US fuel exports surge as pump prices rise

Good morning and welcome to FirstFT. In today’s newsletter:

• US energy exports surge as Europe and Asia lean on American supplies

• The story everyone on Wall Street is talking about

• How the Iran war is dividing the Maga movement

• And remembering media mogul Ted Turner

You can listen to today’s top news stories in the FT News Briefing podcast.

US fuel exports have surged to record levels as Europe and Asia lean on American energy supplies to make up for shortfalls caused by the Iran war.

Energy windfall: The surge in overseas purchases is contributing to a windfall for US energy companies, who may earn an additional $60bn of cash flow this year if prices remain elevated.

More than 8.2mn barrels a day of refined fuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel were shipped from the US overseas last week, an increase of more than 20 per cent on the same period last year, according to the latest data from the US Energy Information Administration.

Political risks: Domestic pump prices, however, have risen, creating risks of a political backlash for US President Donald Trump. The average price of petrol reached a four-year high of $4.53 a gallon recently.

“This is getting ugly for the administration,” said Robert Yawger, a commodity specialist at Mizuho Securities. “If gasoline gets to $5 they may have to pull the export ban card out.”

The White House has repeatedly insisted it will not ban exports of fuel, which have become a lifeline for European and Asian economies. Oil prices continued to fall today, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, back below $100 a barrel in European trading on possible signs of progress in efforts to end the US-Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The oil price has swung wildly this week, hitting close to $115 on Monday as Trump announced a plan for the US to begin escorting ships through the strait. He later rowed back, citing pressure from mediators. Our live blog has the latest news on fuel prices.

Here’s what else we’re keeping tabs on today:

• Citigroup investor day: Chief executive Jane Fraser is expected to unveil her strategy for the US bank at an investor day. The event will be livestreamed here.

• Company earnings: McDonald’s, Carlyle Group, CoreWeave, Gilead and Airbnb are among the companies reporting first-quarter results.

• Rubio in Rome: The US secretary of state will meet Pope Leo as the White House seeks to repair relations with the Vatican after Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on the Chicago-born head of the Catholic Church.

• UK elections: Millions of voters go to the polls in England, Scotland and Wales as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer comes under pressure ahead of expected heavy losses for the governing party. Read more on the UK local elections.

What will Trump’s war on Iran mean for global trade? Senior trade writer Alan Beattie will answer readers’ questions on how Donald Trump is reshaping global trade from 8am ET. Follow the Q&A here.

Five more top stories

1. The UK and US have activated virus control protocols to combat the possible spread of hantavirus, a rodent-borne illness, from a cruise ship. The virus-hit ship, the MV Hondius, is due to arrive in the Canary Islands at the weekend. Barney Jopson in Madrid and Michael Peel in London are following developments.

2. A US federal judge yesterday released a suicide note purportedly written by Jeffrey Epstein, in which the late child sex offender said it was “a treat” to choose “one’s time to say goodbye”. Epstein’s former cellmate Nicholas Tartaglione claimed to have discovered the handwritten message during a suicide attempt a few weeks before Epstein died in a Manhattan jail. Read more on what the note said.

3. Hedge funds have enjoyed their best monthly performance since 2020, as managers profited from a blistering rally in technology stocks such as Intel, Alphabet and AMD. A global hedge fund index collated by data group HFR jumped 5 per cent in April, the biggest rise since November 2020, according to preliminary figures.

4. Airbus has won an order for 150 new A220-300 aircraft in a “$19bn deal” with budget carrier AirAsia, that is a major boost for the planemaker’s Canadian manufacturing base. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the deal which is the country’s biggest ever commercial aircraft order.

5. Lawyers from elite Wall Street firms supplied confidential information to an insider trading ring that netted tens of millions of dollars in illicit profits over a decade, US federal prosecutors alleged in charges filed on Wednesday. The law firms involved in the scheme are not named but here’s what we know about the individuals and firms involved in the nearly 30 major transactions.

Today’s Big Read

James Fishback, a young Republican running for governor of Florida, embodies the ferment roiling the American right as erstwhile ideological allies turn on each other with a ferocity normally reserved for their Democratic opponents. The Iran war has been the trigger for the vitriol convulsing the president’s Maga coalition. “There’s a real civil war happening in the Republican Party right now,” says Fishback.

We’re also reading . . . 

• The story captivating Wall Street: A married ex-JPMorgan investment banker is at the centre of a salacious lawsuit that accuses a female executive of turning him into an “office sex slave”. 

• HSBC’s private credit losses: The bank did not lend to collapsed mortgage provider MFS. It took a $400mn hit anyway. Here’s why.

• Waiting game: Patience has worked well for Berkshire Hathaway and Apple. But patience also carries risks, writes Robert Armstrong.

Chart of the day

Immigration is changing Spain. The country accounted for a quarter of new EU jobs created this decade, with 70 per cent having gone to immigrants. What effect the arrivals have on housing, crime and politics is the subject of fierce debate.

Take a break from the news . . .

Ted Turner, the billionaire media owner, has died aged 87. He created CNN, the world’s first 24-hour television news channel, in 1980 amid much industry scepticism and predictions it would “crash in flames”. But not only did it succeed it went on to transform television news and turned the “Mouth of the South” into a player on the world stage.