Lithium stocks surged on April 17 due to rising crude oil prices amid Middle East tensions. Key companies like Sigma Lithium and Albemarle saw significant gains as demand for battery energy storage systems is expected to grow.

Indonesia's rupiah has hit a record low against the Singapore dollar due to rising oil prices and capital outflows from financial markets. Concerns about demand for Singaporean services and export flows to Indonesia are growing. The central bank's interventions aim to stabilize the currency.

The CFTC is investigating unusual oil trades linked to President Trump's announcements on Truth Social, raising concerns of potential insider trading or market manipulation. Details on the trades and involved entities remain undisclosed.

Crypto hedge funds are diversifying into traditional commodities and equity indices, indicating that crypto trading infrastructure is merging with mainstream finance, as reported by Bloomberg.

The IMF has downgraded its 2026 global growth forecast to 3.1%, citing risks of recession from rising oil prices and US-Iran tensions. Bitcoin has also dropped significantly amid poor macroeconomic conditions and rising global debt.

Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen believes the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates this year, despite uncertainty from the Iran war and oil price volatility. She sees a broad supply shock impacting various sectors but suggests stable inflation expectations make rate hikes unlikely.

A whale address was liquidated for $10.3 million in long positions after a sudden oil price drop, resulting in a $1.14 million loss, as reported by Lookonchain. The positions involved crude oil futures benchmarks.

Gate News message, April 14 — WTI crude oil futures (U.S. benchmark crude oil) extended losses to 4%, trading at $87.113 per barrel as of April 15.

Gate News message, a trader with address 0x18b0 incurred significant losses through two consecutive trading decisions. The trader sold 499.9 ETH for $1.1M at $2,197 before ETH price increased, resulting in a loss of $82.5K. Subsequently, the trader opened a long position on oil immediately before it

Gate News message, on April 14, Lighter officially announced the launch of a Liquidity Partner Program, which will reward users who provide liquidity for RWA assets on the platform. The RWA asset categories covered by the program include crude oil, precious metals, U.S. stocks, and more.