LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (March 26, 2026)

Stock and bond markets fell on Thursday as oil surged more than 5%, with Iran's denial of any talks with the US deepening doubts over the prospect of a quick ceasefire in the near one-month-long Middle East war.

Conflicting signals over the scope of contact, plus reports of thousands of US troops being sent to the region, snapped a three-day rebound in world stocks and reignited selling in global debt markets.

After falls in Asia—where the Philippines held an unscheduled central bank meeting due to the turmoil—European stocks and government bond prices dropped as Germany's central bank head said an ECB rate increase next month was "an option"and Norway said it was now likely to hike rates this year too.

The Philippines has purchased two of Russia's far-eastern ESPO Blend cargoes of some 1.5 million barrels of crude oil, according to data from financial analytics firm LSEG.

It was earlier reported that the country had acquired 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil carried by the Sierra Leone-flagged tanker Sara Sky. However, according to LSEG, the tanker Tiger Wings also shipped oil to Limay port, where the terminal for the Bataan refinery is located.

With Asian countries lining up to buy Russian oil as the Iran war blocks supplies, the possibility that demand may exceed supply has been raised, several sources including Russia said.

Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

South Korea prepares 'wartime' budget 

South Korea will roll out a $17 billion "wartime" supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts as the war in Iran pushes up energy prices, the government said Thursday.

"The government will draw up a supplementary budget worth 25 trillion won next month -- funded by excess tax revenue -- in response to the prolonged Middle East conflict," the government said in a statement.

A day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law the measure allowing the suspension or reduction of excise tax on oil, Malacañang said the exact reduction rate is still under review.

At Thursday’s press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro was asked whether a computation had already been made on how much the excise tax on fuel products would be reduced—or if it would be fully suspended.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Thursday announced several flight cancellations as part of adjustments prompted by the ongoing fuel crisis.

Several oil companies on Thursday said they still have enough fuel supply until April, but the importations beyond that is uncertain amid the heightened tensions in the Middle East. 

During the continuing hearing of the Senate’s Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy (PROTECT) hearing, Chevron Philippines Inc. president and Country Chairman Pongtorn Tangmanuswong said that their inventory is only sufficient until the last week of April. 

A ship carrying more than 700,000 barrels of Russian crude oil has arrived in the Philippines, a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP Thursday, days after the country declared a national energy emergency over the Middle East war.

The Sierra Leone-flagged Sara Sky, bearing high-quality crude from Russia's ESPO pipeline arrived on Monday, with documents showing the consignee as Petron Corp, operator of the Philippines' sole oil refinery, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not authorised to speak to press.

SAMUT SAKHON, Thailand —  A surge in diesel prices triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran is pushing Thailand's multibillion-dollar fishing industry towards a standstill, with fishermen warning that their boats could be idled within days unless the government steps in.

At the country's largest fishing port in a central province along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, over half of the fishing trawlers are already docked and those still operating would likely stop work within days, said Jumpol Kanawaree, president of the Samut Sakhon Fishmonger Association.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is urging more companies to join the interruptible load program (ILP), a voluntary plan where businesses can temporarily cut electricity use to help keep the power grid stable, as global fuel prices continue to rise amid the Middle East conflict.

According to Meralco, it is proactively calling on more customers to increase the available de-loading capacity under the ILP, which currently has 105 companies enrolled for a total de-loading capacity of 513 megawatts.

“We continue to encourage enrollment because the program becomes more effective the more we have customers that can participate,” Meralco Generation and Transmission Economics lead specialist Ma. Leticia Sapina said in a statement.

Some commuters were stranded in parts of Metro Manila on Thursday morning as transport groups staged a two-day nationwide strike against rising fuel prices, transport group MANIBELA and police said. 

“May mga stranded kasi kahit alam natin na rally, mayroon pa rin talagang lumalabas kahit hindi naman gaanong ka-importante yung kanilang mga lakad,” National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) spokesperson Police Major Hazel Asilo told reporters in an interview.

(There were stranded commuters because some with not so important activities still decided to go out despite the transport strike.)

“So, nagko-contribute sila doon sa bulto nung mga kababayan natin na pumapasok sa kanilang mga schools at sa kanilang mga trabaho,” he added.

(So, they are contributing to the volume of commuters who are going to schools and workplaces.)