CNBC Daily Open: Middle East tensions send oil higher while Iran-U.S. tensions escalate

Hello, this is Justina Lee writing to you from Singapore, filling in for Leonie. 

News of recent deadly attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea, and a worsening spill near Oman have renewed worries over supply disruptions, while tensions between Iran and the U.S. continue to escalate.

Over in Asia, Japan’s producer price growth in July missed analysts’ expectations, while traders celebrate a technical bull market in South Korea’s benchmark Kospi.

Worries over supply disruptions have sent oil prices higher, following news of recent deadly attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea, and as a spill near Oman worsens.

Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran are also a cause for concern. Despite President Donald Trump claiming repeatedly that Washington has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is pushing back his claims.

“The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran’s conditions are accepted,” the Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is on the move, ramping up oil exports through a Mediterranean pipeline to avoid attacks in the Red Sea by Houthi militants.

Over in Asia, the latest data on producer price growth in Japan missed analysts’ expectations, easing slightly to 7.2% year on year in July. Japan, which has been grappling with higher energy costs, saw electricity prices as being the biggest contributor to the producer price index in July.

In South Korea, traders cheered as the benchmark Kospi headed into a technical bull market, fueled by a revival in AI trade globally, following last month’s historic sell-off. Fundstrat Global Advisors believes there is still room for the rally in South Korean stocks to gain further, supported by strength returning to the country’s heavyweight memory chipmakers.

Over in the tech space, Chinese firm Yangtze Memory Technologies, which is gaining market share quickly in a critical chip sector, topped U.S. rival Micron and Japan’s Kioxia, according to data released by Counterpoint.

—Justina Lee

‘Nobody wants it’: Lettuce prices see record-setting plunge as cyclospora spooks consumers

Lettuce prices cratered in July as the multistate cyclospora outbreak pushed diners to shun the leafy green.

Prices for the vegetable tumbled 16.4% from June, the largest one-month decline on record, according to seasonally adjusted data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lettuce also posted the sharpest month-over-month deflation within the consumer price index’s food category in July, which saw overall prices tick up 0.1% in the period.

“It’s very likely due to the cyclospora outbreak and consumers just not wanting to buy lettuce right now,” said Jeremy Horpedahl, an associate economics professor at the University of Central Arkansas. The “consumer is just wanting to stay away from this product.”

—Alex Harring