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The U.S. military is deploying a large amphibious assault ship with thousands of additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East, three U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday, as it weighs a plan to seize Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub.
A third the size of Manhattan, Kharg Island could be taken over quickly and serve as crucial leverage in the campaign to get Tehran to release its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, reports Bloomberg.
Trump has ruled out troops there for the time being — “I’m not putting troops anywhere,” he said earlier this week — but he has ordered Marines to head to the region. They include the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit from Japan, with more than 2,000 troops
The Pentagon has asked for an additional $200 billion from Congress to pay for the war, further signaling that the administration is bracing for a more protracted conflict.
This comes as Iranian officials have reportedly become reluctant to even discuss the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as they focus on surviving the U.S.-Israeli onslaught, according to Bloomberg who cited a person involved in direct, high-level contacts with Tehran.
Energy infrastructure attacks and strikes on high-profile Iranian officials, including the recent killing of security chief Ali Larijani, mark an escalation that is slowing attempts to get commercial ships moving again, the person added, speaking anonymously to discuss private talks.
Iran’s refusal to engage on Hormuz means the UK, France and other countries have lost footing in a push to escort vessels through the strait once the war stops, however there is no end in sight.
Watch Diesel: Given its ubiquitousness, diesel’s rising costs crease higher prices for just about anything further down the supply chain, notes Bloomberg.
Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at accounting, tax and consultancy firm RSM US, says it has a real ripple effect. He estimates a 10% rise in diesel implies a 0.1% increase in the headline consumer price index. That means if today’s elevated prices hold, the inflation reading could climb as much as 0.4%. (Economists tend to look at so-called core inflation numbers, which exclude food and energy, rather than the headline number, to get a better sense of underlying trends.) The next US CPI reading is due on April 10.
Force Majeure: Iraq has declared a force majeure on all oilfields developed by foreign oil companies as military operations in the region have disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, preventing most of the country’s crude exports from moving, according to Reuters who cited the oil ministry.
Rate-hikes to come? Market pricing for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hike by September is about 75%, with better-than-even odds of a hike as early as July, according to Reuters.
Five days ago, the market had no hint of rate-hike expectations at all this year, let alone for July, and showed traders firmly believed the Fed’s next move would be to reduce borrowing costs. As recently as last month, financial markets reflected expectations for two rate cuts by the end of the year.
The reversal began this week as the Iran conflict escalated and Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated he did not believe the risks to the job market outweighed the risks to inflation. Late this week, the shift gathered steam, especially after Fed Governor Christopher Waller, an influential dovish figure at the central bank, said the risk of persistent inflation arising from the war with Iran was strong enough to convince him to cast his vote for keeping interest rates on hold this week, instead of cutting them as he had previously thought.
Stocks have dropped and the yield on the two-year Treasury note – which closely tracks the direction of Fed policy surged.
Staying power? Federal Reserve Chari Jerome Powell’s upcoming decision on whether to keep his seat on the U.S. central bank’s Board of Governors after his leadership term ends is now a key factor in the tenure of his would-be successor Kevin Wash evolves and whether President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent can pursue any overhaul of the Fed’s structure, operations and monetary policy, according to a Reuters report.
A few analysts still feel it’s unlikely the Fed will end up with “two popes” and feel the current back and forth between Powell and the Republican senators who back him, and Pirro and the Trump administration will end with the investigation closed, Warsh confirmed as the head of the central bank by the U.S. Senate, and Powell retiring.
Cattle on Feed: USDA on Friday said the number of cattle on feed as of Mar. 1 fell 0.3% from a year earlier, while placements last month increased, and marketings during February declined from the same period in 2025.
USDA said cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.549 million head on Mar. 1, down 0.3% from the same date a year ago. Placements in feedlots during February totaled 1.611 million head, 4 percent above 2025 according to the report. Net placements were 1.56 million head.
Breaking down by weight, USDA said:
- Placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 305,000 head,
- 600-699 pounds were 280,000 head,
- 700-799 pounds were 445,000 head,
- 800-899 pounds were 396,000 head,
- 900-999 pounds were 130,000 head, and
- 1,000 pounds and greater were 55,000 head.
Marketings of fed cattle during February totaled 1.522 million head, 7 percent below 2025.
The figures weren’t far out of line with pre-report estimates (see table above), although placements came in slightly higher than expected. A Reuters survey found an average estimate for cattle on feed at 99.3% of a year ago, while placements were seen at 100.2% and marketings at 92.6%.
Other disappearance totaled 50,000 head during January, 17 percent below 2025, USDA said.
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Big crops in Argy: Argentina is shipping out grains at a strong pace this season as record sunflower exports and strong corn sales help absorb one of the country’s most robust harvests in years, according to the Rosario Grains exchange. However, the conflict in the Middle East is adding volatility to prices and raising freight costs.
The exchange reported the country is benefiting from record corn and wheat production and its best sunflower harvest of the century, with exports providing an outlet for abundant supplies.
Sunflower has emerged as one of the biggest winners of the 2025-26 season, according to the exchange, with sunflower exports posting their strongest start to the marketing year since 2005 and shipments of raw sunflower seed have hit unprecedented levels in the first quarter.
Corn harvest is advancing quickly, with deliveries picking up hastily at the Rosario export hub. The country’s new corn export season is expected to break records, topping 4 MMT.
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