BRENT: -
WTI: -
NAT GAS: -
EUR/USD: -
GBP/USD: -
USD/CNY: -
USD/INR: -
USD/JPY: -
HORMUZ: BLOCKADE HOLDS, ACTIVELY HOSTILE: JUST 1 TANKER TRANSITED JUL 23, LOWEST SINCE MAY 7; THIRD-FLAG LPG TANKER DISHA ATTACKED INSIDE STRAIT JUL 24, CREW SAFE / CENTCOM COMPLETES 13TH CONSECUTIVE NIGHT OF STRIKES / NAVAL BLOCKADE ENFORCEMENT: 8 VESSELS REDIRECTED, 1 DISABLED / CUMULATIVE US MILITARY DEATHS: 18 KIA, CONFIRMED / ~482 WOUNDED / WAR-RISK PREMIUMS ~5% HULL VALUE (NEW MARKET NORM, WITHIN 3-10% BAND) / Day 148 / BRENT $96.78/bbl (-3.9% Jul 24 settlement) / DEAL COLLAPSE: 85-90% / Physical reopening: Q4 2026 BASE CASE
BAB EL-MANDEB: SAUDI ARABIA STRIKES BACK: coalition hit Houthi sites in Hodeidah governorate Jul 24, first Saudi combat action against the blockade, making good on its Jul 22 force threat; Houthis vow "escalation for escalation," unexecuted as of this writing / FLAG-BASED BLOCKADE HOLDS: closed to Saudi-FLAGGED tankers, not Saudi-origin cargo -- two Chinese-operated VLCCs (Xin Long Yang, Cosnew Lake; Singapore- and Hong Kong-flagged) carried ~4M bbls of Saudi-origin Yanbu crude through without incident Jul 23-24 / Encelia strike (Jul 22) remains the only confirmed vessel hit; second tanker Layla claimed struck, still unconfirmed / War-risk hull premium 1-3% of vessel value (Insurance Journal, Jul 23), up from 0.75% baseline set on the Jul 20 declaration, Saudi-linked southern Red Sea voyages as high as 3%, under renewed pressure post-Hodeidah / Closure risk revised up to 70-85%
SUEZ: Normal / 5.5M bbl/d
MALACCA: Normal / 16.3M bbl/d

Scenario Reports

Probability-weighted analysis of high-impact events with structured what-if outcomes.

SCENARIO REPORT July 23, 2026 13 min read

The Sounion Test: What Comes After the First Confirmed Strike at Bab el-Mandeb

A Saudi-flagged tanker has been hit and confirmed burning at Bab el-Mandeb, resolving yesterday's open question. Five paths now run through the next fourteen days on the narrower one: does Riyadh convert its threat of force into action, and does the corridor go the way of the Sounion or hold as a priced, tolerated risk.

Scenario PlannerMaritime AnalystEnergy StrategistGeopolitical Strategist
SCENARIO REPORT July 22, 2026 12 min read

The Xin Long Yang Test: Five Paths for Saudi Arabia's Last Bypass

One VLCC has now reversed course twice in as many days off Bab el-Mandeb, the clearest live test of whether Saudi Arabia's last Hormuz bypass survives. The panel's tree runs from a paper embargo that never bites to Riyadh's own guns, with the ship's next move the fastest-resolving indicator on the board.

Scenario PlannerMaritime AnalystEnergy StrategistGeopolitical Strategist
SCENARIO REPORT July 12, 2026 14 min read

Closed Until Further Notice: Five Paths From the Blown Deadline

The IRGC's first formal total-closure declaration in 135 days, a third CENTCOM wave, and the war's first four-country Gulf barrage all landed after Friday's $76.01 Brent close printed. Two independently weighted panel models put fair value $8-13 above that stale tape before futures reopen tonight. Five paths through the next 7-14 days, and the single fastest-resolving indicator: the fate of the next tracked merchant transit through the southern corridor, observable inside 72 hours.

Scenario PlannerGeopolitical StrategistEnergy StrategistDefense AnalystMaritime Analyst
SCENARIO REPORT July 8, 2026 13 min read

The Vacant Veto: Five Paths From the Second Exchange

CENTCOM's second strike on Iran and Tehran's retaliation against Bahrain and Kuwait land while no single Iranian authority holds a functioning veto over the IRGC. Five paths, a $5.65 gap between the market's after-hours print and what this tree implies, and the one confirmation that resolves most of the uncertainty inside 48 hours.

Scenario PlannerGeopolitical StrategistDefense AnalystEnergy StrategistMiddle East Expert
SCENARIO REPORT July 1, 2026 11 min read

The Linkage Clause: Five Paths From Lebanon to Hormuz

Hezbollah voided its Lebanon ceasefire and fired on Ashdod Naval Base June 30. The IRGC's standing warning that any ceasefire violation suspends all related processes gives Tehran's hardliners an ambiguous trigger over the Hormuz stand-down. Five paths, a market that has not priced the linkage, and the single sentence that separates noise from a reopened war.

Scenario PlannerGeopolitical StrategistDefense AnalystEnergy Strategist
SCENARIO REPORT June 28, 2026 11 min read

Bahrain and Kuwait Struck: Four Paths from Day 121

Iran's overnight strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait crossed a threshold that expands the escalation envelope for every subsequent move. Four scenario paths, a $23-25 Brent underpricing, and a 72-hour decision window.

Scenario PlannerGeopolitical StrategistDefense AnalystEnergy Strategist
SCENARIO REPORT June 27, 2026 10 min read

After the Strike: Four Paths from Tehran's Decision Room

CENTCOM struck Iran for the first time in 120 days. The Burgenstock roadmap is nominally intact. Tehran has four options, and which one it chooses in the next 48-72 hours determines whether Brent trades $67 or $92. The FM's continued silence on escalatory language is the highest-signal variable in oil markets.

Scenario PlannerGeopolitical StrategistDefense AnalystEnergy Strategist
SCENARIO REPORT June 1, 2026 14 min read

Hormuz Strait Reopening Scenarios

Three-scenario framework for the unsigned 60-day Hormuz MoU at Day 94: signed with mines cleared and flow resuming (40%, Brent $80-88), signed but commercially shut under reversible waivers and uncleared mines (35%, Brent $88-95), and talks collapse with combat resuming (25%, Brent $110-120). The April war-snapback tail did not fire; the structural-stall case is what materialized. Strait open on paper, near-zero transits since ~May 6, ~600 tankers trapped inside the Gulf and 240-plus outside.

Scenario PlannerEnergy StrategistGeopolitical Strategist