WTI crude futures jumped 5.00% intraday to $96.77/bbl.

Sept 24 — At a routine briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded to a New Zealand cybersecurity agency's assertion that China poses a persistent cyber threat, saying China opposes hacking and will crack down on hackers under law. He said China rejects politically motivated false cybersecurity claims, urged New Zealand agencies to stop spreading lies and creating discord, and called for steps to strengthen mutual understanding and trust between China and New Zealand.

Repeated 2026 disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have been the largest exogenous shock to the petrochemical chain, driving sharp oil and chemical price volatility in the first nine months. Jul–Sep geopolitical escalation shifted market pricing from an emotional panic premium to concerns about actual supply tightness, lifting crude, olefins and aromatics. Looking into Q4, supply-demand dynamics may pivot from expectations of concentrated new-capacity starts toward phase‑wise tightening; geopolitically driven higher feedstock costs are likely to continue squeezing downstream margins and keep the market supported by cost with firm, volatile trading.