The European Union is capable of meeting demand for gas this winter but its reserves are at "historically low" levels and will need to be monitored, the ENTSOG operators' association said Thursday.

"Europe is entering the winter with historically low storage levels while observing higher and more volatile global gas prices" as the Middle East war disrupts supplies, but the bloc's "gas infrastructure remains sufficiently flexible to meet demand", the association said.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Thursday delivered a speech to the Lebanese people from the Grand Serail, addressing the current economic situation and the challenges facing citizens amid rising prices and living burdens.

Salam began his address by acknowledging the burdens borne by citizens, particularly the increase in private electricity generator bills over the past two months, as well as the pressures imposed by rising fuel prices that force some families to choose between securing fuel and meeting other household needs.

The European Union is bracing for a confrontation with China as a trade deficit exceeding $1 billion a day heightens anxiety over potential job losses and pushes the bloc's political leaders to take a more aggressive approach toward its second-largest trading partner.

The European Commission's top trade envoy, Maroš Šefčovič, will be in Beijing Thursday for a two-day meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. The goal is narrowing the EU's 360 billion euro ($410 billion) trade deficit with China. Earlier this year, he gave Beijing a deadline of October to provide meaningful results in doing so.

Crude prices soared more than three percent Thursday after a report said the White House has asked the Pentagon to draw up options to hit sites in Iran ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

Global benchmark Brent surged 3.6 percent to $103.80 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was up 3.4 percent at $91.27, fueling fresh fears about a spike in inflation.

Countries both rich and poor must take faster action to cut debt and counter growing inequality as their economies weather a triple whammy from the artificial intelligence boom, heavy borrowing and shocks from wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the head of the IMF said Wednesday.

"Some very tough political choices stare us in the face," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech in Singapore ahead of autumn IMF-World Bank meetings to be held in Bangkok next week.

Iraq devalued its currency Wednesday, changing the official exchange rate from around 1,300 Iraqi dinars to the dollar to 1,500 dinars to the dollar.

The country's central bank said in a statement that the new exchange rate had been decided at a meeting of Iraq's Cabinet the night before "to meet the relevant financial, economic and monetary requirements."

The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that price increases for necessities like food and energy, fueled by the wars in Iran and Ukraine, were more persistent than previously expected.

Energy Minister Joe Saddi, who was named by the Lebanese Forces, announced Tuesday his boycott of cabinet sessions until the government takes the “needed decisions” in the thorny electricity file.

Global oil stockpiles are "scarily thin" owing to the U.S.-Iran war, Saudi Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser said Monday, days after G7 nations agreed to release more of their inventories to ease supply concerns.

U.S. oil prices dropped sharply Friday as G7 leaders held urgent talks to coordinate action on lowering fuel prices, after the EU said earlier it would work with the International Energy Agency on releasing further stocks to global markets.

West Texas Intermediate was down 4.0 percent at $89.15 a barrel, having fallen as far as five percent, while the international benchmark Brent crude was down 2.6 percent at $99.63 after several days of trading above the psychological threshold of $100 a barrel.