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(1) According to officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea, the country will launch a strategic oil swap plan to help local refiners cope with crude oil supply disruptions. The government will first provide strategic reserve crude oil, and refiners will repay with replacement crude oil once their subsequent imports arrive.(2) Official sources state that all four major South Korean refining companies have applied for the plan, with the total swap volume for April to May exceeding 20 million barrels.(3) This measure aims to shorten the crude oil import delivery cycle from 14 to 50 days. Due to supply disruptions in the Middle East, companies are seeking to source crude oil from regions such as Africa, the United States, and Australia.

BlockBeats News, March 31st, a strategist from UBS said that the prolonged Iran conflict and high oil prices may signal the end of the gold rally. The Swiss bank's precious metals strategist Joni Teves said in an interview last Friday that investors may be witnessing the final stage of the gold bull market. "We believe that the gold price cycle is broadly in line with the Fed's policy cycle, so we expect the rally to gradually fade by the end of the year, with the gold price consolidating at lower levels over the next few years," she said. Teves said that UBS's base case expectation is that after a period of consolidation, with ongoing fund inflows, the gold price will hit new highs later this year. "However, it should be noted that the ongoing Middle East conflict could lead to significant changes in the macroeconomic outlook and policy expectations, thereby altering the medium- to long-term trajectory of gold prices." (Jinse)

PANews, March 31 — Huma Finance posted a reminder on X stating that its partner Arf's official X account @arf_one has been compromised. Please refrain from interacting with any posts from this account until it is restored.