World markets
Against the backdrop of the ban by the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to buy Russian energy, traders are looking at thermal coal.
WASHINGTON, DC – The purpose of international sanctions is to inflict economic damage on an adversary. If you’re the United States, you do this by seizing assets or banning transactions with certain countries, often targeting specific people or organizations close to the targeted regime. Given the global reach of the dollar system, U.S. sanctions tend to strike fear everywhere. But now the U.S. finds itself in the shoes of the one receiving them.
US President Donald Trump has listed the goals of the military operation in Iran.
The March 19 summit of EU heads of state was supposed to focus on competitiveness and discuss comprehensive measures that would boost EU economic growth.
The price of gold went down this week – on March 18 it fell below $5000 per ounce and lost another 3% in the following days. But this is not due to a loss of confidence in the “eternal” precious metal, but just the opposite. Due to high liquidity, investors are urgently selling gold to cover losses as a result of the energy crisis and falling markets.
Moldova’s debt to the CIS amounts to 1.6 million lei. Foreign Minister Mihail Popşoi made it clear that Moldova is ready to repay it.
Russia is preparing to cut military spending for the first time since the start of the war against Ukraine. But this reduction does not mean a weakening of war funding: the government is looking for ways to spend more efficiently.
On Friday, March 20, the British pound fell in value due to rising oil prices, which worsened investor sentiment.
Russian oil company Lukoil has completely devalued its investments in foreign assets amid US sanctions.
In February 2026, the Moldovan grain market saw an increase in wheat export supplies. Last month, compared to the previous month, the volume of external wheat supplies almost doubled – from 40.4 thousand tons to 72.2 thousand tons. Apparently, farmers sold off their stocks to replenish working capital on the eve of the spring field work campaign.
The chaotic crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has made clear how power works in the twenty-first century. It reminds us that the greatest long-term threat to the United States is not China’s military buildup or Russian aggression, but the gradual fragmentation of the system of alliances that has provided its global leadership since World War II.
The Parliament adopted in the first reading two draft laws on the regulation of short supply chains of agri-food products, one from PAS and one from Democrația Acasă. The opposition faction used a special “argument” for clarity: the deputies were given bulbs.
Kazakh grain supplies resumed after a two-week break since the beginning of the war in the Middle East. This week Ak Bidai Terminal in Aktau started transshipment of grain to Iran.
The GTC 2026 Nvidia conference, held from March 16 to 19 in San Jose and attended by thousands of developers, investors and the world’s largest technology companies, cemented Nvidia’s status as the central architect of the global AI industry. The event, which a few years ago was perceived as an industry forum, today actually sets the agenda for the entire technology market – from cloud computing to enterprise software, according to Reuters.
The National Energy Regulatory Agency (NERA) has set new maximum fuel prices that will be in effect from March 21 to 23.
In the period from July 2025 to February 2026 inclusive, the Republic of Moldova exported 66.8 thousand tons of sunflower oil, which is almost six times higher than the extremely low volume of the previous season (only 11.65 thousand tons). In the current season, the processing of products inside the country resumed.
The winners of Skytrax World Airport Awards and AirlineRatings.com’s World’s Best Airline Awards by continent, region and category have been announced.
After three-hour talks with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, U.S. Special Envoy John Cole said that President Donald Trump calls Lukashenko his friend and a respected world leader.
Due to the crisis in the Middle East, global gas prices have increased. However, Moldova has not suffered yet – the country does not import gas from this region. Moreover, purchases are made under contracts indexed one month in advance. The director general of the National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE), Aleksey Taran, assured that the regulated gas price will remain unchanged for the time being.
Austria wants to temporarily reduce the tax on mineral fuels: as a first step, the tax on diesel and gasoline is to be reduced by 5 euro cents per liter each, the Austrian federal government has announced.
