“The passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been slowed significantly by the persistent cycle of hostility between the United States and Iran. But whether prices at the pump rise or fall will depend not only on how much oil flows out of the Persian Gulf but also on decisions made by China,” the New York Times reports.

“Typically the world’s largest oil importer, China slashed purchases this spring, reducing demand by so much that it prevented oil prices from soaring even higher earlier in the war.”

“Now, one of the biggest questions facing the market is: When will China start buying more oil again?”

“Ukraine is targeting Russian energy infrastructure with its growing fleet of long-range drones and missiles, causing fuel shortages in one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers and embarrassing President Vladimir Putin,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“In dozens of strikes since this spring, Ukraine has pounded oil refineries across its larger neighbor, hitting all of Russia’s 10 biggest plants, based on capacity figures from S&P Global Energy. More than one-quarter of Russian refining capacity has been knocked offline, analysts estimate.”