Middle East conflict

[kgwilson]

Alan Kholer provides a good summary of the influence of religion in politics in this article below.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-09/oil-markets-qatar-gulf-iran-religion-litics-straight-of-hormuz/106380388

[randomx]

A lot of stuff going round the Pute's scared he'll be next.

Well, l'd doubt it, not by Trump anyway.

See the clip of some reporter asking Trump what he thought about Russia supplying Iran with intelligence on US targets, Trump shut it down like a brat called it a stupid question and still couldn't listen to anything bad about his Pute love.

[randomx]

How are fuel prices going in your area ?

Diesels gone from 182 here up to 2.05 over the wkend.

Whether it's the usual long wkend fuel gauge for some cash or Iran, dk. 

[willedoo]

It's possible the issue soon will be whether you can get fuel, rather than how much it costs. A lot of the fuel distributors have run out or are soon to run out, and the servos will shut when they run out of supplies. United has suspended all customer deliveries until they take stock of things. Hopefully it won't last too long. I filled up on Friday, so will just restrict driving to essential only for a while. The cities are prioritised so the country and regional areas will feel it first if it comes to that. 

[randomx]

Hmmm, l wonder, hope your wrong hate to think of prices if not.

Forgot to mention diesel was 173 here a wk and 1/2 ago. Then to 180s, now atm anyway , 205-210. lt is a long wkend though so we'll see through wk.

 

[red750]

$130 billion wiped of ASX, petrol stations running dry. Prices skyrocketing.

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

One if the issues is not the actual closure of the Hormuz Strait, but the unavailability of insurance. Most shipping is financed and every maritime finance agreement (usually leases) includes maintaining insurance as a covenant to the lease agreement. No insurance, no sailing - it is as simple as that.With the US rather stupidly torpedoing the Iranian warship, as far as Iran is concerned, if they weren't already, all bets are off. 

 

The other problem is most cargo/freight shipping is sold as futures contracts, which have specific terms and conditions. In theory, the freight has to be performed according to the standard terms and conditions, which I think includes route stipulation. So, if the route markedly changes, and it's really not profitable to reroute, under the standard terms, force majuere may be able to be invoked and the futures contract voided. If there is no force majuere clause, the shipper may have to reroute, but een then it can be an issue,because the freight contract will specify a time to deliver. 

 

In either case, the shipper may well go broke - or at leastdeclare bankruptcy. 

 

In the former case (lease agreement), two things happen. The lessor/s take control of the ship - which is an unusual occurence, or the lesee will moor the ship in a dangerous area (e.g. Somalia) and let the lessor/s know they can pick it up there (more often). This will take out shipping capacity. 

 

And with an absence of supply while demand goes high... and costs increase... frieght spot prices which are not subject to the same constraints as futures contracts will skurocket. Yeah, they can reroute and the supplies will take a week or two longer to get to where they are going, but you are going to pay for it.

 

 

[rgmwa]

The Washington Post and other sources have reported that two ships owned by an Iranian company that the US has accused of supplying material to Iran's missile program left a Chinese chemical-storage port during the week and appeared to be headed towards Iran, according to a Washington Post analysis of ship-tracking data, satellite imagery and Treasury Department records. They are known to have transported perchlorate in the past to make rocket fuel. I wonder how far they'll get. 

 

[onetrack]

The next thing to cause worry is not just fuel, but fertiliser and chemicals. As many farmers head into seeding by mid-to-late April, a lack of fuel is just the start of the seeding programme problems, and the unavailability of fertiliser and weedicides (which are nearly all shipped in from overseas, and a lot via the Straits of Hormuz) is going to cause some agricultural users, some stress.

 

Urea is a major fertiliser in big demand, and nearly all of it comes from the petrochemical refineries of the Middle East, such as Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

[randomx]

One things for sure from here , whatever happens our servos will be happily gouging away for at least a yr or two after this all the way to the bank. Even if the war ended next wk.

[onetrack]

I got this advice (below) from Fuelwatch W.A. 

 

"Tomorrow (Tuesday, 10 March 2026), most branded metro sites are again hiking their diesel price:

Ampol up to 251.9 cents per litre (cpl);

EG Ampol up to 244.9 cpl;

Caltex up to 243.9 cpl;

BP up to 239.9 cpl;

Reddy Express up to 235.9 cpl;

Vibe up to 233.7 cpl; and United up to 231.9 cpl. This follows diesel hikes the last five days by most of the major brands.

Tomorrow's average metro diesel price will be 226.2 cpl, however there will be over 20 Perth sites selling below 209 cpl."

 

I paid $1.60 to fill up my diesel Hilux last Tuesday (3rd March). 

[Jerry_Atrick]

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Behind a paywall,but it looks like the Iranian women's soccer team have taken a like to Australia: https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/sos-hand-signal-as-bus-drives-iranian-women-s-soccer-team-from-final-match-20260309-p5o8mq.html

Edited 5 hours ago by Jerry_Atrick

[onetrack]

29 minutes ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

 

A bit galling to see him wearing an Ampol-branded shirt!!?