- US lifts Russia restrictions -

The US Treasury Department said it would temporarily allow the sale of Russian oil that is at sea, as energy prices soared after US-Israeli strikes on Iran plunged the crude-rich Middle East into war.

French President Emmanuel Macron said after a video call with Group of Seven advanced economies that easing sanctions on Moscow -- imposed over its war in Ukraine -- was "in no way" justified.

Russia's economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev said that the global energy market "cannot remain stable" without his country's oil.

- Oil up, stocks down -

Brent crude inched further above $100 a barrel and European and Asian stocks fell after Iran vowed to attack oil resources in the Middle East and keep choking the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

There are fears that the rise in energy prices could cause a fresh spike in inflation throughout the global economy.

- China-US talks -

With energy markets reeling from the impact of the war on Iran, China's top economic official will leave on Saturday for talks with his US counterpart in France, less than three weeks before President Donald Trump's expected summit with President Xi Jinping. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to lead the US delegation.

Beijing is a close partner of Tehran but has criticised Iranian strikes against Gulf states.

- Nepal restricts cooking gas -

Nepal has started selling half-filled cooking gas cylinders to curb hoarding and panic buying, officials said, following import disruptions caused by the war.

The landlocked Himalayan nation of 30 million relies almost entirely on India for its fossil fuel needs and some 90 percent of India's liquefied petroleum gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

- Australia slams price-gouging -

Australia's energy minister warned Friday against "dangerous" price gouging of petrol as he relaxed rules on how much fuel companies needed to hold in stock in a bid to boost supply.

The country, which relies on oil imports for fuel, has seen petrol prices spike due to panic buying since the outbreak of the war.

- Iran vows to keep Strait of Hormuz closed -

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei called for using "the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz", which the country's Revolutionary Guards vowed to carry out.

The strait is a key waterway through which a fifth of global crude and gas passes.

Earlier, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US military was "not ready" to escort tankers through the strait as all its assets are focused on striking Iran.

- Drones near Iraqi oil field -

Two drones fell near a major southern Iraqi oil field, oil ministry officials told AFP, hitting communications towers near the Majnoon site, without causing casualties or material damage," one official told AFP.

The oil field had already paused operations prior to the incident.

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