at 70% as we go to press.
When it came to gilt markets, they actually outperformed yesterday, with the 10yr yield down -3.7bps by the close. So that was a larger decline than for yields on 10yr bunds (-0.1bps), OATs (-1.0bps) and BTPs (-2.2bps). Meanwhile, UK equities also traded in line with the rest of Europe, with the FTSE 100 (+0.58%) and the more domestically-focused FTSE 250 (+0.28%) both rising. Moreover, sterling was broadly steady against other major currencies, weakening -0.13% against the US Dollar, but strengthening +0.10% against the Euro.
Looking at the day ahead, a key highlight will be the meeting between President Trump and President Xi in China. Otherwise, data releases include the US weekly initial jobless claims, April retail sales, and the UK’s Q1 GDP reading. Finally, from central banks, we’ll hear from the Fed’s Logan, Schmid, Hammack and Williams, along with the BoE’s Pill. Fingers crossed I won’t be on the same bus by tomorrow’s edition.
1 b European opening report
Constructive US/China summit boosts ES and NQ, US said to approve some H200 chip sales, NVDA +2%; US data/Fed speak ahead – Newsquawk US Market Open
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 06:59 AM
- US President Trump had a good meeting with Chinese President Xi, in which the two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation. The two sides agreed that the Strait must remain open and that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. However, Taiwan was not mentioned.
- US President Trump’s team is now discussing options for military escalation to break the deadlock, Axios reported. Options include resuming Project Freedom or striking Iranian infrastructure.
- European bourses continue to rebound; NVDA gains after the US reportedly approved around 10 Chinese firms to buy H200 chip.
- DXY flat, GBP immediately pared post-GDP gains as politics remains in focus.
- USTs attempt to bounce back from recent losses; Gilts eye a potential leadership challenge.
- Crude holds a mild upward bias but wanes off its best levels as US and Iran prefer diplomacy.
- Looking ahead, highlights include Trump-Xi Summit (14th-15th May); US Retail Sales (Apr), Export/Import Prices (Apr), Jobless Claims (May 9), Atlanta Fed GDP. Speakers include BoE’s Pill, Fed’s Bowman, Miran, Logan, Schmid, Hammack & Williams.
- Holiday: Ascension Day Holiday (Closures in Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark).
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TRUMP-XI SUMMIT
- In the White House official statement, it stated that US President Trump had a good meeting with Chinese President Xi, in which the two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation. On the Iran conflict, the two sides agreed that the Strait must remain open and that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. However, Taiwan was not mentioned.
- US President Trump told Chinese President Xi that they’ve had a fantastic relationship, and they are going to have a fantastic future together, while he added that he has such respect for China and that he tells everybody Xi is a great leader. Trump also stated that the relationship between the US and China will be better than before, with trade to be totally reciprocal on their behalf and he looks forward to doing business with China.
- Chinese President Xi said to US CEOs that China’s door will only open wider, adds China welcomes US to strengthen reciprocal cooperation in China, according to Xinhua.
- Chinese President Xi told US President Trump it is a pleasure to meet him in Beijing, while he has always believed that the common interests between China and the US outweigh the differences. Xi stated that the success of China and the US is an opportunity for each other, and he looks forward to discussions with US President Trump.
- Chinese President Xi said talks are the only right way to resolve disputes and that there are no winners in a trade war, while he also commented that the Taiwan issue is the most important in US-China ties, and if the issue is not handled well, the two countries will clash, according to Xinhua.
- China People’s Republic Chair Qiang said the US and China should focus on cooperation, and continue to be friends.
- Click here for more analysis
EUROPEAN TRADE
EQUITIES
- A broadly positive start for European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.5%) to begin Thursday’s session. The DAX 40 (+1.4%) is the clear outperformer, supported by Infineon and Rheinmetall while the FTSE 100 (+0.2%) underperforms, as 3i Group slumps after its FY total return missed estimates.
- European sectors hold a positive bias. Tech tops the sector pile while Financial Services lies at the bottom. Newsflow surrounding European tech has been light, but gains in US-listed Cisco after-hours seem to have passed through to the broader tech area. A Reuters report suggesting that the US approved H200 chip sales to Chinese companies also helped to lift sentiment.
- US equity futures gain pre-market, further extending on ATHs. Initial upside in NQ futures came following reports that the US have approved around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia H200 chips, and Nvidia shares have risen 2.0% pre-market as a result. Packed session ahead with Fed speak and US data, including Retail sales, Jobless claims and Import/Export prices slated.
- US approved around 10 Chinese firms to buy NVIDIA (NVDA) H200 chips, according to Reuters sources. Chinese buyers include Alibaba (BABA/ 9988 HK), ByteDance, Tencent (TCEHY/0700 HK), JD.com (JD/ 9618 HK).
- Click for the sessions European pre-market equity newsflow
- Click for the additional news
FX
- DXY continues higher into of a packed session of US data and Fed speak. Today’s focus, aside from the scheduled data/speakers, will be on the US/China summit, where we recently saw a positive US readout with no mention of Taiwan and agreement that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open. So far, the Buck has yet to move significantly to the aforementioned updates and resides within narrow 98.41-98.55 parameters.
- In terms of notable news overnight, the US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to Fed Chair – to remind, Powell’s term officially terminates tomorrow. In terms of some analyst commentary on the Greenback, MUFG wrote this morning that the “Buck could strengthen if there is any indication that the Fed’s tolerance for looking through higher inflation is diminishing”, while ING wrote “face‑to‑face summits involving the US President have tended to generate a slew of conciliatory headlines, which can bolster risk assets”.
- USD/JPY continues to chop with a c. 45 pip move lower this morning, seen on hawkish remarks from BoJ’s Masu, who said the central bank needed to raise rates “at the earliest stage possible”. Masu, at the last BoJ confab, was not one of the three hawkish dissenters, meaning the vote split could theoretically be 5-4 should former dissenters maintain their votes. Markets are reluctant to fully price a June meeting hike, with just 15bps of tightening expected. The move seen on Masu’s remarks has since been faded as oil prices remain high.
- GBP trades with mild losses, with a strong regional GDP report ultimately overlooked by ongoing political unrest. Latest UK political updates suggest former Deputy PM Rayner may put herself forward in a leadership race after HMRC cleared her tax case. Rayner has indicated she favours supporting Manchester Mayor Burnham, which potentially strengthens his bid. Burnham, however, still needs to find an MP willing to step aside to spark a by-election and give Burnham a route to Parliament; reports and denials on the seat in question continue. Some analysts are circulating a survey from Survation, which indicates that soft-left Burnham is the most popular candidate amongst Labour members by a margin. Cable finds support at the round 1.3500 mark.
- Click for NY OpEx Details
FIXED INCOME
- Global fixed benchmarks are firmer this morning, attempting to clamber off recent lows, as energy prices remain stable in today’s session. Geopolitical updates overnight were lacking, but attention this morning was on reports that a vessel off the coast of the UAE has been taken by unauthorised personnel. Later reports by Axios stating that US President Trump’s team is now discussing options for military escalation to break the deadlock failed to move benchmarks.
- USTs are firmer by 5 ticks, and currently trading within a 110-02 to 110-06+ range. Strength, which appears to be a bounce-back from the lows seen on Wednesday, following a hotter-than-expected PPI report. Oxford Economics outlined that following both CPI and PPI, its PCE “nowcast points to a 3.8% y/y rise in headline prices.
- Bunds are stronger by c. 30 ticks, and trades within a 124.80 to 125.03 range. Price action has followed the above, with a lack of fundamental European drivers this morning. It is also worth noting that today is Ascension Day, celebrated across parts of Europe, so lower volumes are possible. From a policy perspective, ECB’s Chief Economist Lane stated on Wednesday that the surge in energy prices may require the Bank to deliver hikes. He continued his hawkish remarks by suggesting that an increase in selling price expectations suggests input cost pressures will map into higher output prices in the coming months.
- Gilts are performing in-line with peers, and trade within an 86.14 to 86.48 range. A strong GDP report this morning is having little follow-through on price action. ING opines that it does not change much for the BoE, which is “singularly focused on the impending inflation spike”. UK traders also eye the domestic political situation, with reports on Wednesday suggesting that Health Minister Streeting is preparing to resign as soon as today. Close allies suggest he has more than the required 81 MPs to launch a leadership contest, though others question these claims. Another growing risk is Former Deputy PM Rayner being cleared of any tax wrongdoing by the HMRC, which gives her better credibility should she decide to launch a challenge.
- JGBs underperform vs peers, following hawkish commentary from BoJ’s Masu, who stated that there is a need to raise rates at the earliest stage possible. The 10yr now resides at levels not seen since 1997. Elsewhere, the 30yr auction overnight gave an indication that demand remains strong at these elevated yields, as the b/c rose to 3.49x (prev. 3.12x). However, the wider tail suggests that some buyers are potentially holding out for a 4% yield.
- Japan sells JPY 454.4bln 30-yr JGBs; b/c 3.49x (prev. 3.12x), and average yield 3.842% (prev. 3.697%).
COMMODITIES
- In geopolitics, the US and Iran both signalled a preference for diplomacy. US VP Vance said Washington is making progress in talks and remains focused on a diplomatic path “for now”, reiterating that Tehran must not obtain nuclear weapons. Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi also said Iran does not seek war. However, tensions remain elevated: Tehran warned that new confrontations with the US are possible, said its forces are ready to deliver a “crushing” response if attacked, and confirmed it is preparing new navigation laws for the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, Iran accused Kuwait of unlawfully attacking an Iranian boat and detaining four Iranian citizens near an island allegedly linked to US operations. Shipping risks also rose after UKMTO reported that a vessel northeast of Fujairah was taken by unauthorised personnel and moved toward Iranian waters.
- Crude markets are holding a mild positive bias but trade off best levels following the diplomacy-first approach by the US and Iran, whilst the positive US-China commentary could also be underpinning the benchmarks. Some mild pressure was seen in energy benchmarks after a WH statement outlined that the US and China agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open. WTI July resides in a 95.48-98.13/bbl range while Brent July sits in a USD 104.57-107.13/bbl range. Sticking with energy, Dutch TTF meanwhile is choppy but posts mild gains (+0.2%) above EUR 47/MWh at the time of writing.
- In terms of metals, spot gold is choppy within a narrow range, and largely within yesterday’s parameters after finding support near yesterday’s trough (4,669.53/oz). Newsflow has remained somewhat light this morning with no real macro drivers. Spot gold resides in a USD 4,669-4,719/oz while spot silver consolidates with modest losses above USD 87/oz after gaining for yet another session yesterday, bringing the win streak to seven straight sessions. HSBC raised its average silver price forecasts to USD 75/oz in 2026 and USD 68/oz in 2027.
- Copper futures pulled back from record levels despite the broadly positive risk sentiment, with 3M LME copper briefly dipping under USD 14,000/t to trade in a current USD 13,887.50- 14,132.78/t range.
- Cuba’s Energy and Mines Minister said Cuba has run out of diesel and fuel oil amid the US oil blockade.
- India has asked the US to extend its waiver on Russian oil, Bloomberg sources reported.
- India banned sugar exports until September 30th this year, according to a government notice.
- HSBC raises average silver price forecasts to USD 75/oz in 2026 and USD 68/oz in 2027.
TRADE/TARIFFS
- China renewed export licenses for more than 400 US beef plants, according to customs data.
- EU officials said they are open to collaboration with the UK, but the UK will need to relax its trade and economic integration stance in order to progress towards a more ambitious deal, Politico reported.
NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES
- Former UK Deputy PM Rayner is prepared to put her herself forward in any leadership race if required, Sky News’ Rigby reported citing sources.
- Former UK Deputy PM Rayner said she’s been cleared of any tax wrongdoing by HMRC.
- Afzal Khan told Sky News he has no plans to give up his seat for Manchester Mayor Burnham. This is a denial of earlier reports.
- Leadership candidates are considering making an early statement that Chancellor Reeves would actually be retained as Chancellor to secure market stability in the event of a longer leadership contest, according to Mail on Sunday’s Hodges citing UK MPs.
- BoE is set to water down stablecoin rules after industry pressure, with Deputy Governor Breeden stating that initial plans may have been ‘overly conservative’ and the central bank is ‘looking very hard’ at alternatives, according to FT.
- British Chambers of Commerce warned UK manufacturers and construction groups will be hit by significant financial and logistical problems as a result of ministers’ plans to double tariffs on steel imports from July 1st, according to FT.
NOTABLE EUROPEAN DATA RECAP
- UK GDP 3-Month Avg (Mar, Q1) 0.6% vs. Exp. 0.5% (Prev. 0.5%, Low. 0.5%, High. 0.6%).
- UK GDP Growth Rate QoQ Prel (Q1) Q/Q 0.6% vs. Exp. 0.6% (Prev. 0.1%).
- UK GDP Growth Rate YoY Prel (Q1) Y/Y 1.1% vs. Exp. 0.8% (Prev. 1%, Low. 0.6%, High. 0.7%).
- UK GDP MoM (Mar) M/M 0.3% vs. Exp. -0.2% (Prev. 0.5%, Low. -0.3%, High. 0%).
- UK Balance of Trade (Mar) -9.658B vs. Exp. -3.4B (Prev. -0.720B).
- UK RICS House Price Balance (Apr) -34% vs. Exp. -25% (Prev. -23%).
- Spanish Inflation Rate MoM Final (Apr) M/M 0.4% vs. Exp. 0.4% (Prev. 1.2%).
- Spanish Inflation Rate YoY Final (Apr) Y/Y 3.2% vs. Exp. 3.2% (Prev. 3.4%).
CENTRAL BANKS
- BoJ’s Masu said they need to raise the rate at the earliest stage possible, and due attention should be paid to whether inflation triggered by the yen’s depreciation may raise people’s inflation expectations and, in turn, affect underlying inflation. Masu said the BoJ will continue to raise rates in response to economic, price, and financial developments, as well as noted that Japan has clearly entered an inflationary phase. Masu said there were mixed views among policy board members at the April meeting on whether to raise the policy interest rate immediately, while he judged at the April MPM that the situation did not warrant a hasty policy rate hike. Masu also commented that he is convinced the BoJ needs to raise the policy interest rate further, so that it falls solidly within the estimated range of neutral interest rate, and warned that if inflation is not contained at an appropriate level, this could lead to a vicious cycle in which firms have to further raise wages to retain workers. Furthermore, he noted that given Japan is no longer in a deflationary period, negative real rates should be addressed as soon as possible.
- Fed’s Collins (2028 voter) said she expected the Federal Reserve would need to maintain restrictive policy for some time but hoped the economy would eventually permit more rate cuts later this year. Collins stated that further rate hikes could become necessary to cool inflation pressures and said current Fed policy remained “well positioned” to address risks. It was later reported by WSJ that Collins said she is watching the extent to which tariffs continue to pass through the price chain and that the Fed may need to raise rates if inflation pressures broaden in the coming months, but sees inflation pressures from the Iran war eventually subsiding.
- ECB’s Kazaks said can’t yet see full impact of Iran war on inflation, and the situation is a bit worse than the ECB’s baseline scenario.
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
- US President Trump’s proposals are reportedly facing opposition in Congress, Semafor reported. These include a gas tax holiday and federal funding for a new ballroom in the White House.
- US Pentagon has not signed new contracts to replenish its munitions supplies, NBC reported.
GEOPOLITICS
MIDDLE EAST
- US President Trump’s team is now discussing options for military escalation to break the deadlock, Axios reported. US officials don’t expect Trump to take any dramatic steps during his trip but think he could make his next move immediately afterward. One option is to resume “Project Freedom,” while another is to launch a new bombing campaign focusing on Iranian infrastructure.
- Pakistan Foreign Ministry said the peace process is intact, its holding on, we remain engaged and hopeful, Journalist Mallick reported.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said although Iranian forces are ready to “deliver a crushing and devastating response to foreign aggressors, we do not seek war.”
- US Secretary of State Rubio said US hopes to convince China to play a more active role in persuading Iran to back down on its actions in the Gulf, according to Reuters.
- US intelligence report emphasised that China acted to maximise its advantage and achievements against the US following the war in Iran on the diplomatic, military, economic and intelligence levels, according to WaPo.
- UKMTO reports an incident 38NM northeast of Fujairah, UAE. The vessel has been taken by unauthorised personnel whilst at anchor and now bound for Iranian territorial waters.
- Israel is to inform the Lebanese delegation that its strategy that it will not be committing to a comprehensive ceasefire, Al Hadath reported citing sources. Israel may offer to avoid bombing northern Bekaa and Beirut
- Iraqi sources reported hearing the sound of several explosions in Erbil, Iraq, while a drone strike hit an Iranian opposition camp north of Iraq’s Erbil, according to Fars. It was also reported shortly after that a second drone strike hit an Iranian opposition camp north of Erbil, according to security sources.
- Israeli raid was reported on the town of Arnoun in the district of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah said it targeted a Merkava tank with a guided missile in Tel Nahas on the outskirts of the town of Kafr Kila and achieved a confirmed hit, according to Al Jazeera. It was also reported that Hezbollah conducted 17 operations against Israeli forces on Wednesday.
- Israeli PM Netanyahu reportedly made a secret visit to the UAE in the midst of the Iran operation, where he met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while the visit resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE. However, the UAE later denied the report of a visit.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
- Russia fired at least 800 drones in a massive daytime barrage on about 20 regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, according to NBC
- Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was under Russian attack early on Thursday with explosions sounding in the city, according to reports citing its mayor Klitschko.
OTHERS
- Russia’s Kremlin said President Putin’s trip to China will happen very soon with preparations complete.
CRYPTO
- Bitcoin found support at the 20-SMA and nears the USD 80k handle.
APAC TRADE
- APAC stocks traded mixed following the mostly positive lead from Wall St, where markets were choppy and gradually brushed aside the firmer-than-expected PPI data amid strength in tech and communications, while the focus turns to the Trump-Xi summit, which has begun in Beijing, although it has provided very little so far to excite markets.
- ASX 200 was lacklustre as weakness in consumer staples, tech, health care and energy counterbalanced the resilience in the top-weighted financials sector, while a lack of tier-1 data added to the humdrum mood.
- Nikkei 225 initially climbed to a fresh record high, before fading the gains amid quiet catalysts.
- Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed as participants digested earnings releases, including from the likes of Alibaba and Tencent, which both beat on the bottom line but disappointed on sales, while participants now await any concrete outcomes from the Trump-Xi summit.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
- Japan considers drafting an extra budget, according to Kyodo. However, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara said no immediate need for a supplementary budget.
1 c Asian opening report
Europe set for a positive open as US said to approve some NVIDIA H200 sales to China; eyes on UK politics – Newsquawk EU Market Open
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 02:03 AM
- US President Trump told Chinese President Xi that they’ve had a fantastic relationship and they are going to have a fantastic future together.
- Chinese President Xi told US President Trump it is a pleasure to meet him in Beijing, while he has always believed that the common interests between China and the US outweigh the differences.
- US Secretary of State Rubio said the US hopes to convince China to play a more active role in persuading Iran to back down on its actions in the Gulf.
- An Iranian NSC spokesperson said new confrontations with the US are possible, and they are preparing a law regarding navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
- APAC stocks traded mixed; European equity futures indicate a positive cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.7%.
- Looking ahead, highlights include Trump-Xi Summit (14th-15th May); UK GDP (Mar/Q1), Industrial Production (Mar), Spanish HICP Final (Apr), US Retail Sales (Apr), Export/Import Prices (Apr), Jobless Claims (May 9), Atlanta Fed GDP. Speakers include ECB’s Lagarde, BoE’s Pill, Fed’s Logan, Schmid, Hammack & Williams. Earnings from Telefonica, Burberry & National Grid.
- Holiday: Ascension Day Holiday (Closures in Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark).
SNAPSHOT
Newsquawk in 3 steps:
1. Subscribe to the free premarket movers reports
2. Listen to this report in the market open podcast (available on Apple and Spotify)
3. Trial Newsquawk’s premium real-time audio news squawk box for 7 days
IRAN CONFLICT
- US VP Vance said on Iran talks that he thinks they are making progress and are focused on a diplomatic pathway for now, while he agrees with the President that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons.
- US Secretary of State Rubio said the US hopes to convince China to play a more active role in persuading Iran to back down on its actions in the Gulf, according to Reuters.
- Iran’s Foreign Minister said that in a clear attempt to sow discord, Kuwait unlawfully attacked an Iranian boat and detained 4 Iranian citizens in the Persian Gulf, which took place near an island used by the US to attack Iran, while they demand the immediate release of their nationals and reserve the right to respond.
- Iranian NSC spokesperson said new confrontations with the US are possible and they are preparing a law regarding navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while the spokesperson said they forced the US to back down, and it is responsible for the escalation.
- Iran is using the Caspian Sea, highways and a railroad to China to bypass the US blockade of Hormuz.
- US intelligence report emphasised that China acted to maximise its advantage and achievements against the US following the war in Iran on the diplomatic, military, economic and intelligence levels, according to WaPo.
- Chinese companies have been discussing arms sales with Iran, plotting to send the weapons through other countries to mask the origins of the military aid, according to NYT citing US officials.
- Iraqi sources reported hearing the sound of several explosions in Erbil, Iraq, while a drone strike hit an Iranian opposition camp north of Iraq’s Erbil, according to Fars. It was also reported shortly after that a second drone strike hit an Iranian opposition camp north of Erbil, according to security sources.
- Israeli raid was reported on the town of Arnoun in the district of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah said it targeted a Merkava tank with a guided missile in Tel Nahas on the outskirts of the town of Kafr Kila and achieved a confirmed hit, according to Al Jazeera. It was also reported that Hezbollah conducted 17 operations against Israeli forces on Wednesday.
- Israeli PM Netanyahu reportedly made a secret visit to the UAE in the midst of the Iran operation, where he met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while the visit resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE. However, the UAE later denied the report of a visit.
- US State Department official said Lebanon added its former ambassador to the US, Simon Karam, to the next round of talks with Israel, while the Israeli delegation will include its ambassador to Washington and the deputy national security adviser.
- Saudi warplanes reportedly struck Iran-backed militia sites in Iraq during the war.
TRUMP-XI SUMMIT
- US President Trump told Chinese President Xi that they’ve had a fantastic relationship and they are going to have a fantastic future together, while he added that he has such respect for China and that he tells everybody Xi is a great leader. Trump also stated that the relationship between the US and China will be better than before, with trade to be totally reciprocal on their behalf and he looks forward to doing business with China.
- Chinese President Xi told US President Trump it is a pleasure to meet him in Beijing, while he has always believed that the common interests between China and the US outweigh the differences. Xi stated that the success of China and the US is an opportunity for each other, and he looks forward to discussions with US President Trump.
- Chinese President Xi said to US CEOs that China’s door will only open wider, adds China welcomes US to strengthen reciprocal cooperation in China, according to Xinhua.
- Chinese President Xi said talks are the only right way to resolve disputes and that there are no winners in a trade war, while he also commented that the Taiwan issue is the most important in US-China ties, and if the issue is not handled well, the two countries will clash, according to Xinhua.
- China renewed export licenses for more than 400 US beef plants, according to customs data.
US TRADE
EQUITIES
- US stocks closed with an upward bias as the Nasdaq 100 outperformed, buoyed by strength in Mag-7 (ex-MSFT), with NVDA and MU being particularly strong as their CEOs accompany President Trump on his trip to China, while Micron also saw a chunky BofA PT lift. As such, both the S&P 500 and NDX printed fresh record highs, while the focus resided around the Trump/Xi summit and the Middle East situation, albeit with little incrementally new, although VP Vance thinks they are making progress on Iran talks and is focused on a diplomatic pathway for now.
- Furthermore, US PPI data spurred an initial hawkish reaction, as it was much hotter than expected, which saw US indices and treasuries fall, while the dollar rose as the data pointed to broader price pressures beyond energy. However, the early pressure in stocks was reversed, and sectors were predominantly firmer, with Communications and Tech sitting atop the pile, while Utilities and Financials lagged.
- SPX +0.58% at 7,444, NDX +1.04% at 29,367, DJI -0.14% at 49,698, RUT +0.04% at 2,844.
- Click here for a detailed summary.
NOTABLE HEADLINES
- US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair.
- Fed’s Collins (2028 voter) said she expected the Federal Reserve would need to maintain restrictive policy for some time but hoped the economy would eventually permit more rate cuts later this year. Collins stated that further rate hikes could become necessary to cool inflation pressures and said current Fed policy remained “well positioned” to address risks. It was later reported by WSJ that Collins said she is watching the extent to which tariffs continue to pass through the price chain and that the Fed may need to raise rates if inflation pressures broaden in the coming months, but sees inflation pressures from the Iran war eventually subsiding.
- Fed’s Kashkari (2026 voter) said inflation is too high, while he commented that there is a huge question mark about how long the Hormuz Strait will be closed and that will have a big effect on inflation.
- NY Fed said the desk plans to conduct ~USD 16.3bln in reinvestment purchases between May 14th and June 11th, while it plans an additional ~USD 10bln in reserve management purchases over the same period.
- US House Financial Services Committee took up legislation that would amend the Federal Reserve Act to eliminate the Fed’s dual mandate and focus solely on price stability. The bill proposed replacing the phrase “maximum employment, stable prices” with “stable prices” in Section 2A of the Federal Reserve Act.
APAC TRADE
EQUITIES
- APAC stocks traded mixed following the mostly positive lead from Wall Street, where markets were choppy and gradually brushed aside the firmer-than-expected PPI data amid strength in tech and communications, while the focus turns to the Trump-Xi summit, which has begun in Beijing, although it has provided very little so far to excite markets.
- ASX 200 was lacklustre as weakness in consumer staples, tech, health care and energy counterbalanced the resilience in the top-weighted financials sector, while a lack of tier-1 data added to the humdrum mood.
- Nikkei 225 initially climbed to a fresh record high, before fading the gains amid quiet catalysts.
- Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed as participants digested earnings releases, including from the likes of Alibaba and Tencent, which both beat on the bottom line but disappointed on sales, while participants now await any concrete outcomes from the Trump-Xi summit.
- US equity futures took a breather after the prior day’s rebound and as markets look to any developments in Beijing.
- European equity futures indicate a positive cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.7% after the cash market closed with gains of 0.9% on Wednesday.
FX
- DXY traded flat overnight and held on to the prior day’s gains after strengthening on another hot inflation report in which PPI accelerated and spurred a hawkish reaction across markets, with the jump in prices driven by final demand for services, although the components that feed into PCE were more mixed. Nonetheless, price action in FX was muted overnight with little reaction during the ceremony and opening remarks from the Trump-Xi summit, while the dollar was also unmoved by the US Senate confirmation of Warsh as Fed chair.
- EUR/USD paused after returning from a brief dip to sub-1.1700 territory, and with little impact from a slew of recent ECB rhetoric, including from Lane, who stated that the global oil shock from the Iran war may require rate hikes, and that an increase in selling price expectations suggests input cost pressures will map into higher output prices in the coming months.
- GBP/USD lacked direction after recent two-way price action, while participants await quarterly GDP data from the UK and whether Health Secretary Streeting triggers a leadership contest.
- USD/JPY approached the 158.00 level with early weakness seen in the Japanese currency amid a lack of tier-1 data releases and some speculation regarding a potential extra budget, although there was a bout of volatility seen late in the session with USD/JPY briefly wobbling on hawkish comments from BoJ’s Masu who said that they need to raise rates at the earliest stage possible, but noted that he judged at the April meeting that the situation did not warrant a hasty policy rate hike.
- Antipodeans conformed to the predominantly humdrum mood across currencies amid a light Asia-Pac calendar and in the absence of any major fresh FX-related catalysts.
- PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.8401 vs exp. 6.7888 (prev. 6.8431)
- BoC Minutes stated that Governors felt the situation could change quickly and rates might have to go up to guard against persistent inflation, while GC members agreed they had scope to be patient ahead of the April 29th rate announcement.
FIXED INCOME
- 10yr UST futures kept afloat after the prior day’s rebound, in which the pullback in oil prices helped treasuries claw back the initial losses that were triggered by hotter-than-expected PPI data.
- Bund futures moved back towards the 125.00 level as some of the energy-related pressures dissipated, and despite comments from ECB’s Lane that the global oil shock from the Iran war may require hikes.
- 10yr JGB futures were indecisive amid the lack of tier-1 data from Japan and as participants digested the mixed results from the latest 30yr JGB auction.
COMMODITIES
- Crude futures were rangebound following the prior day’s choppy performance and as focus turned to the Trump-Xi summit, while on the geopolitical front, there were reports of drone strikes that hit the Iranian opposition camp north of Iraq’s Erbil, but had little lasting impact on oil prices.
- Libya’s NOC Chairman expects the Ras Lanuf refinery to restart in six months to one year.
- Cuba’s Energy and Mines Minister said Cuba has run out of diesel and fuel oil amid the US oil blockade.
- Spot gold saw two-way trade and fluctuated through the USD 4,700/oz level after recent oil price swings and despite the firmer-than-expected PPI data stateside.
- Copper futures pulled back from record levels with price action not helped by the mixed risk sentiment, and as the attention was centred on the Trump-Xi summit.
- India banned sugar exports until September 30th this year, according to a government notice.
CRYPTO
- Bitcoin traded indecisively and ultimately returned to flat territory.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
- BoJ’s Masu said they need to raise the rate at the earliest stage possible, and due attention should be paid to whether inflation triggered by the yen’s depreciation may raise people’s inflation expectations and, in turn, affect underlying inflation. Masu said the BoJ will continue to raise rates in response to economic, price, and financial developments, as well as noted that Japan has clearly entered an inflationary phase. Masu said there were mixed views among policy board members at the April meeting on whether to raise the policy interest rate immediately, while he judged at the April MPM that the situation did not warrant a hasty policy rate hike. Masu also commented that he is convinced the BoJ needs to raise the policy interest rate further, so that it falls solidly within the estimated range of neutral interest rate, and warned that if inflation is not contained at an appropriate level, this could lead to a vicious cycle in which firms have to further raise wages to retain workers. Furthermore, he noted that given Japan is no longer in a deflationary period, negative real rates should be addressed as soon as possible.
- Japan considers drafting an extra budget, according to Kyodo. However, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara said no immediate need for a supplementary budget.
GEOPOLITICS
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
- Russia fired at least 800 drones in a massive daytime barrage on about 20 regions of Ukraine on Wednesday, according to NBC
- Ukraine’s capital Kyiv was under Russian attack early on Thursday with explosions sounding in the city, according to reports citing its mayor Klitschko.
EU/UK
NOTABLE HEADLINES
- UK PM Starmer has made clear to allies that he will stand and fight if Wes Streeting succeeds in triggering a leadership contest, according to The Times.
- Former UK Deputy PM Rayner said she’s been cleared of any tax wrongdoing by HMRC.
- Manchester Rusholme MP Afzal Khan is understood to be prepared to give up his Westminster seat so Burnham can try to return to parliament and be a leadership contender, the Times reported.
- BoE is set to water down stablecoin rules after industry pressure, with Deputy Governor Breeden stating that initial plans may have been ‘overly conservative’ and the central bank is ‘looking very hard’ at alternatives, according to FT.
- British Chambers of Commerce warned UK manufacturers and construction groups will be hit by significant financial and logistical problems as a result of ministers’ plans to double tariffs on steel imports from July 1st, according to FT.
- ECB’s Lane said global oil shock from the Iran war may require ECB hikes, while he stated that an increase in selling price expectations suggests input cost pressures will map into higher output prices in the coming months.
2.a NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA/JAPAN
JAPAN
Japan’s Refinery Utilization Hits 73% As Strategic Oil Stocks Flow In
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 05:20 PM
With global refineries working overtime to convert oil into much needed product, Japan’s refinery utilization rates also surged in May, as releases from petroleum reserves and increased supply of non-Middle East crude are easing the crude supply crunch seen in March and most of April, OilPrice reported.
For the first time since March, refiners in Japan have boosted their average utilization rate to above 70% in the past two weeks, data from the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) showed on Wednesday.
Utilization rate of the designed capacity was 73.3% in the week to May 9, following 77.3% utilization rate the week prior to May 2, the data showed. These run rates compare to utilization rates in the 60% range in April, according to the weekly statistics data released by the PAJ.
Resource-poor Japan is one of the biggest energy importers globally and relied on the Middle East for as much as 95% of its oil imports before the war. Most of the oil comes from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Of these Middle Eastern supplies, about 70% typically arrived in Japan on tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
As the war choked supply from the Middle East, Japan began releasing oil stocks from national reserves at the end of March, as part of the IEA-coordinated record-high release of 400 million barrels of oil and fuel. Japan is releasing a total of 80 million barrels of oil stocks, including 54 million barrels of crude and 26 million barrels of oil products as part of the IEA’s 400-million-barrel release.
The ongoing stocks release, which is Japan’s biggest, is helping refiners increase throughput. So is alternative supply from producers outside the Middle East, including rare cargoes from Azerbaijan and Latin America.
Some of the largest refiners in Japan, including Cosmo Energy Holdings and Idemitsu Kosan, aim for average utilization rates of more than 90% in the current fiscal year ending March 2027.
Cosmo Energy’s outlook for the fiscal year include assumptions that crude oil production in the Middle East would normalize in August, and crude procurement “from September onward.”
NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA
3. CHINA/
4 EUROPEAN AND SCANDINAVIAN COMMENTARIES PLUS NATO
HOLLAND
just a welcoming party thrown by our newbie migrants:
(Brooke/Remix)
Dutch Asylum Center Burns On First Day Of New Arrivals After Weeks Of Protests
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 03:30 AM
Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,
A fire was started in bushes outside an asylum center in the Dutch town of Loosdrecht on Tuesday evening, prompting a major police response after weeks of local protests against the facility.
Protesters threw flares and fireworks onto the grounds of the building, which is located at the town hall on De Rading.
Footage shared on social media appeared to show rioters initially blocking firefighters from reaching the blaze.
After Mayor Mark Verheijen of Wijdemeren issued an emergency order, riot police intervened, and firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire.
One person has so far been arrested on suspicion of arson and is awaiting questioning, De Telegraaf reported, citing a police source.
The fire came on the same day the first asylum seekers arrived at the temporary shelter, with 70 migrants expected to stay at the facility.
The project has been the focus of fierce local opposition for weeks. Loosdrecht, a town of around 8,000 people, had originally been set to receive 110 asylum seekers, but officials scaled the plan back to 70 after days of mass protests.
The opening of the center had also been delayed after officials said they could not guarantee the safety of the asylum seekers.
Local residents have argued that their own concerns about safety have been ignored. Last month, hundreds of women marched through the town carrying a banner that read, “Does our safety not matter anymore?”
Ongehoord Nederland TV reported on Tuesday that the first asylum seekers were due to move into the accommodation that day, which had prompted a large demonstration outside the building.
“In Loosdrecht, the first asylum seekers were housed today. The residents are seriously concerned about what consequences this will have for their safety. That is why they are gathering en masse tonight to demonstrate,” the broadcaster wrote.
After the fire started, residents at the scene told the broadcaster’s reporter, “We’re fed up with it, we haven’t been heard. This isn’t a democracy.”
The local mayor condemned the scenes, claiming it to be a deliberate attack on vulnerable people.
“A line has been crossed,” Verheijen said. “You may disagree with democratically made decisions, but you do so with words, not with fireworks and violence.”
Protesters argue that the decision has been anything but democratic and that their words have fallen on deaf ears.
Loosdrecht has been a melting pot for some time. The latest unrest follows earlier clashes between protesters and police, including footage that circulated on social media showing officers using baton charges against demonstrators. At least one protester was filmed last month lying unconscious on the pavement.
Former MEP Robert Roos previously criticized the police action, writing on X, “A baton may only be used in cases of necessity, proportionately, and aimed at less vulnerable areas (arms/legs). Striking someone until they are unconscious raises serious questions: was there really acute danger, or has the boundary been crossed here?”
END
FRANCE
IMBECILE…
Emmanuel Macron Says France’s Fate Is “Tied To The African Continent”
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 02:45 AM
For anyone who doubts that “Multiculturalism” is the preeminent political religion of the new age, the rhetoric of the majority of the European ruling class consistently proves the case.
French President Emmanuel Macron was the co-host (with Kenyan President William Ruto) at the Africa Forward Summit this week in Kenya, where he repeated multicultural rhetoric in favor of mass immigration from Africa into Europe. His comments seemed to be a message to the many anti-immigration movements now gaining momentum across the EU; asserting that without Africa, the French have no future.
It was France’s first major Africa summit in an English-speaking country, signaling a deliberate pivot away from French speaking African nations with an eye towards broader, “equal-footing” partnerships. Macron argued that the French youth need to be made to understand that France is now part of Africa due to mass immigration.
“I have no regrets. I have immense ambition for this continent that I love, which is a treasure for the world, the youngest and most dynamic continent on the planet. I want our young people in France to understand that their future is bound up in this continent. Africa will succeed, and we will succeed alongside it.”
“…There are some 17 million French people who were part of the African Diaspora. So we are part of this continent. It is a great chance for us as French. There are millions of French people who are French Malian or French Algerian or French Senegalese. So we have this great chance to be able to succeed alongside the African continent…”
France has been overwhelmed by third world immigration in the past decade. Around 11% of the population is foreign born. They represent around 20% of all welfare recipients in the country and have a poverty rate of 32%. They also make up nearly 20% of all homicide suspects, 15% of all sexual assault suspects and 40% of all property crime.
Surprisingly, Macron admitted during the summit that a large percentage of revenues to African nations actually come from remittances. Immigrants travel to Europe, siphon money from the economy and send the cash back to their families in Africa. It is a little known fact that remittances from the immigrant invasion into western nations are absolutely integral to the economies of the third world. Without this cash transfer many of these economies would collapse.
The third world has been feeding on the west for generations, not just through remittances, but a steady flow of foreign aid. Macron, however, presents this dynamic as if it’s a good thing.
“First, we need to be realistic about the main source of financial flows towards African countries: remittances from the African diaspora. They come from all those who have emigrated, who are working hard in many countries to send money back to their families. These flows exceed the aid provided by governments.”
The notion that mass immigration is necessary for western countries to remain economically viable is consistently debunked. Third world populations take far more than they contribute, and they do not add any significant relief for the labor pool (unemployment rates continue to climb in Europe because of the influx of foreign nationals). Europe is also experiencing growth deceleration and economic stagnation.
Migrants bring nothing to the table, yet, European leaders continue to gaslight their respective populations with tales of multicultural Utopia. Any day now, this magical future will arrive…
END
FRANCE
“It’s Either Us Or Them’: Far-Left French Mayor Calls For Insurrection If Conservatives Win Presidential Election
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 06:30 AM
If the National Rally (RN) candidate wins in the French presidential election next spring, far-left mayor Bally Bagayoko of multi-cultural Saint-Denis has said it will be invalid, calling for a “popular insurrection” if this were to occur.
One social commentator on X, Alain Weber, posted frankly about the reality France is facing: “Contrary to what the Democrats of this country thought, the danger will not come from Jean-Luc Mélenchon but from Bally Bagayoko, who is the calm face of the civil war being prepared in the suburbs.”
Attached to his post was an interview of Bagayoko with Jean-Michel Aphatie on LCI Direct in which he tells the shocked host that if RN wins the election next year, they will never have “popular legitimacy,” only what he calls “institutional legitimacy.”
The mayor also said that those who attempt to “normalize the far right” are “dangerous,” adding that “if the far right comes to power, which we do not want, we will do everything so that it cannot happen.”
During another interview on Oumma.com, a Muslim community media outlet, the mayor of Saint-Denis also attacked President Emmanuel Macron, the Bolloré group’s media outlets, and even certain left-wing parties, according to Le Figaro.
Blaming Macron for the rise of the far right, Bagayoko stated: “Under Macron, the far right has never been so strong. We’re now at almost 140 racist members of parliament,” calling them all “guardians” of RN’s history and doctrine, according to the portal.
Returning to the theme of inevitable insurrection, Bagayoko told the host: “It’s either us or them… that is to say, the far right,” adding later that he was “firmly convinced that the people will rise up” if RN wins next spring, while ignoring the fact that an RN victory would indicate voters exercised their democratic will.
Warned to “be careful” by the host, lest he “be accused of inciting insurrection,” the Saint-Denis mayor doubled down: “All the important reforms in this country have been achieved through popular uprisings,” he said, citing the storming of the Bastille and the Yellow Vest movement.
As noted by Weber, the danger of Bagayoko is real. “He is manufacturing the psychological conditions for a refusal of alternation, that is to say, quite simply, the conditions for a cold civil war, then hot.”
It is shocking to witness the rise of the far-left LFI mayor and the influence he now wields, when, in fact, he received just 13,506 votes out of approximately 64,000 registered voters in Saint-Denis.
However, his voice calling for justice for the wrongs committed against those he sees as having been oppressed by France for centuries has been capturing headlines since his election in March.
In a recent example, Bagayoko drew ire from the local state prefect when it was revealed he had removed a photo of Macron, traditionally on display as a sign of respect, relegating it to a corner of his office and, by some accounts, turning it upside down.
“The portrait will remain in its place until the state fulfils its obligations under the Republican Pact, particularly toward the residents of our territory,” he said, presumably referencing Saint-Denis, a town with a population of some 150,000, as their territory.
Whose territory? That, we can suppose, would be of the Blacks and other minorities, as he has called the city “la ville de Noirs.”
We know that when Bagayoko speaks of “eliminating inequality,” any past colonial oppression and slavery are high up on his list, as he sees these as part of today’s problems. However, as pointed out point-blank by Marion Maréchal, president of Identité Libertés, in a recent interview, “Monsieur Bagayoko has a greater chance of being a descendant of slave traders than I do.”
Her comments came in the wake of the cancellation of an event commemorating the abolition of slavery in Vierzon, an RN stronghold. The town, which has only been holding the event since 2006, says the move is due to budget cuts, while many are predictably calling out RN for refusing to honor the importance of ending slavery.
In fact, the issue for many on the right is more complex. “The memory of slavery must not concern only Europeans. The Arab-Muslim slave trade: 17 million victims. The intra-African slave trade: 14 million victims,” Maréchal noted to viewers. She and many others would prefer a commemoration that addressed all wrongdoers, not simply Whites and Westerners.
In March, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that designated the Atlantic slave trade and its involvement in the slavery of Africans as “the most serious crime against humanity.” According to a UN statement, it seeks an order that “confronts historical truth while building mechanisms for equitable futures.”
But many want to know why the issue of African enablers, middlemen, and traders is never called out. “Since the beginnings of the trans-Saharan slave trade in the 7th century, Africans had been selling slaves to Arab Muslims,” and as demand grew from the New World centuries later, ethnic Africans happily met it, wrote Marie-Claude Mosimann-Barbier for Le Figaro last month, in a piece covered by Remix News.
“Long before the arrival of Europeans and the development of the Atlantic slave trade, internal slavery was a structural reality in most African societies,” she wrote.
The question for today is why anyone is welcoming the cries for insurrection from an activist mayor who has shown zero respect for the existing Republic of France — and zero interest in its continuation?
END
UK
Cable Crashes As Burnham Signals Challenge To UK PM Starmer
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 01:45 PM
Update (1345ET): Following Wes Streeting’s earlier resignation “having lost confidence” in Starmer’s leadership, the UK PM is now under further pressure as Andy Burnham opened a possible path to challenge Keir Starmer for the prime minister’s job, after a Labour member of Parliament resigned and urged the Greater Manchester mayor to run for his seat.
Andy Burnham
Bloomberg reports that the MP, Josh Simons, announced plans to step down from his Manchester area seat, freeing up a House of Commons constituency that Burnham would need to mount a bid to become leader of the governing Labour Party.
“I am standing aside so that Andy Burnham can return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive the change our country is crying out for,” Simons wrote.
“Nothing short of urgent, radical, courageous reform will make a difference.”
With UK bond markets closed, the outlet for positioning after this headline (and the anxiety over “radical reform”) was the FX market and cable plunged on the news…
Burnham separately said he would seek permission from Labour’s National Executive Committee, a panel dominated by Starmer loyalists that blocked a similar bid earlier this year.
“Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again,” Burnham said in a statement to Manchester Evening News.
“This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.”
There will be several hurdles standing in Burnham’s way. Starmer’s allies on Labour’s governing body blocked him from contesting a seat in the Manchester area when it became vacant earlier this year, citing the need to avoid a costly election for the mayoral post he would have to vacate. They could do so again.
* * *
With UK PM Starmer’s leadership under increasing scrutiny, UK Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has issued a statement via social media that he is resigning his post.
Wes Streeting
Streeting says that while there are good reasons to remain in post, he has lost confidence in Starmer’s leadership:
“As you know from our conversation earlier this week, having lost confidence in your leadership, I have concluded that it would be dishonourable and unprincipled to [remain in post].”
He went on:
“It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism.
Setting out the reasons for his resignation, he pointed to last week’s “unprecedented” local elections results, in which the government’s “unpopularity” was “a major and common factor” across Britain, the threat of Reform UK as one of the key reasons for his departure from government, and policy “mistakes”.
“Where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. This was underscored by your speech on Monday,” he wrote.
Streeting is widely thought to be planning to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership, but he does not announce the start of a formal bid in his letter.
For now there is little to no reaction in GBP or gilts (as several market observers believe any new leadership will deliver more orthodox and less “free shit” fiscal policies) but Polymarket shows the odds of Starmer being gone by the end of May are soaring…
Allies of Mr Streeting, who handed in his resignation as the Health Secretary on Thursday, have made little secret that he is ready to become prime minister and has a comprehensive plan to change the country.
Here is The Telegraph laying out what a Streeting premiership look like?
The economy
Mr Streeting said last year that he was “really uncomfortable with the level of taxation in this country”, suggesting he would resist further increases. Speaking in December, he admitted the Government was “asking a lot” of individuals and businesses with historically high taxes. But he also warned Britain had “a level of indebtedness that we need to take very seriously”, indicating that tax cuts would also be unlikely. He has previously defended Labour’s decision to increase employers’ National Insurance, saying the raise had paid for more NHS appointments. Mr Streeting has previously proposed several radical changes to the tax system. In a 2020 interview, he suggested equalising capital gains tax with income tax, replacing inheritance tax with a “lifetime gifts tax” and increasing corporation tax. He also said all new tax and spending plans should be put through a “progressive impact test” to ensure they helped people on low and middle incomes. But unlike his Left-wing rivals, he has also long advocated that Labour should stick to strict fiscal rules, balancing day-to-day spending with tax revenues.
Defense
Mr Streeting caused a stir in Westminster last month when he suggested that savings should be found from the welfare budget to fund defence. The Health Secretary acknowledged that Britain needed to put more money into the military and that the cash “has to come from somewhere”. While he ruled out taking the money from the NHS budget, he signalled an openness to find it from other areas of spending, such as benefits. Other than on that issue, Mr Streeting has largely backed Sir Keir’s plans to boost defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by the mid-2030s. Last month, he defended the Government’s handling of the military, insisting that Britain was still “the cornerstone of European defence and security”. Defending the repeated delays to the Government’s defence investment plan, he said Downing Street was taking the time to “get it right”.
Brexit
Mr Streeting is one of the most high-profile Remainers in the Cabinet and was a passionate campaigner for Britain to remain in the EU. Last year, he strongly suggested Labour should consider taking the UK back into a customs union with Europe, saying it would boost growth. But he did insist that the manifesto pledge not to return to freedom of movement with the Continent must stay, ruling out the single market. “The best way for us to get more growth into our economy is a deeper trading relationship with the EU,” he told The Observer in December. “The challenge is any economic partnership we have can’t lead to a return to freedom of movement.” Mr Streeting has long been an advocate of closer EU ties. In 2018, while a backbencher, he rebelled against then leader Jeremy Corbyn, calling for him to commit Labour to keeping Britain in the single market and a customs union.
Immigration
Mr Streeting is naturally a liberal on immigration and has repeatedly signalled his discomfort at the Government’s clampdown on visas and asylum. He criticised Sir Keir’s “island of strangers” speech and has previously said Britain relies on migrants to care for an ageing population. Last November, he admitted he was not comfortable with plans laid out by the Home Secretary to deport families who arrived in the UK illegally. In a 2018 speech, Mr Streeting argued that “we rely on attracting people from overseas, particularly with our ageing population and shrinking working-age population”. But as far back as then, the Health Secretary was stressing the point that Britain needed to increase education and training for its domestic workforce. It is a principle he has taken into government, criticising the health service’s reliance on foreign doctors and admitting voters had “lost confidence in the immigration system”.
The NHS
One of the most notable things Mr Streeting has done in his two years in post is abolishing NHS England, the world’s largest quango. The decision came as a surprise to Westminster and demonstrated that the Health Secretary was unafraid to make significant structural changes to government. It will also put him and his ministers back in direct control of the NHS, hinting at a hands-on approach and a willingness to take on personal responsibility. Waiting lists have fallen on Mr Streeting’s watch and pledges to further improve the health service would be a core part of his premiership. He has also shown himself willing to go to war with the medical unions, warning that their pay demands for junior doctors would “break the country”. But although he has repeatedly spoken of the need to reform the NHS, any change to its funding model would be off the table under Mr Streeting. The Health Secretary has attacked Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, for suggesting the UK should consider moving to a French-style public insurance model.
Streeting is only one of the party figures likely to throw their hats into the ring in the event of a formal leadership contest. Former deputy premier Angela Rayner said Thursday morning that she had been cleared of wrongdoing in a probe into her tax affairs, while there is a large faction on the party’s left working to secure a parliamentary seat for Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who can’t run without one.
For Starmer to face a formal leadership challenge, a potential successor would have to be nominated by 20% of Labour Members of Parliament. The party currently has 403 MPs, putting that threshold at 81. The ensuing contest would be decided by preferential votes by Labour Party members and affiliates, with precise voting eligibility set by Labour’s governing body.
END
5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
ISRAEL/USA VS IRAN/WEDNESDAY EVENING
Israel’s Netanyahu Made Clandestine Trip To UAE During Height Of Iran War
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 10:10 PM
Amid the fog of the Iran conflict, some serious geopolitical chess moves were happening in the shadows, with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu having slipped behind what were once enemy lines, into the the quarters of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, for a clandestine summit which could help realign the region.
“This visit has led to a historic breakthrough in relations between Israel and the UAE,” Netanyahu’s office confirmed in a Wednesday statement.
It provides top level confirmation of a new CBS report, which revealed that “Netanyahu made a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates recently, where he met with Mohammed bin Zayed, the country’s president.”
The clandestine meeting occurred in late March, and out of that grew out of the Abraham Accords, given UAE was the first to sign onto normalization with Israel back in 2020. Strangely, later in the day Wednesday, the UAE Foreign Ministry denied the trip ever took place.
It was also revealed this week Israel actually deployed its prized Iron Dome batteries and IDF personnel directly onto UAE soil during the conflict to defend against the significant Iranian attacks.
But the diplomacy didn’t stop with the heads of state. Intelligence sources indicate that Mossad chief David Barnea has been a frequent flier to the UAE, making at least two trips during the heat of the Iran war to synchronize “military operations” – a move first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee “There’s an extraordinary relationship between the UAE and Israel.” This developing realignment means that the defense of the Gulf is now inextricably linked to Israeli tech and intelligence.
“I’d like to say a word of appreciation for United Arab Emirates, the first Abraham accord member,” Huckabee said at a Tel Aviv Conference this week. “Just look at the benefits. Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and personnel to help operate them.”
“The Gulf states now understood they will have to make a choice – is it more likely they will be attacked by Iran or Israel?” Huckabee posed before the Israeli audience. “They see that Israel helped us and Iran attacked us. Israel is not trying to take over your land, and is not sending missiles to you.”
So clearly there is a coordinated effort to finally make public very sensitive information – that for the first known time in history Israel is directly transferring weapons to a Gulf Arab state, while its head of state is making personal secret drop-ins for direct face time.
Even long before the current Iran conflict, there was a growing covert relationship between Israel and some Gulf states going back to the early phase of the Syrian proxy war, in the last decade.
Israel and the Sunni autocrats conspired to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, a longtime key ally of Iran, and they cooperated on funding and supplying anti-Damascus jihadi insurgents. Out of this shadow war came a greater mutual understanding.
END
ISRAEL USA VS IRAN//THURSDAY MORNING
Trump, Xi Put Hormuz, Iran, Trade, Taiwan At Center Of Historic Beijing Summit
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 07:05 AM
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are currently seated at the main table at a state banquet. President Xi called the visit historic, and said U.S.-China ties are “stable” amid talks with Trump’s team.
According to a White House readout, Trump and Xi agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open to free navigation and that Tehran should not charge a fee to ships using the critical waterway.
Key notes from the White House readout (courtesy of Bloomberg):
- Trump Had A Good Meeting With Xi: White House Official
- Leaders Discussed Increasing China’s purchases of Agriculture
- Trump, Xi Agreed Hormuz Must Remain Open: White House Official
- U.S. Says Xi Made Clear China Opposes Militarization of Hormuz
- Both Sides Agreed Iran Can Never Have A Nuclear Weapon: U.S.
- U.S. Says Xi Expressed Interest in Purchasing More American Oil
Beijing also signaled interest in buying more U.S. oil to reduce China’s reliance on crude and crude products transiting the Hormuz chokepoint. This signifies how the U.S.-Iran conflict is rewiring global energy flows.
Trump-Xi talks also covered fentanyl, securing market access for U.S. companies in the mainland market, and increasing Chinese investment in American industries and purchases of U.S. agricultural products.
“American enterprises are deeply involved in China’s reform and opening up, a process from which both sides have benefited,” Xi told the leaders of U.S. companies accompanying Trump on the trip. Those CEOs include Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
Xi continued, “China’s door to the outside world will only open wider.”
On the agricultural front, Bloomberg reported that China renewed import licenses for hundreds of U.S. beef plants, reviving trade that will help ranchers and farmers.
Xi was quoted as saying that China and the U.S. agree to build a “constructive and strategically stable relationship” that will serve as a framework for China-U.S. relations over the next three years and beyond.
On the subject of Taiwan, Xi told Trump bluntly that Sino-U.S. relations would enter an “extremely dangerous place” if Trump ignored Beijing’s demands over Taiwan.
Back at the state banquet, Trump invited Xi to Washington on Sept. 24.
Overall, it appears that day one of Trump’s summit with Xi was positive.
Earlier, Trump and Xi took a walk at an ancient temple in Beijing.
“The China-U.S. Summit is ongoing, with expectations for any breakthroughs low,” UBS analyst Justinus Steinhorst told clients earlier.
UBS analyst Shuo Yang noted, “It has been a subdued Asia session, with markets in wait-and-see mode into the Trump-Xi meeting.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined CNBC and said the U.S. and China are seeking to lower tariffs on some trade, starting with $30 billion in non-critical areas. Bessent also noted that Chinese officials are “doing what they can” to reopen Hormuz.
Bessent added that Boeing is nearing a “large” plane order from China, but did not specify whether those orders would be for narrow-body or wide-body jets.
END
IRAN/USA CHINA/THURSDAY MORNING
Iran Proclaims Safe, Toll-Free Passage For 30 Chinese Tankers Amid Xi-Trump Summit
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 08:45 AM
During President Trump’s ongoing state visit to China, he and President Xi Jinping agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be open for the free flow of energy. They along with their senior officials have expressed agreement that no country can be allowed to exact shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz.
Following this, Thursday saw Iranian state media proclaim that some 30 Chinese vessels are being allowed safe passage by Iran. Bloomberg also freshly reports, “The vessels were allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination of the Iranian authorities and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy, state TV reports, citing an IRGC naval official.” While it’s as yet unknown or unclear whether the US Navy side of the de facto blockade will also let them pass, Reuters has also reported the following:
Iran has begun allowing some Chinese vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz following an understanding over Iranian management protocols for the waterway, the semi-official Fars news agency said on Thursday, citing an informed source.
In particular the move also follows formal requests by China’s foreign minister as well as Beijing’s ambassador to Iran, with Tehran reportedly agreeing based on safeguarding the two allies’ strategic partnership.
Bloomberg cited the IRGC official as saying of the Iranian protocol for passage, “A new era in the Strait of Hormuz has started as many countries of the world and fleets have accepted that the best, quickest and simplest way for transiting this very important waterway is only though coordination with the IRGC’s naval forces.”
This was after Wednesday saw the key milestone of a Chinese supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude having successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz, after previously being stranded for more than two months.
Also of note is that the Chinese Cosco Shipping tanker did not have to pay tolls. According to The Wall Street Journal:
Lloyd’s List Intelligence data show the Yuan Hua Hu crossed the waterway through the corridor in the north controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Ship trackers said the vessel switched off its transponder while sailing from an anchorage in Dubai towards Larak, then came back online for a couple of hours before going dark again. Ships crossing through Larak pay an average of $2 million each, according to brokers.
The Yuan Hua Hu is the third Chinese state-owned tanker to leave the Gulf since the start of the war.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott emphasized earlier this week that Washington and Beining “agreed that no country or organization can be allowed to charge tolls to pass through international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz.”
China imports the bulk of its energy from the Middle East, and while it has amassed substantial crude oil stockpiles that are helping it weather the worst of the crisis – anecdotally over 1.4 billion barrels – restoring normal flows from the Persian Gulf is important for one of the world’s top energy importers.
Are Iran and China coordinating behind the scenes to seek to take negotiating leverage away from Trump?
Earlier in the war, reports emerged that Beijing had pressured Iranian officials to stop attacking vessels carrying crude oil and LNG via Hormuz. Judging from later events that involved Iranian strikes on vessels in the chokepoint, Tehran did not yield to the pressure.
END
IRAN/CHINA/USA/ISRAEL/THURSDAY AFTERNOON
After “Fantastic Day” With Xi, Trump Touts 200-Jet Boeing Deal As China Offers Hormuz Help
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 12:09 PM
Summary:
- Trump says Boeing Secured a 200 ‘Big’ jet order from China
- Trump says President Xi wants Hormuz reopened, won’t give Tehran weapons
- Trump, Xi Put Hormuz, Iran, Trade, Taiwan At Center Of Historic Beijing Summit
Boeing-China Jet Deal
A highly anticipated Boeing jet deal appears to have materialized after the first day of President Trump’s summit with President Xi Jinping.
Fox News reports that Trump said Boeing secured an order for 200 “big” jets from China. He said the order was initially for 150, but the final figure will be 200
Trump Says China Will Help On Reopening Hormuz
It is nearly midnight in Beijing, and President Trump is still speaking on the record with corporate media, offering additional insight on the first day of the summit and state banquet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In comments to Fox News, Trump said Xi offered to help pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, signaling that Beijing may be willing to use its leverage over Tehran.
This comes as energy insiders and traders warn that continued closure of the Strait through the end of the month could spark a worsening energy shock.
Trump also said Xi would not provide weapons to Tehran.
Trump, Xi Put Hormuz, Iran, Trade, Taiwan At Center Of Historic Beijing Summit
President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are currently seated at the main table at a state banquet. President Xi called the visit historic, and said U.S.-China ties are “stable” amid talks with Trump’s team.
According to a White House readout, Trump and Xi agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open to free navigation and that Tehran should not charge a fee to ships using the critical waterway.
Key notes from the White House readout (courtesy of Bloomberg):
- Trump Had A Good Meeting With Xi: White House Official
- Leaders Discussed Increasing China’s purchases of Agriculture
- Trump, Xi Agreed Hormuz Must Remain Open: White House Official
- U.S. Says Xi Made Clear China Opposes Militarization of Hormuz
- Both Sides Agreed Iran Can Never Have A Nuclear Weapon: U.S.
- U.S. Says Xi Expressed Interest in Purchasing More American Oil
Beijing also signaled interest in buying more U.S. oil to reduce China’s reliance on crude and crude products transiting the Hormuz chokepoint. This signifies how the U.S.-Iran conflict is rewiring global energy flows.
Trump-Xi talks also covered fentanyl, securing market access for U.S. companies in the mainland market, and increasing Chinese investment in American industries and purchases of U.S. agricultural products.
“American enterprises are deeply involved in China’s reform and opening up, a process from which both sides have benefited,” Xi told the leaders of U.S. companies accompanying Trump on the trip. Those CEOs include Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
Xi continued, “China’s door to the outside world will only open wider.”
On the agricultural front, Bloomberg reported that China renewed import licenses for hundreds of U.S. beef plants, reviving trade that will help ranchers and farmers.
Xi was quoted as saying that China and the U.S. agree to build a “constructive and strategically stable relationship” that will serve as a framework for China-U.S. relations over the next three years and beyond.
On the subject of Taiwan, Xi told Trump bluntly that Sino-U.S. relations would enter an “extremely dangerous place” if Trump ignored Beijing’s demands over Taiwan.
Back at the state banquet, Trump invited Xi to Washington on Sept. 24.
Overall, it appears that day one of Trump’s summit with Xi was positive.
Earlier, Trump and Xi took a walk at an ancient temple in Beijing.
END
IRAN/UAE/
Iranian Commandos Board & Seize Honduras-Flagged Ship Off UAE
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 10:00 AM
It appears the Iranians have boarded and seized another ship in the Persian Gulf region – this time as the vessel was anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, and while it was reportedly en route to Iranian territorial waters.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Thursday that the vessel was seized by “unauthorized personnel”, with the initial incident being reported about 38 nautical miles northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah.
The agency said the ship’s company security officer reported that “the vessel has been taken by unauthorized personnel while at anchor and is now bound for Iranian Territorial Waters.”
UKMTO said it is seeking more information incident and urgently advised vessels operating in the area to report any suspicious activity. While the agency did not immediately identify the vessel, Reuters in follow up interestingly described that is a mere fishery research vessel. According to the report:
A vessel was boarded by unauthorized personnel on Thursday while at anchor northeast of the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah and was heading towards Iranian territorial waters, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.
Two maritime security sources said the ship was believed to be the Honduras-flagged Hui Chuan fishery research vessel.
Ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform indicates vessel was last seen in the Gulf of Oman, just within Iran’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) on May 12; however, an EEZ can still be considered international waters – though the Iranians are apparently not interpreting it that way.
In the face of the ongoing US naval blockade of Iranian ports, Tehran is seeking to assert its geographic and military leverage, enforcing an ‘Iranian protocol’ over the vital Strait of Hormuz oil and goods shipping waterway.
This week has seen Iran begin to let more Chinese vessels through, at the request of Beijing, and reportedly without imposing tolls either.
Bloomberg freshly reports Thursday of 30 Chinese ships, “The vessels were allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination of the Iranian authorities and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy, state TV reports, citing an IRGC naval official.”
Diplomacy has taken a back seat at the moment, as each warring side seeks to ‘wait out’ the other in hopes that enough economic pain can be imposed to ‘cry uncle’ – as President Trump himself has recently expressed.
ISRAEL TBN
HEZBOLLAH/LEBANON/ISRAEL
Mass Casualty Event After Israeli Airstrikes On Beirut Highway
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 11:00 PM
Another mass casualty event has occurred in Lebanon, as national media says that on Wednesday eight people died, including two children, when Israeli strikes targeted cars on a highway south of Beirut.
Israeli media itself described that “The three separate airstrikes were carried out well beyond the main theater of conflict in the south, targeting vehicles on the coastal highway in an area around 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Beirut, security sources said.” The attack was reportedly carried out by drones.
“Images showed a burnt-out car in the middle of the road and rescuers carrying a body at one of the sites, near Jiyeh,” Times of Israel continues. “On Saturday, similar strikes targeted two other cars in the same area.”
There was no immediate comment or explanation from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in wake of the bombings. Photographs of bombed-out and charred cars have widely circulated in the aftermath.
Hezbollah has meanwhile remained opposed to formal talks between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, with the Iran-backed Shia paramilitary group not participating.
The next round of negotiations are expected in Washington on Thursday, and they will be overseen by the State Department.
From Israel’s perspective, this means the ceasefire doesn’t extend to Hezbollah, and it currently has an IDF ground force inside southern Lebanon, amid tit-for-tat drone and missile strikes.
According to the latest on evacuation orders in the south, Al Jazeera writes:
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli military issued forced displacement orders for the residents of Meiss el-Jabal, Yanouh, Burj Shemali, Hula, Debl and Aabbasiyyeh, warning that it will soon act against these six southern Lebanese villages “forcefully”.
Anyone who remains “endangers their life,” the military said, warning residents to move at least 1,000 metres (0.6 miles) away to “open areas”.
At least seven villages in the area have been subject to evacuation order, but Lebanese officials have complained that in some cases civilian areas are hit which were previously deemed safe zones.
The death toll continues to mount, per the same report:
On Tuesday, 13 people were killed in attacks on towns in the south, including two Lebanese Civil Defence paramedics, Hussein Jaber and Ahmad Noura, according to Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health.
The ministry reported that at least 380 people have been killed during the truce, bringing the total death toll since the Israeli invasion and bombardment began on March 2 to more than 2,800.
Jiyeh coastal road, south of Beirut:
Iran has meanwhile insisted that the Lebanon conflict be part of any final ceasefire deal between Tehran and Washington. However, talks are at a standstill, with Iran having issued five conditions as a basis for the resumption of talks.
END
RUSSIA VS UKRAINE
ROBERT H…
𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐙 
on X: “FORCED SUICIDE TANK > Ukrainian Banserites locked up a Ukrainian tank crew inside their tank & forced them on a suicide mission. Russian intelligence officers found Ukrainian tanks with hatches welded shut from the outside. Watch the moment when the Russian officers open the https://t.co/HZFBseC1iv” / X
What kind of society does this?
Suicide troops in a tank welded shut with no chance of escape. Fortunately they sent a SOS that the Russians responded to and saved them.
When the EU looks to send back Ukrainians living there to die for this wretched regime paid for by Western money. What does this say about the hypocrisy of the West?
Long ago, I wrote that one day the Ukrainians would wake up and when they realize that they are totally expendable for the West. Not only will they turn on the West with great passion but they will turn to Russia never to return to the West again. Long after this is over people will tell stories for generations about what was done to them.
No doubt the West will learn lessons from their death to use elsewhere but that will also come with a great cost.
Complete madness in a world that was supposedly to be civilized. Quite sad.
History judges for actions taken and no amount of verbal balderdash justifies actions like this.
Will we learn? Of course not, that is why history repeats. We would do well to understand that any condoning government by who soils its hands with this corruption and despicable actions is a government that can also tolerate such actions upon its own citizens. The gap between paying to watch and tolerate this is not that great to doing this within one’s own country.
One does ponder what will happen as economies turn down and energy becomes more scarce as society is pitted into a mode of survival in difficult times. One imagines that we will see soon enough as the next few years change society everywhere.
https://twitter.com/SMO_VZ/status/2054292587557552132
6.GLOBAL ISSUES, COVID ISSUES, VACCINE INJURIES/HEALTH ISSUES
US Govt Settles With Former NYT Reporter In Biden/Twitter Censorship Case
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 09:30 AM
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,
The U.S. government has reached a settlement with a former New York Times reporter who was kicked off Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic for posts about vaccines.
Officials in a settlement agreement dated May 11 and obtained by The Epoch Times said that the government “did in fact violate the First Amendment by exerting substantial coercive pressure on social media companies such as Twitter to suppress disfavored speech like Plaintiff’s,” referring to former New York reporter Alex Berenson.
Officials said they were paying Berenson $150,000 to settle the case, which was filed in 2023 against then-President Joe Biden, Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb, and others. In exchange, Berenson moved to dismiss the case.
“I’d like to thank the Trump administration for acknowledging the government’s unconstitutional actions against me in 2021 and standing for my First Amendment rights as a journalist and American,” Berenson told The Epoch Times in an email.
The government under President Donald Trump already settled a case raising similar issues and involving multiple states, agreeing not to take actions “to threaten Social-Media Companies with some form of punishment (i.e., an adverse legal, regulatory, or economic government sanction) unless they remove, delete, suppress, or reduce, including through altering their algorithms, posted social-media content containing protected free speech.”
Twitter banned Berenson in 2021 after he wrote in opposition to mandating COVID-19 vaccination because “it doesn’t stop infection or transmission.”
Berenson and Twitter settled a different lawsuit arising from the same incidents, with Twitter acknowledging that it should not have banned the journalist.
Emails disclosed in other litigation showed that U.S. officials during the Biden administration, as well as Gottlieb, who is also a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, communicated to Twitter executives their view that Berenson’s posts violated Twitter rules and that he should be punished.
Berenson said in his lawsuit that the actions violated his First Amendment rights.
A federal judge in 2025 dismissed the suit against Gottlieb, a former White House adviser named Andrew Slavitt, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, concluding that Berenson had not alleged “discriminatory animus” by the individuals. She later threw out the litigation against the government, finding that Berenson did not have standing to bring a First Amendment claim against federal officials.
Berenson, in an appeal, said that Twitter’s permanent suspension violated company policy, which required leadership approval, noting internal emails that showed top Twitter executives did not approve the ban.
He also said the case should not have been dismissed because he had adequately alleged discrimination.
“Defendants targeted Berenson’s speech by reason of his status as a representative speaking for and to unvaccinated Americans,” the appeal stated.
Berenson told The Epoch Times, “I look forward to continuing to pursue Pfizer board member Dr. Scott Gottlieb and chairman Dr. Albert Bourla for their role in the conspiracy to deplatform and silence me.”
Lawyers for Gottlieb and Bourla said in a May 11 brief to the appeals court that Berenson’s claims fail in part because unvaccinated Americans do not constitute a recognizable class, undercutting the discrimination allegations. They also said Gottlieb’s communications with Twitter were “noncoercive expressions of opinion on matters of public concern,” and thus protected by the First Amendment.
END
Bombshell CIA Testimony: Fauci Accused Of Intentionally Burying COVID Lab-Leak Evidence
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 11:20 AM
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,
A CIA operations officer provided explosive sworn testimony Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci of directly intervening in the intelligence community’s review of COVID-19’s origins.
James Erdman III, a veteran CIA special operations officer, told senators that in August 2021 the intelligence community was on the verge of concluding the virus most likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China. Days later, that position reversed with no clear explanation.
Erdman stated under oath: “Dr. Fauci’s role in the cover-up was intentional. Dr. Fauci influenced the analytical process and findings by leveraging his position to ensure the IC consulted with a conflicted list of curated subject matter experts, public health officials, and scientists.”
He added that intelligence leaders “purposefully downplayed the lab origin” and “knew the virus came from Wuhan but pushed the natural origin narrative anyway.” Erdman testified that CIA scientists had circulated papers noting “all the conditions were present for a lab leak,” yet senior analysts ultimately buried or softened those assessments.
Senator Rand Paul pressed Erdman on the timeline. Paul described the Biden administration’s final moves as a “clean-up operation,” noting: “Scientific analysts concluded multiple times between 2021 and 2023 that a lab leak was the most likely origin of COVID-19. Yet those conclusions never shaped the official narrative… It was not until after the 2024 election that the outgoing Biden administration directed the CIA to issue an assessment not because of new intelligence, but so officials could walk out of the door claiming there was nothing left to find.”
Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) demanded accountability. He told the witness: “All these hearings are important. What you said is super critical… But where is the accountability? This is what I hear from my constituents all over Ohio… they want to see the perp walks.”
Moreno continued: “Anthony Fauci is sitting sipping margaritas somewhere with his multi-million dollar financial success as a result of duping the American people into putting an experimental vaccine into their bodies or risk losing their jobs. He’s not accountable to anybody.”
Senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul pushed back after the CIA labeled the public hearing “political theater.” Johnson stated: “This committee needs an apology! This is not political theater. This is what the American people need to see.” Paul added: “Closed-door testimony doesn’t provide oversight. Public testimony provides oversight.”
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin noted the complete absence of Senate Democrats from the Homeland Security Committee hearing, despite several members serving on the panel. One Democrat, Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, walked past the media setup but did not enter the room.
The whistleblower further alleged the agency “illegally monitored the computer and phone usage” of investigators working on the COVID-19 origins probe under presidential direction. He said: “These were Americans being spied on illegally while carrying out duties directed by the President and under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence.”
The testimony aligns with earlier official reviews of the pandemic’s beginnings.
It builds on the White House’s comprehensive lab-leak assessment released in April 2025 and Department of Defense and Defense Intelligence Agency reports indicating the Biden Pentagon may have suppressed aspects of the origins investigation.
It also connects to prior reporting on gain-of-function research and public statements downplaying alternative theories, including pieces examining the experiment that may have started the pandemic.
The hearing underscores ongoing scrutiny of how federal agencies assessed and communicated the virus’s origins more than six years after the first cases emerged in Wuhan.
No immediate response from Fauci or the CIA was available at the time of publication beyond the agency’s statement criticizing the subpoena process. Further developments in related inquiries are expected.
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GLOBAL ISSUES
MARK CRISPIN MILLER
DR PAUL ALEXANDER
MICHAEL EVERY/OR OR PICTON/GIFFIN OR RABOBANK EXECUTIVE/COMMENTARY ON WORLDLY AFFAIRS
Today’s Soap Operas – Coronation Streeting, Eastenders, And Succession
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 10:30 AM
By Michael Every of Rabobank
In the UK –where the 30-year gilt yield sits at 5.74%, the highest since 1997– politics is abuzz with rumors centre-right Health Secretary will resign to take on PM Starmer in a leadership contest, which left-wing Energy Secretary Miliband is expected to join to prevent any Coronation Streeting, as left-wingers Rayner and Burns may try to as well. This is 24 hours after King Charles read out the Starmer government’s legislative agenda, which includes using a Henry VIII-era statute to force the UK to readopt EU laws without (yet) wanting to rejoin. As UK political commentators put it, the struggling Labour Party needs to decide what it’s for – and depending on what happens next, it remains to be seen if that includes the markets. Indeed, several left-wingers have been openly derisory about concerns over potential Labour policies lifting gilt yields.
Logically, a (successful) political party should try to understand the context in which its policies will operate. As a social media commentator points out, while Labour built the welfare state in 1945 when the UK was broke, which remains its proud legacy, “Attlee’s settlement was bankrolled by imperial surpluses, Marshall Aid, sterling’s privileged role within Bretton Woods, capital controls that turned domestic savers into a captive bond market, and inflation that quietly torched the real debt. It sat on top of a state a fraction of today’s size, financed by a young workforce, riding reconstruction productivity growth.” Raise your hand if you think the present geoeconomic backdrop, and that of the UK, meets those criteria – and the bond market will also get a vote.
As the Financial Times relatedly underlines ‘Why global imbalances matter’, as they are the root of our geopolitical and geoeconomic problems (which, ironically, is why we rarely talk about them?), another long-running soap opera is playing in Beijing.
In Eastenders, Trump, with a billionaire CEO entourage, is meeting Xi after posting in Air Force One that he will be asking him “to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level!” Indeed, as some talk of UK Labour going back to the 1970s, the US language is also of Nixon–Mao 2.0, albeit from a very different starting point. Everybody gets how important these talks are, but few consider the full US *and* Chinese contexts, and many takes are colored by what they think of Trump. Some think Xi now has all the cards; others that the US still has some aces.
We will have to wait and see if we get a Grand Bargain that reshapes geopolitics and geoeconomics – and, yes, imbalances; smaller agreement on tariffs, tech (as the Netherlands protests a US proposal to further bar chip giant ASML from the China market), and even Taiwan; a de minimis Farce Two Trade Deal can-kicking exercise, or a Great Escalation.
On which note, some media suggest China might be prepared to put pressure on Tehran, yet the New York Times reports that Chinese firms are plotting arms sales to it. Which will it be?
While Europe is on the sidelines of the UK, US-China, and Iran dramas, that doesn’t mean it’s absent. Yesterday, the FT reported Euroclear, one of Europe’s largest financial intermediaries with over €43 trillion of assets under custody, is considering accepting China onshore bonds traded in Hong Kong as collateral, not just offshore bonds as now. Euroclear states this would support Beijing’s efforts to promote yuan internationalisation to counterbalance the global dominance of the USD… at a time when the EU’s push for strategic autonomy, heightened by the Iran War energy crisis, is accentuating the need to boost global usage of the euro, not the yuan.
That’s particularly the case in trade commodity finance, where the single currency only accounts for around 6% of the global total in SWIFT, and even less considering more of that trade is being done on China’s CIPS system.
Of course, Euroclear is free to do whatever it wants, but it remains to be seen how this plays out politically and geopolitically now the news is out – the US will note the timing well, just as Trump is in Beijing looking for bargains.
If this is seen as a European bargaining chip vs. the US in a game of geoeconomic poker, note USD swaplines have now been openly politicized by the US Treasury via Argentina and the UAE, and next Fed Chair Warsh has stated that even Fed swaplines are not an area subject to central-bank independence.
Or is this a plan for Succession from the current Eurodollar system, which the US is now openly advertising it is going to transmogrify into something else via neo-mercantilist tariffs, economic statecraft, and US dollar stablecoins? Note successions can be disputed, and the candidates aiming to fill some large shoes can fall far short of the giants they have to replace.
Against that backdrop, Warsh was just voted in as Fed Chair by the Senate, in the narrowest confirmation (55-45) in US history – that shows how contested even ‘apolitical’ central banking now is. He will take over that key role with his predecessor Powell refusing to leave the FOMC table, which will be an ‘interesting’ dynamic; and with the 30-year US Treasury yield hitting 5% for the first time since 2007 as headline and core CPI rise due to the Iran War.
On which, the Middle East remains on edge. Not only did the UAE, and Saudi, reportedly strike Iran pre-ceasefire, but the Saudis and Kuwait both just hit Iran-backed militias in Iraq; the Iranian foreign minister threatened the UAE after Israeli PM Netanyahu claimed he and the head of Mossad had visited Abu Dhabi during the fighting – which the UAE has denied; Lebanon has filed a UN complaint against Iranian interference; and the Gaza Board of Peace envoy has stated the stalled ceasefire has failed to meet the expectations of both Israel and Palestinians, which appears to be down to Hamas’ refusal to disarm.
Things are also fluid re: Ukraine. The Ukraine Support Act won enough signatures to force a vote in the US House of Representatives; the US is close to signing a strategic defence deal with Ukraine for drone tech; NATO boss Rutte is asking allies to commit 0.25% of GDP to Kyiv but is running into opposition from France and the UK; the US just cancelled the deployment of troops to Europe as part of Trump’s drawdown pledge; Switzerland is considering rival defence systems after Washington delayed delivering Patriot missiles to it; and the Russian parliament voted to allow Putin to order troop deployments abroad to protect Russian citizens facing arrest, detention, trial, or other perceived persecution by foreign nations and international courts – note the EU has several countries with Russian minorities, and aims to eventually expand to include others that also do.
So, back to today’s soap operas – Coronation Streeting, Eastenders, and Succession.
7. OIL AND NATURAL GAS COMMENTARIES
US Wants To Restore Nord Stream & Purchase From Europeans At Steep Discount: Lavrov
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 04:15 AM
The Nord Stream pipelines have long slipped from headlines, apart from the occasional whodunnit narratives, and they have remained damaged and offline. The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipeline bombings occurred on September 26, 2022 – but their future fate is still up in the air and being wrangled over, including by Washington.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has alleged that Washington now it wants to buy the part of the pipelines owned by European companies, in order to assert influence and control over European energy.
“Take a look at how the Americans are planning to restore Nord Stream. I am talking about two gas pipelines, and they were blown up,” he told RT in an interview this week.
“The Americans under Biden said that these gas pipelines would not work, but now they accuse the Ukrainians of blowing up these two pipelines,” he continued, before noting: “Actually, four pipelines. Three out of four were blown up. The Americans want to buy out the part that was owned by European companies.”
He further explained that the US “wants to strike the deal at a price that is 10 times lower than the initial European investments” – according to Russian state media.
He explained that this would be about US control, and the ability to dictate the price of gas – instead of what would have been a prior mutual agreement between Russia and Germany, before the pipelines were sabotaged.
“They [the US] openly stated that they wanted to halt gas transit via pipelines from Russia to Europe through Ukraine in order to control these flows as well,” he alleged.
Last year ZeroHedge asked Trump directly about who was behind the Nord Stream sabotage op. “If you can believe it they said Russia blew it up,” Trump initially responded at the time.
“Well probably if I asked certain people they would be able to tell you without having to waste a lot of money on an investigation,” the president said. “But I think a lot of people know who blew it up, but I was the one who blew it up originally because I wouldn’t let it be built, and then when Biden got in he allowed it to be built.”
President strongly suggested that based on classified intelligence he knows exactly who was behind the September 26, 2022 covert operation which ended in the Baltic Sea explosions and major leaks which took the vital Russia to Germany natural gas pipelines permanently offline. Of course, with no investigation whatsoever (a serious European inquiry didn’t even begin till the following year), Western mainstream press coalesced around the dubious “Russia bombed their own pipeline!” narrative.
In early 2023, famed journalist and Pulitzer price winner Seymour Hersh published a bombshell report which concluded that the United States blew up the Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline as part of a covert operation under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 NATO exercise. Hersh’s report has been subject to a lot of pushback since then, but he’s not backed off this initial reporting and investigation.
END
Europe’s Dependence On US LNG Set To Surge
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 07:20 AM
By Irina Slav of OilPrice.com
The European Union’s dependence on liquefied natural gas from the United States is set to rise significantly, reaching 80% of all LNG imports in two years, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has warned.
In a report cited by Reuters, IEEFA noted that the European Union already imports significant volumes of U.S. liquefied gas, creating a potentially risky dependence on a single supplier.
LNG imports from the United States into the EU accounted for 58% of overall LNG imports.
Yet this dependence is only going to increase in the coming years, the outlet said, recommending more wind, solar, and heat pumps as an alternative.
This year, the United States will become the European Union’s biggest supplier of liquefied gas, even as the bloc also gobbles up every ton of Russian LNG it can buy ahead of the 2027 ban on Russian energy imports.
The motivation for that ban, in addition to punishment for the war in Ukraine, has been to avoid overwhelming dependence on a single energy supplier, which is what the EU is currently doing with the U.S.
Energy commodities are a big part of the trade deal signed last year by President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The deal featured a commitment on the part of the EU to buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy commodities over a period of three years.
The European Parliament earlier this year signaled it has problems with the deal, which angered the U.S. president, and he threatened to hike tariffs on EU goods unless the bloc signs the deal as is.
The arrangement elevated American LNG, oil, and refined fuels in Europe’s energy supply mix.
The actual supply of so many energy commodities, however, would be physically – and financially – challenging both for the suppliers and the buyers.
END
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES
CUBA/USA
Trump Says Cuba Is Seeking Help: ‘We Are Going To Talk’
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 09:45 PM
Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times,
Cuba wants help, and the United States will hold talks with the communist island nation, President Donald Trump announced in a Tuesday post on Truth Social.
He did not specify when those talks would take place.
“No Republican has ever spoken to me about Cuba, which is a failed country and only heading in one direction—down! Cuba is asking for help, and we are going to talk!!! In the meantime, I’m off to China!” Trump wrote in his post.
The president has made Cuba a focus of his second term, increasing pressure on Havana in the form of sanctions, an oil blockade, and repeated comments from himself and others in his administration about how Cuba is next after the U.S. military captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Cuba, in January.
As he left for his trip to China, Trump declined providing any further information to reporters at the White House.
“Cuba is not doing well. It’s a failed nation, and we’ll be talking about Cuba at the right time,” Trump said.
Asked about any planned talks with the country, a White House official said, “Within a short period of time, they will fall, and we will be there to help them out.”
Trump has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions against the Cuban regime to choke the leadership out and push it toward making a deal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is of Cuban descent, announced some of those sanctions on May 7.
On May 1, Trump signed a presidential action broadening sanctions on the communist government, imposing them on individuals, entities, and affiliates of the regime. It also targeted anyone complicit in human rights violations or corruption.
“[Cuba’s policies] constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat,” Trump’s order said. “Not only are these policies, practices, and actions designed to harm the United States, but they are also repugnant to the moral and political values of free and democratic societies.”
On Jan. 29, Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on any country that provides Cuba with oil. Days later, the president said Mexico would cease oil shipments to the country.
The oil blockade, sanctions, and U.S. capture of Cuba’s main oil provider in Maduro have crippled the nation’s energy infrastructure.
Blackouts, shortages, and fuel rationing have become part of daily life in Cuba.
Although the United States offered some relief in allowing a Russian-flagged tanker to bring 730,000 barrels of oil to Cuba on March 31, the supply lasted less than 10 days.
Cuban Americans, including Fidel Castro’s daughter, have sharply denounced the communist government, calling on Trump to turn his attention to Cuba.
Trump has pitched the idea of a “friendly takeover” of the country, or a military takeover, adding that he believes he will have the “honor of taking Cuba.”
“That’s a big honor, taking Cuba in some form,” Trump told reporters in March. “Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it.”
Trump will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping from March 13–15, the first presidential visit to the country since Trump’s 2017 stop in his first term. China has called for the United States to end its oil blockade and sanctions against Cuba.
“We’re going to have a very good meeting,” Trump said before departing.
END
CUBA/USA
Cuba Depletes Fuel As Blackouts Worsen, Putting Havana’s Communists Under Pressure Ahead Of U.S. Talks
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 09:15 AM
Today’s news cycle centers on President Donald Trump’s summit and state banquet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with early messaging from both sides pointing to a constructive first day. Once Trump concludes his China trip, if a peace deal emerges to de-escalate the Iran conflict – likely with Beijing leaning on Tehran to reopen the Hormuz chokepoint – the Trump administration’s attention may quickly pivot to the next pressure point: Communist-controlled Cuba.
As of mid-week, Cuba’s energy crisis has worsened and likely reached a breaking point, with Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy warning on state media that the island nation has run out of fuel for diesel generators, and blackouts now extend up to 22 hours per day in parts of the Havana metro area.
“The sum of the different types of fuel: crude oil, fuel oil, of which we have absolutely none; diesel, of which we have absolutely none … the only thing we have is gas from our wells, where production has grown,” De la O Levy told the BBC.
The ongoing power grid crisis follows a months-long U.S. fuel blockade that has choked off oil imports, including supplies previously sourced from Venezuela and elsewhere.
Overnight, reports indicated that protests broke out in Communist-controlled Havana, with hundreds in the streets shouting, “Turn on the lights.”
The Trump administration says it is prepared to provide $100 million in direct humanitarian assistance if Havana permits it, while also pressing for political reforms, according to the State Department.
Related:
“The decision rests with the Cuban regime to accept our offer of assistance or deny critical life-saving aid and ultimately be accountable to the Cuban people for standing in the way of critical assistance,” the statement said.
On Tuesday, ahead of Trump’s visit to China, he wrote on Truth Social that “Cuba is a failed country and is heading in one direction – down – while they’re asking for help and we are going to talk!”
All in all, the messaging from the Trump administration and the current state of affairs in collapsed Cuba suggest Havana will soon be at the center of the news cycle.
The Trump administration is certainly trying to accomplish a lot in sprint fashion this year ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary. From Venezuela and cleaning up the Western Hemisphere to Iran and the Hormuz chokepoint, it appears the push to protect the empire, rewire energy flows, and ensure dollar dominance is in full effect.
END
INDIA
India Panics, Further Tightens Gold Flows As Rupee Collapses
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 03:40 PM
Well, that escalated quickly…
With the Rupee accelerating its declines to ever lower record lows against the dollar, Indian authorities have stepped up capital controls, focusing on curbing demand in the gold ‘exit’ route.
4 days ago, there were no signs of import duty hikes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a rare weekend appeal urging citizens to forgo gold purchases as well as unnecessary foreign travel in order to help hold up the currency..
2 days ago, tariffs were more than doubled on gold and silver imports to 15% and 6% respectively.
And today, they are doing even more with India now tightening the advance authorisation route, effectively capping how much gold individual exporters can bring in through that channel.
A government notification stated that imports of bullion exceeding 100 kilograms would be subject to prior authorization, adding that any subsequent imports would only be granted after exports equivalent to 50% had been carried out.
The notification also introduced stricter checks for first-time applicants seeking permission to import gold under the scheme.
The government has also linked future import approvals to export performance.
India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, has been hit hard by the inflationary shock caused by energy disruptions in the Persian Gulf.
Higher import bills have driven sharp foreign-exchange outflows, pushing the rupee down to a record low and prompting the Reserve Bank of India to step in and sell dollars.
And the fact that gold is the country’s largest import item after crude oil does not help, which is why India is doing everything in its power to limit capital outflows.
As UBS explains, the new curbs don’t directly restrict the importing banks, but it does limit how much metal each participant can access, reducing the ability to build larger positions and tightening flows through the system.
The broader backdrop is that India is no longer purely a jewellery-led market.
Demand has become more investment‑driven, with a growing share of imports moving into financial holdings, including ETFs.
A significant part of last year’s import surge appears to have gone into investment rather than fabrication, which changes how the market behaves. During the initial phase of the recent Middle East escalation, Indian ETFs were among the first to react, selling roughly ~20 tonnes in the opening week of the move.
More immediately, demand has already been soft in recent weeks, as reflected in recent import data.
Monthly India Gold Imports below in tonnes, source: UBS
Near‑term uncertainty around fertiliser (urea) supplies also poses a risk to this year’s crop cycle, with the key monsoon period running into August, which could weigh on rural incomes and, by extension, gold buying.
The recent moves underscore policy concerns around curbing import-led dollar outflows from high foreign exchange-draining sectors, Madhavi Arora, economist at Emkay Global Financial Services said.
“We expect gold imports to fall by around 20-25% this year due to these steps.”
New Delhi is weighing several further emergency steps to shore up foreign-exchange reserves and limit the damage from the war in the Middle East.
If demand does recover, however, as seen in previous tightening cycles, attempts by the government to limit capital outflows via precious metals will only encourage activity to re‑route via unofficial channels (with smuggling picking up when the onshore market is constrained), to preserve purchasing power, and it is only a matter of time before India joins the rest of the financially suppressed developing world in actively pursuing such non-fiat alternatives as tether and bitcoin if the traditional gold and silver pathways are limited.
END
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS THURSDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
OPENING LEVELS OF CURRENCIES// AND CLOSING ASIAN STOCK MARKET AND OPENING EUROPEAN STOCKS:6 AM EST
EURO VS USA DOLLAR: 1.1710 DOWN 0.0006
USA/ YEN 157.91 UP 0.056 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.75% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN STILL FALLS//END OF YEN CARRY TRADE BEGINS AGAIN DEC 2024/Bank of Japan raises rates by .25% TO 1.75 ..TAKAICHI NEW PM AS YIELDS RISE//JAPAN DEEPLY IN TROUBLE WITH RISING RATES AND A FALLING YEN!!
GBP/USA 1.3516 DOWN 0.0011 OR 11 BASIS PTS
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3707 UP 0.0002 CDN DOLLAR DOWN 2 BASIS PTS//
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 64.65 PTS OR 1.52%
Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 29.94 PTS OR 0.11%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 0.65%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED DOWN 29.94 PTS OR 0.11%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 64.65 OR 1.52%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 0.70%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 599.11 PTS OR 0.95%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: $4696.00
silver:$87,08
USA DOLLAR VS TRY (TURKISH LIRA): 45.44 PLUS 3 BASIS PTS AND NOW WE SEE THEIR STUPIDITY OF SELLING SOME OF THEIR GOLD.
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIAN ROUBLE: 73.14 ROUBLE// UP 0 ROUBLE AND 45 BASIS PTS
UK 10 YR BOND YIELD: 5.055 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
UK 30 YR BOND YIELD: 5.722 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
CDN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.572 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
CDN 5 YR BOND YIELD; 3.228 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
USA dollar index early THURSDAY MORNING: 98.42 DOWN 1 BASIS POINTS FROM WEDNESDAY’s CLOSE
THURSDAY MORNING NUMBERS ENDS
And now your closing THURSDAY NUMBERS 10.00 AM
Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.416% DOWN 6 in basis point(s) yield
JAPANESE BOND 10 yr YIELD: +2.635% UP 4 FULL POINTS BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/
JAPAN 30 YR: 3.925 UP 10 BASIS PTS//
SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.473 DOWN 6 in basis points yield
ITALY 10 YR BOND: 3.794 DOWN 8 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.055 DOWN 5 BASIS PTS
IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES : MID DAY THURSDAY
Closing currency crosses for day /USA DOLLAR INDEX/USA 10 YR BOND YIELD/10:00 AM
Euro/USA 1.1697 DOWN 0.0018 OR 18 basis points
USA/Japan: 157.98 UP 0.120 OR YEN IS DOWN 12 BASIS PTS// HIGHLY INFLATIONARY TO JAPAN
Great Britain 10 YR RATE 5.017 DOWN 5 BASIS POINTS //
GREAT BRITAIN 30 YR BOND; 5.685 DOWN 6 BASIS POINTS.
Canadian dollar DOWN 20 BASIS pts to 1.3726
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The USA/Yuan CNY UP TO 6.7852// ON SHORE ..
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE// CNH UP TO 6.7841
TURKISH LIRA: 45.44 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 3 in basis points from WEDNESDAY at 4.443.% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)
USA 30 yr bond yield 5.003 DOWN 3 basis points /10:00 AM
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.961 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS.
GOLD AT 10;00 AM 4701.95
SILVER AT 10;00: 86.38
Your 11:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates THURSDAY CLOSING TIME 10:00 AM//
London: CLOSED UP 47.84 PTS OR 0.46%
GERMAN DAX: CLOSED UP 319.45 OR 1.32%
FRANCE: CLOSED UP 74.30 PTS PTS OR 0.93%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 154.30 PTS OR 0.87 %
Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 569.57 PTS OR 1.15%
WTI Oil price 100.66 10.00 EST/
Brent Oil: 104.95 10:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 73.20 ROUBLE UP 0 AND 40 / 100
CDN 10 YEAR RATE: 3.536 DOWN 6 BASIS PTS.
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 3.190 DOWN 6 BASIS PTS
CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM
Euro vs USA 1.1674 DOWN 0.0042 OR 42 BASIS POINTS//
British Pound: 1.3405 DOWN 0.0121 OR 121 basis pts/
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 5.034 DOWN 2 FULL BASIS PTS//
BRITISH 30 YR BOND YIELD: 5.688 DOWN 4 IN BASIS PTS.
JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 2.632 UP 4 FULL BASIS PTS (DANGEROUS TO THEIR ECONOMY
JAPANESE 30 YR BOND: 3.919 UP 10 PTS AND STILL VERY DANGEROUS TO THEIR ECONOMY
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 158.29 UP 0.434 OR YEN DOWN 43 BASIS PTS
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3726 UP 0.0021 PTS// CDN DOLLAR DOWN 21 BASIS PTS
West Texas intermediate oil: 101.55
Brent OIL: 106.12
USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 1 BASIS pts to 4.466
USA 30 yr bond yield: DOWN 2 PTS to 5.020%
USA 2 YR BOND 4.000 UP 3 PTS
CDN 10 YR RATE 3.555 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 3.217 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS
USA dollar index: 98.76 UP 33 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 45.44 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/IDIOTS SOLD GOLD
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 73.14 UP 0 AND 23/100 roubles //
GOLD $4662.00 3:30 PM)
SILVER: 83.97 3;30 PM)
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 373.10 OR 0.75%
NASDAQ 100 UP 213.36 PTS OR 0.73%
VOLATILITY INDEX 17.30 DOWN 0.57 PTS OR 3.19%
GLD: $ 427.19 DOWN 3.31 PTS OR 0.77%
SLV/ $75.49 PTS DOWN 3.86 OR OR 4.26%
TORONTO STOCK INDEX// TSX INDEX: CLOSED UP 191.92 PTS OR 0.56%
end
TRADING today ZEROHEDGE 4 PM: HEADLINE NEWS/TRADING
Trump’s Beijing Trip Triggers Bid For Big-Tech, Bitcoin, Black Gold, & The Buck
WRAP UP:
USA DATA RELEASE
Florida & Texas Lead Jobless Claims Rebound From Near Record Lows
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 08:54 AM
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the first time rose last week to 211k (more than the 205k expected), but remain well within the range of the last five years, near record lows…
Source: Bloomberg
Florida and Texas saw the biggest rise in initial claims while California and Michigan saw the largest declines…
Continuing jobless claims also rose modestly last week, up to 1.782mm Americans (but still well below the 1.9mm Maginot Line)…
Source: Bloomberg
Combined with last week’s positive payrolls print (and this week’s surging inflation data), expectations for Warsh rate-cuts have now evaporated (market expects 10bps of hikes in 2026).
END
Despite Record Low Sentiment, US Retail Sales See Strongest Annual Gain In 8 Months
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 08:39 AM
After a big jump in March, retail sales likely cooled in April, according to BofA’s almost omniscient forecast as they see spending on gasoline providing a smaller boost and auto sales moderating, after an early Easter pulled forward some seasonal demand into March. The “holiday shift” dynamic also may have contributed to softer activity after Easter.
However, the actual print was +0.5% MoM (as consensus expected – and hotter than BofA’s forecast), lifting sales by 4.9% YoY – the strongest gain since Aug 2025
Source: Bloomberg
Gas Stations and Nonstore (Online) Retailers were the biggest positive factor while Motor Vehicle & Parts and Clothing were the biggest drags…
Source: Bloomberg
Most importantly, the ‘Control Group’ which plugs into the GDP calculation rose 0.5% MoM (better than expected) and March was revised higher…
Source: Bloomberg
Interestingly, ‘real’ retail sales (admittedly crudely adjusted via CPI) have rebounded from a negative print in December…
Source: Bloomberg
So far it seems spending continues despite record low consumer sentiment?
Who exactly is UMich surveying for this?
USA ECONOMIC REPORTS
LOOKS LIKE THE TRUCK BROKERS ARE IN BIG TROUBLE HERE!!
Trucking Stocks Tumble As Supreme Court Ruling Risks “Extinction Event” For Freight Brokers
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 12:40 PM
The US Supreme Court ruled late Thursday morning that freight brokers can face state-law negligent hiring claims when they hire unsafe trucking firms that later cause crashes.
FreightWaves founder Craig Fuller responded to the ruling on X, saying,
OMG, this is the most pivotal moment in trucking history since Deregulation. It could be an extinction event for 30-50% of all freight brokers.
In other words, this decision will raise liability costs across the freight industry but could force out unsafe trucking firms, some of which have hired illegals.
The case, Shawn Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, US, No. 24-1238, centers on C.H. Robinson, which arranged a shipment carried by Caribe Transport II. The carrier’s driver struck Shawn Montgomery’s tractor-trailer in Illinois, causing severe and permanent injuries. Montgomery alleged that C.H. Robinson should have known Caribe posed safety risks given its poor federal safety rating.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the High Court, said the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act does not shield brokers from such claims because states retain authority over safety “with respect to motor vehicles.” The ruling reverses the Seventh Circuit and sends the case back for further proceedings.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, said the case was close but agreed that Congress did not intend to leave brokers in a “black hole” with no meaningful safety accountability. He also acknowledged that the ruling could lead to higher litigation, insurance, and due diligence costs, which may ultimately raise shipping costs.
The Trump administration urged the justices to rule against Montgomery’s claim, saying that allowing liability for freight brokers under state tort law would create regulatory nightmares for the nation’s freight transport industry.
Bloomberg litigation analyst Holly Froum noted:
CH Robinson, Landstar, JB Hunt Dealt Costly Supreme Court Ruling
Trucking brokers including CH Robinson, Landstar along with companies with transportation brokering operations like JB Hunt, Werner Enterprises and others were dealt a setback by the US Supreme Court’s May 14 ruling allowing states to impose personal-injury liability for trucking accidents. A majority of the justices found that state law negligent hiring claims could continue and weren’t preempted by federal law, as we expected they would.
Shares of C.H. Robinson and Landstar fell after the ruling, while JB Hunt moved higher.
Trucking advocacy group American Truckers United stated on X, “A bomb has dropped on the criminal freight brokers!”
END
Vance Shrugs Off Backlash After Trump Says Americans’ Finances Don’t Factor Into Iran War “Even A Little Bit”
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 07:40 PM
Just before leaving to China on Tuesday, President Trump fielded question from the media and issued some shocking remarks which are sure to hurt, not help Republicans, during a week in which the Iran war hits the 75-day mark.
President Trump conceded that the financial situation for Americans was not a factor in his decision-making when it came to Iran, at a moment Americans are alarmed at steadily rising gas prices, and the potential that the cost of everything from groceries to other basic staples could go up. The real surprise was that he didn’t even try dodge the question or massage the topic like many politicians would choose to do, instead he emphasized: “Not even a little bit.”
“The only thing that matters, when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon… that’s the only thing that motivates me,” he added. Watch:
Congressional GOP members are no doubt squirming in wake of these blunt comments, and Trump’s own staff surely wasn’t thrilled. Trump didn’t so much as hesitate in his remarks, and midterm elections are coming up fast, with the Iran conflict and Hormuz showdown showing no signs of abating.
Some have argued that Trump as Commander-in-Chief is in ‘war mode’ and so doesn’t want to tip his cards or let the Iranians perceive that they have leverage and can impose a political cost, especially amid talks and stalled negotiations. But the reality is that at the end of the day Americans by and large don’t prioritize foreign policy issues over and above how their how bank account is doing, and their ability to maintain a decent standard of living.
One key problem with framing this as ultimately all about Iran not having a nuclear weapon, is that till this moment the official line from the US intelligence community remains that it sees no evidence the Islamic Republic is actually seeking a nuke. Nothing has changed of the public US intelligence community’s assessment since headlines like these were issued during the June war: Israel says Iran was racing toward a nuclear weapon. US intel says it was years away.
All of this is also perhaps why on Wednesday Vice President J.D. Vance seemed to try and nervously deflect and reject the question as a reporter asked about Trump’s “not even a little bit” remarks from the day prior. Here’s the fresh exchange:
REPORTER: “Do you agree with the president’s position that Americans’ financial situations should not be a consideration in that [Iran] decision-making process?”
JD VANCE: “Well, I don’t think the president said that. I think that’s a misrepresentation of what the president said. But look, I agree with the president that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.”
“The fundamental goal here is the president wants to make the world safe, but particularly the American people safe from Iran having a nuclear weapon.”
“We care about how the American people are doing economically. We’ve also got a number of other challenges. Of course, the president has to confront all these challenges simultaneously.”
This narrative from Trump is certainly a losing one, and Vance – who no doubt is increasingly worried that a protracted Iran quagmire could dampen his chances for the presidential election in 2028 – absolutely knows it.
After all, the average price of gas in the US now sits at $4.50 per gallon, a 51% increase since the start of Operation Epic Fury. There’s also a good chance that a full-scale bombing campaign could return, even as Pentagon officials struggle to articulate a clear strategic vision and end game. And yet, the Trump administration is previewing that the campaign could restart under the name ‘Operation Sledgehammer’.
In the meantime, there’s no putting this genie back in the bottle…
Below: A legitimate questions about America’s future, and putting Americans first, which is met with Trump’s scorn…
Those on the political right, including a significant sector of MAGA who feel betrayed by Trump for starting another war of choice in the Middle East (which on the campaign trail he repeatedly promised not do do), are not going for forget this either.
For example, Liberty Lockdown show host Clint Russell in a viral tweet had this to say: Regarding the Iran war Trump says American’s financial situations don’t matter to him “even a little bit”. When the GOP gets annihilated in November don’t you dare blame Tucker or Megyn or Candace or Fuentes or Massie. Just watch this over and over.
END
NEOCON AND DEMOCRAT ROBERT KAGAN:
surprising from war monger Robert Kagan:
Neocon Grandee Robert Kagan Issues Surprise Scathing Critique Of Iran War
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 11:25 PM
Robert Kagan, one of the United States’ most prominent neoconservative voices and a long-time pro-Israel hawk, has warned that Washington is heading towards “total defeat” in its war on Iran – a setback he says “can neither be repaired nor ignored”.
Writing in The Atlantic, Kagan said the damage inflicted by the conflict cannot be reversed. “There will be no return to the status quo ante, no ultimate American triumph that will undo or overcome the harm done,” he concluded bleakly.
Kagan, who co-founded the neoconservative think tank Project for the New American Century in 1997, helped shape a political current that pushed the US to project military power globally.
That doctrine culminated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and deeply influenced the George W. Bush administration.
He remained closely tied to that policy ecosystem, including through his wife, Victoria Nuland, who served as an advisor to the arch neoconservative Vice President Dick Cheney. For years, Kagan championed US interventionism – making his stark warning about the current war all the more striking.
In his analysis, Kagan argued that control over the Strait of Hormuz has fundamentally shifted the balance of power.
“With control of the strait, Iran emerges as the key player in the region and one of the key players in the world,” Kagan noted.
He added that the war has not only strengthened rivals such as China and Russia but has also eroded Washington’s global standing.
“Far from demonstrating American prowess, as supporters of the war have repeatedly claimed, the conflict has revealed an America that is unreliable and incapable of finishing what it started. That is going to set off a chain reaction around the world as friends and foes adjust to America’s failure,” he said.
‘Disastrous for Israel’
Kagan warned that US President Donald Trump now has limited options to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting Washington may have exhausted its leverage.
He compared the scale of the current crisis to some of the most damaging moments in US military history, including the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the Vietnam War. Unlike those conflicts, he argued, the United States may not be able to recover from the consequences this time.
“Defeat for the United States, therefore, is not only possible but likely,” he stressed.
Kagan said Iran’s ability to counter US pressure leaves Washington with few viable paths forward without triggering severe damage to Gulf economies and the wider global system. “If this isn’t checkmate, it’s close,“ he added.
He also stressed that Tehran is unlikely to relinquish its grip over the Strait of Hormuz, which he described as a powerful strategic lever.
“Iran cannot afford to let the strait go, no matter how good a deal it thought it could get. For one thing, how reliable is any deal with Trump?”
Below: a genuinely incredible scene…
In a separate interview with PBS, Kagan extended his warning to Israel, arguing that the war could backfire on one of Washington’s closest allies.
“This war has the potential of ending in a very disastrous way for Israel precisely because the leverage in the region and the influence in the region is going to shift away from the United States and Israel and toward Iran and its supporters.”
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
KING NEWS
| The King Report May 14, 2026 Issue 7742 | Independent View of the News |
| April PPI 1.4% m/m & 6.0% y/y, 0.5% m/m & 4.8% expected; Core PPI 1.0% m/m & 5.2% y/y, 0.3% m/m & 4.3% y/y expected. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ppi.pdf The worst PPI since December 2022 felled bonds. The 30-year hit 5.054%; the 2-year hit 4.013%; 10s hit 4.487%. USMs sank to a daily low of 111 26/32 at the 11:30 ET European close. With USMs at critical support and Europe closed, someone manipulated USMs to 112 3/32 at 11:39 ET. After a retreat to 111 30/32 at 12:03 ET, someone forced USMs to 112 8/32 at 12:28 ET. Someone manipulated USMs to facilitate the Treasury Auction of $25B of 30-year bonds. No ‘real’ buyer would aggressively buy USMs ahead of a Treasury Auction! Who was helping the Treasury? We’ve noted this phenomenon of someone juicing bond futures (USMs) into Treasury Auctions during Trump’s second term. The auction results appeared at 13:00 ET: 5.046% vs. 5.041% WI at deadline, 5.035% WI prior; Bid-to-cover 2.3; 72.06% of bids at high; Primary Dealers 11.7%; Direct Bidders 21.7% Indirect Bidders 66.6%. This is the first new issue 30-year to carry a 5% fixed rate since 2007! Bond and note yields moved higher even though gasoline and oil declined smartly on Wednesday. Precious metals rallied moderately; Bitcoin fell smartly. Agri-commodities, ex-wheat rallied again. Fangs and AI-related stocks rallied on the typical buying for the expiry call squeeze plus on the hype & hope that Trump would garner tech deals with Xi at the two-day summit in Beijing. Nvidia Extend Gain to Session-High 3%, CEO Joins Trump in China – BFW 11:12 ET. Trump: CNBC incorrectly reported that the Great Jensen Huang, of Nvidia, was not invited to the incredible gathering of the World’s Greatest Businessmen/women proudly going to China. In actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC’s reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, FAKE NEWS! It is an Honor to have Jensen, Elon, Tim Apple, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzmann, Kelly Ortberg (Boeing), Brian Sikes (Cargill), Jane Fraser (Citi), Larry Culp (GE Aerospace), David Solomon (Goldman Sachs), Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron), Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm), and many others journeying to the Great Country of China where I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to “open up” China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level! In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request. I have never seen or heard of any idea that would be more beneficial to our incredible Countries! Trump and Xi to meet in Beijing: The key issues shaping the China summit Trump and Xi meet as trade, Taiwan and the Iran war dominate a high-stakes US-China summit. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/5/13/trump-and-xi-to-meet-in-beijing-the-key-issues-shaping-the-china-summit (Boston Fed Pres) Collins: Particularly Concerned about Risks to Inflation – BBG 11:30 ET Fed’s Collins Says She Could Envision the Need for Rate Hikes – BBG 11:30 ET Fed’s Collins Favors Holding Rates Steady for ‘Some Time’ – BBG 11:30 ET Collins: “More than five years of above target inflation has reduced my patience for looking through another supply shock. The likelihood of other scenarios with higher and more persistent inflation more adverse labor market outcomes or both has increased… I believe it will likely be important to maintain the current slightly restrictive monetary policy stance for some time…” The longer and more disruptive the conflict in Middle East, the larger the inflationary impact – not only an energy, but also on food and on many of the categories of goods and services in the core basket.” ESMs opened soft on Tuesday night and fell to 7410.00 (-16.50) 20:00 ET. ESMs then commenced a plodding rally that took they to 7454.25 at 4:40 ET. Sellers appeared; ESMs steadily sank until they hit a daily low of 7399.00 at 9:45 ET. We all know what happened next. Condition traders aggressively bought; an intractable rally took ESMs to a record high of 7483.75 at 14:15 ET. Buying for the Weird Wednesday manipulation and the hype and hope of Trump’s two-day summit with XI in Beijing were major factors. ESMs fell to 7566.50 at 16:00 ET. @GlobalMktObserv: The S&P 500 rally has rarely been this WEAK: Just 22% of S&P 500 stocks have outperformed the index over the last 30 days, one of the lowest readings in 30 years. This is also 3 standard deviations below the long-run average of 50%. It is one of the narrowest advances ever recorded, with a handful of stocks dragging the entire index higher while the vast majority of companies are being left behind. This is not a broad market rally, not a healthy market. https://x.com/GlobalMktObserv/status/2054568095637721348 @KobeissiLetter: Money supply is skyrocketing: Global money supply is now up to a record $121.9 trillion. Over the last 2 years, money supply has soared +$17.1 trillion, or +16%. This also marks a +$27 trillion increase, or +28%, since the 2022 low. This means that global money supply is surging +7% to +8% a year. Meanwhile, US M2 money supply jumped +$1 trillion YoY, or +4.6%, to a record $22.7 trillion. Money supply growth is accelerating. https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2054698900632502367 Ex-DJT advisor @GreenblattJD: Iranian officials are now raising the possibility of enriching uranium to weapons grade if negotiations collapse. That matters because it reinforces the central argument made by the Trump administration throughout this conflict: the nuclear issue was not theoretical or distant. It was becoming increasingly urgent. Critics of the war may disagree with the decision to use force. That debate will continue. But when Iran’s response to mounting pressure is to raise the possibility of weapons grade enrichment, it strengthens the argument that the nuclear risk was real and accelerating. The debate was never only about intent. It was also about time, capability, and how close Iran was willing to move toward the threshold. Positive aspects of previous session Fangs soared on expiry manipulation and the hope of tech deals between DJT and Xi. Someone manipulated USMs higher ahead of the 30-year auction. Gasoline & WTI Oil declined smartly. Negative aspects of previous session The 30-year hit 5.054%; the 2-year hit 4.013%. Boston Fed Pres Collins spoke the unspeakable: Rate hikes are possible. Equity traders largely keep ignoring inflation and falling bonds. They will pay dearly later. Market manipulation in USMs and ESMs is increasing. Who’s doing/orchestrating it? No POTUS has even shilled for stocks like Trump. He is instigating a dangerous bubble. Ambiguous aspects of previous session Who keeps manipulating bond futures into Auctions? Someone should quiz Bessent! First Hour/Last Hour NYSE Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour: Down; Last Hour: Down Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to day traders]: 7426.47 Previous session (S&P 500 Index) High/Low: 7460.04; 7375.13 Today – There have been two days of blatant manipulation of ESMs and tech stocks. The question for today is: When will traders great and small start unloading their massive hoard of expiring May calls? Someone is juicing equity futures on Wednesday night. So, be alert for a grand Pump & Dump. ESMs are +18.25; NQMs are +203.00; WTI oil is +$0.17; gasoline is -1.10c; the 2-year is at 3.971%; the 30-year is at 5.033%; and USMs are +6/32 at 20:55 ET. PS – With the end of the US Treasury Auctions, look for bond traders to manipulate their holdings higher. Expected Economic Data: Initial Jobless Claims 205k, Continuing Claims 1.78m; Apr Retail Sales 0.5% m/.m, Ex-Autos 0.7%, Ex-Autos & Gas 0.3%; March Business Inventories 0.9% m/m; KC Fed Pres Schmid 10:15 ET, Cleveland Fed Pres Hammack 13:00 ET S&P Index 50-day MA: 6897; 100-day MA: 6900; 150-day MA: 6855; 200-day MA: 6769 DJIA 50-day MA: 47,931;100-day MA: 48,527; 150-day MA: 48,071; 200-day MA: 47,405 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope) S&P 500 Index (7444.25 close) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 6035.78 triggers a sell signal Weekly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 6513.48 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 7308.72 triggers a sell signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 7425.10 triggers a sell sign Trump: The guy that came up to Mitch McConnell today when McConnell thought the hearing was over and started speaking in his ear for Mitch to belatedly introduce some other people, all Democrats and, by doing so, made Mitch look foolish and completely out of it, should be immediately fired! This was a case where Mitch wasn’t confused, he just didn’t understand why he was being asked to do something when it was too late, and people were wrapping up to leave — They wanted to go home. His name is Robert Karem, he is a Never Trumper, and was grandstanding — trying to show how “important” he was! Karem has tremendous Democrat support, far greater than he should have, and is praised relentlessly by Obama’s people. He is probably the reason why Mitch McConnell is stupidly opposed to terminating the Filibuster, and refuses to help with a 97% issue, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT. FIRE THE BUM! https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/trump-demands-gop-staffer-fired-for-making-mitch-mcconnell-look-out-of-it/ar-AA234Eh9?ocid=BingNewsSerp Biden FBI secretly set up Trump to be indicted after he leaves office, Arctic Frost memos suggest Jack Smith’s team primed their criminal case against Donald Trump to resume once his presidency ends. https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/fbi-and-jack-smith-prosecutor-sought-hold-anti-trump-evidence-until-he-left Daily Mail Explosive Supreme Court LEAK reveals stinging whispers about ‘belligerent’ justice… read the wild rants troubling both sides of the aisle – Conservative Court insiders, who opposed Jackson’s nomination, tell me the justice’s belligerence has grown alongside the disappointment of an activist who has discovered she cannot do what President Biden wanted: make policy… ‘Ever since Justice Jackson arrived,’ the New York Times reported last October, ‘friction has been building: between her and Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, who are more aligned strategically, and between her and the rest of the Court.’… ‘She has made herself an outsider even among her Democrat-appointed colleagues,’… Ironically, Jackson’s antagonistic, highly personalized style is widely seen as damaging her ideological compatriots on the Court, the Living Constitutionalists, more than the originalists. https://www.dailymail.com/debate/article-15811897/supreme-court-justices-fury-exposed.html | |
SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT
The Liberal Media Is Finally Noticing Democrats Are Willing To Shred The Rule Of Law
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 04:40 PM
Democrats have anointed themselves the defenders of democracy and protectors of the rule of law. For years, the liberal media has been more than willing to help push that narrative. But after the state Supreme Court struck down the Virginia gerrymander, the reaction from Democrats was so extreme that even their usual defenders couldn’t ignore how bad it looked.
On Sunday, the New York Times reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Virginia Democrats held a conference call the day after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the party had violated the state constitution by passing its gerrymandered map, nullifying the new map before it could be implemented. According to the report, lawmakers spent the call “venting anger at their defeat,” with the atmosphere described as “desperation and fury,” and Democrats floated the idea of lowering the mandatory retirement age of the court so they could replace all the justices and restart the process of passing their gerrymandered map.
Even some of the liberal media’s old guard felt uncomfortable that such an idea was seriously considered, and what that says about the party that claims to be defenders of Democracy and the rule of law.
That’s the unmistakable takeaway from a revealing exchange between Chris Cillizza and Chuck Todd on Monday on Cillizza’s podcast.
Chuck Todd framed the Virginia ruling as the natural consequence of bad politics and worse arrogance. “That’s how I feel about this, this ruling in Virginia, right? This was a bad idea. This was terrible messaging. This was defeat. This sort of undermined every supposed principle that the Democratic Party had been running on for over a decade,” he said.
The deeper problem, as Todd and Cillizza both made clear, is that Democrats did this to themselves. “And, you know, and they didn’t dot their I’s and cross their T’s,” Todd said, acknowledging reports that Democrats in Virginia knew their plan wasn’t constitutional but pressed forward with it anyway.
“The Democratic state legislature told the Virginia State Supreme Court, ‘Do not offer a ruling on this until after the election,’” Cillizza noted. In other words, they knew exactly what they were doing. They were trying to run the clock and hope the courts would stay out of the way until after the votes were cast, and there was nothing that could be done about it.
Todd then referenced the New York Times report about the plan to lower the retirement age for Supreme Court justices to 54, which he used as another example of Democrats careening away from any serious commitment to institutional norms.
“And you’re sitting there going, ‘Wow.’ And you’re the same party that’s been complaining that Donald Trump doesn’t respect, um, the democracy? Doesn’t respect the will of the voters, doesn’t respect institutions.”
“How about rule of law?” Cillizza added.
The narrative from Democrats for years has been about protecting democracy, defending norms, and standing up for institutions. But when their own power is on the line, that lofty rhetoric suddenly turns into just another set of talking points. Todd even admitted the entire episode looked insane from the outside.
The most damning part came when Todd explained what he thinks the Democratic Party is willing to do.
“The left has become… as bad as Trump,” he said.
“I mean, look, go ahead and do it, but don’t be surprised when voters sort of decide, man, you guys are full of shit too. And you guys aren’t serious about the democracy. You just are trying to rig it in your direction.”
Todd also argued that the Democratic Party’s refusal to admit error makes the problem worse.
“The Democratic Party is not going to accept the premise that, ‘You know what? Maybe we were principally wrong about this, and maybe we should have stuck to the high ground,’” he said. Instead, he warned, they want to be “just as radical and just as, uh, anti-democracy as they accuse the other side of being.”
That is the part that should worry Democrats the most.
When even their media allies are describing their behavior as anti-democratic, anti-institutional, and openly cynical, it’s a huge problem for them. The party that spent years sermonizing about norms is now getting caught pushing banana republic tactics and calling it righteousness.
END
CALIFORNIA
“Completely Insane”: Federal Govt Withholds $1.3BN In Medicaid Reimbursements To California, Citing Fraud
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – 08:55 PM
Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times,
The Trump administration will withhold $1.3 billion in Medicaid payments to California due to potentially fraudulent billing patterns, Vice President JD Vance announced on May 13.
The action comes among a host of others taken recently to crack down on fraudulent activity in Medicare and Medicaid.
“We want to protect these programs for the kids and the families who need them. We want to ensure that the American taxpayer isn’t getting fleeced,” Vance told reporters.
END
END
Biden FBI Quietly Hid Trump Prosecution Files For Potential Post-2028 Case
Thursday, May 14, 2026 – 02:40 PM
Authored by Luis Cornelio via Headline USA,
Another trove of newly unearthed Biden-era files suggest that the FBI attempted to retain purported evidence related to its prosecution of President Donald Trump until 2030 — when he would presumably be out of office.
The documents, reported Tuesday by Just the News, add to a growing body of records that have detailed the breadth of the aggressive actions targeting Trump, Republican lawmakers and conservative organizations connected to the 2020 election.
According to the report, the retention effort came as part of a broader push to preserve materials gathered by then-Special Counsel Jack Smith following the dismissal of related cases. Such materials are typically handled under DOJ procedures once a case is closed.
The documents in question were reportedly created in 2025, as Trump was preparing to return to office in January, and relate to investigations tied to the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
The decision to retain the evidence has raised questions about whether federal officials were preserving the option to revisit the case after Trump leaves office, when DOJ rules barring the prosecution of a sitting president would no longer apply.
The case itself was closed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled at a later date.
As reported by Just the News:
“One of the key ‘Case Closing’ documents obtained by Just the News – originating from the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s CR-15 team – was dated a couple of weeks into Trump’s second term, on February 5, 2025, when many holdover FBI agents and leaders were still in place.
The newly-released closing document from early 2025 repeated the extensive claims of criminality against Trump, which had been pursued by Smith and the bureau, and it sought to retain all of the evidence for a half decade until at least February 2030, when Trump would be a former president once more and thus when the DOJ guidance prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president would no longer be in force.”
According to the outlet, the document — titled “Arctic Frost – Election Law Matters – Sensitive Investigative Matter” — included supporting materials such as a “Deputy Special Counsel Concurrence” and the “Retention of Evidence Approval.”
In response to the findings, FBI Director Kash Patel said he had moved to eliminate the office involved in handling the matter.
“The American people deserve to know how this egregious weaponization of power to target political opponents and President Trump happened inside an institution meant to protect them,” Patel told Just the News.
“We shut down the weaponized CR-15 squad, and we are going to keep following the facts until there is full accountability. The FBI exists to protect the country, not to preserve political prosecutions for a future administration.”
END
Analysis of Medicaid billing patterns in California aroused suspicion, according to Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“We’ve discovered $630 million in billing from folks who are egregiously the top 5 percent of outliers in billing. These numbers are so big you can’t imagine anyone billing for these [amounts],” Oz told reporters.
California itself is an outlier among states, Oz said.
“In California, the growth of spending on personal care services is twice the rate of the average of the rest of the country,” Oz said.
“We estimate there’s $500 million that could be a risk of being taken from federal taxpayers.”
Fewer than 20 of 800 Medicare providers recently removed from the program due to suspicious billing activity have called to complain, Oz said, offering that as evidence that they likely were not legitimate providers.
VP Vance responded with a double take after hearing that wild stat from Dr. Oz:
“You’re saying that we kicked off 800 fraudulent healthcare providers off of the Medicare system and not a single one of them called the government and said, ‘hey, you made a mistake?'”
“It’s just completely insane,” remarked a surprised Vance!!
GREG HUNTER…
harveyorganblog.com 
