Oil prices edged higher on Thursday, recovering part of the previous session’s losses as markets reassessed the likelihood of de-escalation in the Middle East. Iran indicated it is still reviewing a U.S. proposal aimed at ending the conflict, which has disrupted global energy flows.

Even as it reviews the proposal, Iran has no plans to engage in talks to end the expanding conflict, its foreign minister said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Washington would intensify pressure if Tehran does not accept that it has been “defeated militarily,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Crude oil price on March 26

Brent crude futures gained $1.13, or 1.1%, to $103.35 a barrel by 0051 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.08, or 1.2%, to $91.40 a barrel. Both benchmarks had fallen more than 2% on Wednesday.Iran said U.S. outreach appeared significant, keeping oil markets highly sensitive to further developments in negotiations and military actions.

The reported 15-point proposal from Trump, delivered via Pakistan, includes demands such as eliminating Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, halting enrichment activities, restricting its ballistic missile programme and cutting funding to regional allies, according to three Israeli cabinet sources familiar with the plan.
The conflict has severely disrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route that typically handles around one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. The International Energy Agency has described the situation as the largest oil supply disruption on record.
Iran has outlined a set of conditions for ending the conflict, stating that the first requirement is a complete halt to attacks and assassinations. It has called for firm guarantees to prevent any recurrence of war, along with a clear mechanism to assess and ensure compensation for war-related damages. Tehran also emphasised that hostilities must end not only against Iran but also against resistance groups across the region.
Additionally, it has demanded recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Until these conditions are met, Iran said its defensive operations will continue.

Further tightening supply concerns, about 40% of Russia’s oil export capacity remains offline following Ukrainian drone strikes, a disputed pipeline attack and tanker seizures, based on Reuters calculations using market data.

What lies ahead?

International brokerage Macquarie has said that even if tensions ease in the near term, oil prices are likely to find support in the $85–$90 range, with a gradual move back toward $110 until normal flows through the Strait of Hormuz resume. The note added that if disruptions persist through April, Brent could still climb to $150 per barrel.

Looking ahead, crude prices could move higher from current levels. According to Kayanat Chainwala of Kotak Securities, oil may rise to $120 per barrel in the near term and potentially touch $150 if the conflict continues.

Nuvama Institutional Equities echoes the same view. The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which handles around 20 million barrels per day, could push crude prices to the $110–150 per barrel range.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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Indian stock market exchanges NSE and BSE, will remain closed on Thursday on account of Shri Ram Navami. Trading activity is set to remain truncated in the coming days, with exchanges scheduled to be shut for two of the next eight seven due to a series of holidays.

The calendar features two shortened weeks, with next holidays being Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday. The following week will have only three trading sessions, resulting in a long weekend. Markets will remain closed on Tuesday, March 31, for Shri Mahavir Jayanti, and again on Friday, April 3, for Good Friday.

Is MCX open?
India’s largest commodity exchange, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), will remain shut for trading in the first session (9 am to 5 pm). Trading will resume in the evening session between 5 pm and 11:30 pm.MCX’s yearly calendar announces 16 trading holidays in 2026, during which the exchange will observe partial or full closures. The next holiday this month will be on March 31, 2026, for Shri Mahavir Jayanti. However, the market will be closed in the morning session only and will resume trading in the evening session.

The largest agri-commodity bourse, the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX), will remain closed in both sessions.
Stock market holidays in 2026
In total, there are 16 stock market holidays scheduled for 2026, of which three have already passed. After today and the two next week, trading will be suspended on 10 more occasions over the remaining nine months.Following Good Friday, the next holiday in April will be on April 14 for Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti, followed by Maharashtra Day on May 1 and Bakri Id on May 28.

In the second half of the year, trading will be suspended on Muharram on June 26, Ganesh Chaturthi on September 14 and Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. These will be followed by Dussehra on October 20, Diwali Balipratipada on November 10 and Guru Nanak Jayanti on November 24. The final market holiday for 2026 will be Christmas on December 25.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

U.S. oil prices rose in early trade on Thursday, recovering some of the previous day’s losses as investors assessed prospects for de-escalation in the Middle East and Iran reviewed a U.S. proposal ‌to ⁠end the ⁠war, which has disrupted energy flows from the Gulf.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed more than $1 to $91.42 a barrel at the open and were up 93 cents, or 1%, at $91.25 a barrel as of 2225 GMT.

WTI ⁠lost 2.2% ‌on Wednesday.

Iran is still reviewing a U.S. proposal to end the war ⁠in the Gulf despite an initial response that was negative, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, indicating that Tehran had so far stopped short of rejecting it outright.

U.S. President Donald Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran fails to ‌accept that the country has been “defeated militarily,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Iranian officials publicly scorned ⁠the prospect of any negotiations with the Trump administration. But an apparent delay in delivering a formal response to Pakistan, which delivered a 15-point proposal on behalf of Washington, appeared to signal that at least some figures in Tehran may be considering it.

The countdown is on to the 2026 Scottish elections – voters will be heading to the polls in just six weeks.

With a third of MSPs not seeking re-election, it will be a very different parliament to the last.

The BBC’s Scotland correspondent Lorna Gordon went to the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency to find out some of the key issues on voters’ minds.

Filmed and edited by Morgan Spence

Produced by Paul Ward

A car-sized asteroid designated 2026 FM3 will make a relatively close flyby of Earth late Wednesday, passing at a distance of about 148,000 miles — roughly 60% of the average Earth-moon separation — but posing no risk of impact, NASA officials said.

The asteroid, roughly 15 feet (about 4.5 meters) across, will reach its closest approach at 10:07 p.m. EDT on March 24, or 0207 GMT on March 25, traveling at approximately 12,168 mph (19,580 km/h) relative to Earth. Discovered just days ago, the space rock highlights both the frequency of near-Earth object flybys and the improving capabilities of planetary defense networks to detect them early.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, tracks thousands of near-Earth objects (NEOs) through its Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. Asteroid 2026 FM3 appears on the agency’s “Next Five Asteroid Approaches” list as a car-sized object, underscoring that small bodies routinely pass within lunar distances without threat. For context, the moon orbits Earth at an average of 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers).

“This is a routine close approach for objects of this size,” said a NASA spokesperson. “Asteroids like 2026 FM3 are too small to cause damage even if they were on a collision course, as most would burn up in the atmosphere. Our monitoring systems confirm it will safely pass by.”

The asteroid belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross Earth’s path around the sun. Such objects originate primarily from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, perturbed over time by gravitational interactions with planets.

At 15 feet wide, 2026 FM3 is comparable in size to a compact car. If it were to enter Earth’s atmosphere — which it will not — it would likely produce a bright fireball visible for hundreds of miles but cause no ground damage. Larger objects, roughly 80-100 feet across, are the threshold for potential regional effects, while those exceeding 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) could pose global hazards.

Wednesday’s flyby occurs amid heightened public interest in planetary defense. NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission in 2022 successfully altered the orbit of a small moonlet, demonstrating that kinetic impactors could deflect hazardous asteroids years in advance. The agency’s NEO Surveyor mission, scheduled for launch later this decade, will enhance infrared detection of dark, hard-to-spot objects.

Amateur and professional astronomers may attempt to observe 2026 FM3, though its small size and rapid motion make it challenging for backyard telescopes. At closest approach, the asteroid will appear as a faint, fast-moving point of light requiring precise ephemeris data and dark skies. Professional observatories equipped with larger instruments or radar, such as those at Goldstone or Arecibo’s successor facilities, sometimes characterize such objects during close passes.

The discovery of 2026 FM3 came via the Zwicky Transient Facility at Palomar Observatory in California, part of a global network scanning the skies nightly for transient events. Many small asteroids are found only days or weeks before their closest approaches, yet orbital calculations quickly rule out impact risks.

NASA maintains a catalog of more than 35,000 known NEOs, with roughly 2,300 classified as potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) — those larger than 460 feet (140 meters) whose orbits bring them within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of Earth. Objects the size of 2026 FM3 fall well below PHA criteria and are monitored primarily for scientific value.

Close approaches like this one provide opportunities to study asteroid composition, rotation and surface properties. Radar observations during flybys can reveal shape, spin rate and even loose rubble-pile structures common among small bodies. Data from such encounters refine models of solar system formation and help assess long-term deflection strategies.

Wednesday’s event follows a string of recent small-asteroid flybys. In early March, a bus-sized object designated 2026 EG1 passed about 198,000 miles from Earth, closer than the moon, just days after discovery. Another bus-sized asteroid, 2026 FQ2, made a more distant pass on March 24 at over 1.5 million miles. These frequent encounters demonstrate that Earth resides in a dynamic cosmic neighborhood where small bodies pass harmlessly on a near-weekly basis.

Public fascination with asteroids has grown with missions like OSIRIS-REx, which returned samples from Bennu, and Japan’s Hayabusa2 from Ryugu. These primitive bodies contain clues to the solar system’s early chemistry and the delivery of water and organic molecules to early Earth.

For skywatchers hoping to catch a glimpse, experts recommend checking astronomy apps or websites providing real-time tracking. However, 2026 FM3’s small size and speed mean it will not be visible to the naked eye. Those with moderate telescopes and accurate pointing data might detect it as a streaking dot against background stars.

The flyby occurs as global efforts to catalog and characterize NEOs accelerate. The International Asteroid Warning Network and Space Mission Planning Advisory Group coordinate responses to any future threats. No known asteroid larger than 100 feet poses an impact risk in the next century, according to current assessments.

Scientists emphasize that while Hollywood dramatizations often depict doomsday scenarios, the reality of small asteroid flybys is routine and educational. “These events remind us of the importance of continued vigilance and investment in planetary defense,” one astronomer noted. “Most asteroids are benign neighbors, but understanding them helps prepare for the rare larger threats.”

As 2026 FM3 speeds past Earth at more than 12,000 mph, it will continue its journey around the sun, returning for future approaches decades or centuries from now. Its brief visit offers a moment to appreciate the vastness of space and the technological prowess allowing detection of objects mere feet across millions of miles away.

NASA and international partners continue refining detection and tracking systems. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, set to begin full operations soon, will dramatically increase the discovery rate of NEOs, potentially finding thousands of new objects annually.

For now, residents of Earth can rest easy. The car-sized visitor will zip by harmlessly, a fleeting reminder of the solar system’s constant, mostly peaceful motion. Observers with clear skies and proper equipment may catch a scientific thrill, while the rest can simply marvel that humanity can spot and track a car-sized rock hurtling through space from millions of miles away.

After tonight’s encounter, attention will shift to the next listed approaches, including additional small objects on March 25. None currently pose any risk, continuing the pattern of safe passages that have protected Earth throughout human history.

Thailand can benefit from diversified supply chains due to global tensions, but Chris Humphrey emphasizes that political stability is crucial for effective regulatory reform.

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Key Points

• Thailand can benefit from supply chain diversification due to increasing global tensions.
• Chris Humphrey, Executive Director of the EU-ASEAN Business Council, emphasizes that political stability is crucial for regulatory reform.
• Humphrey shared insights during an interview with Franc Han Shih on The Nation Thailand’s business show, The Next Move.

Thailand’s Strategic Position in Global Supply Chains

Thailand is poised to capitalize on supply chain diversification as global tensions mount. With disruptions impacting traditional supply routes, Thailand’s geographical advantages and robust manufacturing base present significant opportunities for businesses seeking alternative sourcing locations. This shift in focus not only aims to secure supply chains but also seeks to attract foreign investments that can drive economic growth and resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges, reinforcing Thailand’s status as a vital player in the ASEAN region.

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Political Stability as a Catalyst for Reform

Despite these advantages, political stability remains a crucial element for Thailand’s success in fostering an environment conducive to regulatory reform. Chris Humphrey, the Executive Director of the EU-ASEAN Business Council, emphasized this during an interview with Franc Han Shih on The Nation Thailand’s program, The Next Move.

He noted that sustained political stability enables the government to implement effective reglations that can further streamline business operations and bring more foreign investment. Without this stability, the potential benefits of supply chain diversification may not be fully realized, hindering progress in various sectors.

Source : Thailand stands to benefit from supply chain diversification amid rising global tensions. However, Chris Humphrey says political stability remains key to driving regulatory reform.

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