MERZ said the European Commission will be given new trade tools to respond quickly to developments.

China's National Bureau of Statistics said industrial producer factory-gate prices rose 5.0% year-on-year and 1.2% month-on-month in September 2026.

Vortexa reports a US maritime blockade has reduced Iranian seaborne crude exports to zero since the second week of September, with flows still at zero as of Oct. 5. Iran’s 14‑day average export at the start of September was about 230k b/d. Tanker afloat storage for Iran has fallen to roughly 83 mln bbl, of which about 43 mln bbl are stranded west of the Strait of Hormuz due to the blockade. Iranian LPG exports fell 48% MoM in September, the weakest since at least Jan. 2023. By contrast, Russia’s September crude exports rose 6% MoM to about 3.79 mln b/d, representing roughly 80% of the combined high‑risk exports from Iran, Russia and Venezuela. The three countries’ combined September exports were about 4.73 mln b/d, down from 6.39 mln b/d a year earlier. Excluding Iran, Gulf oil exports have recovered to over 81% of pre‑conflict levels, led by a rebound in Saudi shipments.