IIR's July 13 Market Scorecard Brings You Breaking Geopolitical News

---

Researched by IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)--Stay current with the latest geopolitical events, and more importantly, instantly connect to how these events may impact you and your business strategies.

Event	MarCon*	IIR Comment	Outlet	IIR News
Trump claims US should be 'the guardian angel' of the Strait of Hormuz and get paid for it		AI Summary: Following a breakdown of last month's interim ceasefire, the US and Iran have escalated military actions, with the US launching multiple waves of airstrikes and Iran retaliating against US military bases and neighboring Gulf states. Commercial shipping through the critical Strait of Hormuz has completely halted as both nations aggressively assert control over the waterway. Amid the intensifying conflict, Donald Trump claimed the US should take over running the strait as a "guardian angel" and be financially reimbursed for its security services.	Independent	IMF: Middle East Conflict, Data Centers Will Shape Economic Growth in 2026
Kyiv hits 15 Russian ships - as Kremlin says it will monitor 'coalition of warmongers' in Paris		AI Summary: Ukraine's aggressive drone campaign has escalated sharply, striking fifteen Russian vessels, including seven oil tankers, in the Sea of Azov. This targeted degradation of Moscow's energy infrastructure has crippled domestic fuel supplies, forcing a diesel export ban. As Kyiv establishes a new global impact command, this systemic economic warfare is effectively redefining the war's timeline.	Sky News	Louisiana's Growing CCUS Market Complements RD/SAF Role
Oil gains over 3% as fresh military strikes threaten Hormuz shipments		Oil prices surged more than 3% on Monday after renewed military strikes ‌between the United States and Iran reignited concerns over energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Fresh U.S. and Iranian strikes over the ⁠weekend fueled fears of a renewed escalation. Tehran targeted U.S. facilities across the Gulf on Sunday and said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had attacked U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.	Reuters	Middle East Conflict Impacts Global Refining
Big banks poised to report booming revenue propelled by SpaceX IPO, Iran war volatility India's inflation accelerates to 4.38% in June, exceeding forecasts		AI Summary: As major banks post Q2 results, the financial sector enters a rare sweet spot fueled by trading volatility from the Iran war and massive fees from the historic SpaceX IPO. Concurrently, Main Street commercial lending is accelerating due to the AI spending boom, shifting investor focus toward the macro sustainability of these unprecedented banking gains. AI Summary: Driven by the compounding shocks of the U.S.-Iran war and severe monsoon volatility, India's June inflation escalated to a surprising 4.38%. As the world's fastest-growing major economy, India remains profoundly vulnerable to energy chokepoints, importing 85% of its fuel. This prolonged disruption threatens to permanently infect core inflation via escalating domestic agricultural and transportation inputs.	CNBC	KKR Upbeat on Renewables as it Eyes EDF's North American Arm India's Transformer Companies Eye Transmission Push Despite Chinese Presence
Natural Gas News: Storage, Weather to Drive Natural Gas This Week		AI Summary: August natural gas futures collapsed eight percent as a powerful triad of bearish signals converged. Massive weekly storage builds tracking above historical averages, retreating July heat projections, and an intensifying El Niño are systematically stripping winter premium out of the forward curve.This structural imbalance cements the ongoing downtrend, leaving storage bloated deep into 2027.	FX Empire	Suriname Eyes Bigger Role in Global Oil & Gas Industry
The loudest voices in US-China trade talks? Christmas tree growers		AI Summary: Geopolitical trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing have sparked a domestic battle, as American Christmas tree growers fiercely lobby to maintain heavy tariffs on Chinese artificial imports. Opposing a newly proposed "Board of Trade" mechanism lowering duties on certain goods, agricultural advocates warn that tariff relaxation will expose family farms to predatory pricing, threatening livelihoods.	SCMP	More than $12 Billion of Global Waste-to-Energy Projects Under Construction
Is the AI Bubble About to Burst?		AI Summary: As industrial AI initiatives face a staggering failure rate, the market faces a structural reckoning: the tech bubble is fracturing. Driven by process complexity and flawed data, giants like Ford are discovering that automated systems lack the resilience to replace human judgment. Realizing that code cannot replicate lost institutional knowledge, firms are aggressively rehiring workers to stabilize variable production ecosystems.	OilPrice	Europe Makes Big Energy Storage Push
Week 07/06/26 - 07/13/26		The recent Middle East ceasefire has collapsed, and the market is relearning what a real chokepoint costs the global economy. Tehran struck Oman and again declared Hormuz closed; Iranian forces also hit U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain; and Mr. Oil Market has gained over 3%. Turning to the war in Eastern Europe, Kyiv crippled fifteen Russian vessels--seven of them tankers--forcing a Kremlin diesel export ban that turns economic warfare into a global timeline-setter. The IMF now names two forces shaping 2026: the on-again/off-again Middle East war, and data centers. Have you paused to consider what might lie beneath the noise of war in these energy commodity markets? Stateside, the Hub has collapsed 8% on bloated storage, retreating heat, and an intensifying El Niño--supply drowning demand even as crude spikes on inventory scarcity and increasing geopolitical premiums. Meanwhile, countries such as India--which imports 85% of its fuel--watches inflation climb to 4.38%. Although big banks are expected to report big earnings, in part because of the AI boom, there is a quiet tell this boom might turn into a bust: firms are rehiring the humans that AI couldn't replace. If such a bust were to occur with the global economy already strained to its breaking point by two wars along with U.S.-China tensions, how likely is it the world would tip into a recession?
*MarCon (Market Condition 1-5, with 5 being the highest impact) indicates directional bias or price effect for the relevant commodity (Oil, Natural Gas, Chemicals, etc.) and is graded by our team of experts here at IIR.

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news, and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing, and energy-related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified, and verified plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).