Oil prices start last week of June higher, on pace for monthly gain as Israel-Lebanon tensions simmer
Crude oil futures kicked off the last week of June slightly higher and are on pace to post a gain for the month, as signs point to strengthening gasoline demand in the US and geopolitical tensions flare again in the Middle East.
Oil prices pulled back Friday, snapping a recent winning streak, but closed out the week nearly 3% higher. West Texas Intermediate and Brent are on pace for a monthly gain of 5.3% and 4.7%, respectively.
U.S. crude oil booked its worst month of the year in May, but prices have bounced back on hopes that the market will tighten on summer fuel demand.
Here are today’s energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate August contract: $81.08 per barrel, up 35 cents, or 0.43%. Year to date, U.S. oil is up 13%.
- Brent August contract: $85.48 per barrel, up 24 cents, or 0.28%. Year to date, the global benchmark is ahead by 11%.
- RBOB Gasoline July contract: $2.51 per gallon, down 0.29%. Year to date, gasoline is up 19.2%.
- Natural Gas July contract: $2.74 per thousand cubic feet, up 1.55%. Year to date, gas has gained 9.2%.
“The chief underlying reason behind the price strength, nonetheless, is the growing confidence that global oil inventories will inevitably plunge during the summer in the northern hemisphere,” Tamas Varga, an analyst with oil broker PVM, said in a note Monday.
Ryan McKay, senior commodity strategist at TD Securities, said supply risks are now back in focus as tensions are building on the Israel-Lebanon border. Israel and the Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah have traded threats of war in recent weeks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would re-deploy forces to the north of the country as the intensive phase the war in Gaza comes to an end.
“A renewed surge in our energy supply risk indicator can further support price action in the near term,” McKay told clients in a note Monday, but the strategist argued that funds would start to liquidate long positions if WTI falls below $81 per barrel.
WTI vs. Brent
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citi have all forecast that inventories should start to fall on fuel demand OPEC+ maintaining output cuts until October.
U.S. oil, gasoline, and distillate inventories fell for the week ending June 14, the most recent available data. JPMorgan said gasoline consumption had surged to 9.4 million barrels per day that same week, the highest level for the period since the pandemic ended.
First Solar just cut the ribbon on a huge new factory in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, and it dwarfs the New Orleans Superdome. The company’s $1.1 billion, fully vertically integrated facility spans 2.4 million square feet, or about 11 times the size of the stadium’s main arena.
The factory began production quietly in July, a few months ahead of schedule, and employs more than 700 people. First Solar expects that number to hit 826 by the end of the year. Once it’s fully online, the site will add 3.5 GW of annual manufacturing capacity. That brings the company’s total US footprint to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when its newly announced South Carolina plant is anticipated to come online.
The Louisiana plant produces First Solar’s Series 7 modules using US-made materials — glass from Illinois and Ohio, and steel from Mississippi, which is fabricated into backrails in Louisiana.
The new factory leans heavily on AI, from computer vision that spots defects on the line to deep learning tools that help technicians make real‑time adjustments.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry says the investment is already a win for the region, bringing in “hundreds of good-paying jobs and new opportunities for Louisiana workers and businesses.” A new economic impact analysis from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette projects that the factory will boost Iberia Parish’s GDP by 4.4% in its first full year at capacity. The average manufacturing compensation package comes in at around $90,000, more than triple the parish’s per capita income.
First Solar CEO Mark Widmar framed the new facility as a major step for US clean energy manufacturing: “By competitively producing energy technology in America with American materials, while creating American jobs, we’re demonstrating that US reindustrialization isn’t just a thesis, it’s an operating reality.”
This site joins what’s already the largest solar manufacturing and R&D footprint in the Western Hemisphere: three factories in Ohio, one in Alabama, and R&D centers in Ohio and California. Just last week, First Solar announced a new production line in Gaffney, South Carolina, to onshore more Series 6 module work. By the end of 2026, the company expects to directly employ more than 5,500 people across the US.
Read more: First Solar pours $330M into a new South Carolina solar factory
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No, it’s not the new Bolt. GM’s design team previewed a new high-riding “sporty Chevrolet EV” that should be brought to life.
Is Chevy launching a new sporty EV?
This is the all-electric vehicle Chevy should sell in the US. General Motors’ design team released a series of sketches previewing a sporty new Chevy EV.
Although it kinda looks like the new 2027 Chevy Bolt EV as a higher-sitting compact crossover SUV, the design offers a fresh take on what it should have looked like.
The new Bolt is essentially a modernized version of the outgoing EUV model with a similar compact crossover silhouette. Nissan adopted a similar style with the new 2026 LEAF as buyers continue shifting from smaller sedans and hatchbacks to crossovers and SUVs.
Will we see the sporty Chevy EV in real life? It’s not likely. For one, the “exploration sketch” is by GM China Advanced designer Charles Huang.
GM Design posted the sketches on its global social media page, but the caption read “Sporty Chevrolet EV for the China Market.”
It’s too bad. The Bolt could use a sporty sibling like an SS variant. Chevy introduced the Blazer EV SS (check out our review) for the 2026 model year, its fastest “SS” model yet. Packing up to 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, the Chevy Blazer SS can race from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds when using Wide Open Watts (WOW) mode.
Will the Bolt be next? I wouldn’t get my hopes up. And if GM does bring the sporty Chevy EV to life, it will likely only be sold in China. Like all the fun cars these days.
What do you think of the design? Would you buy one of these in the US? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
While deliveries of the 2027 Bolt are set to begin in early 2026, Chevy is offering some sweet deals on its current EV lineup, including up to $4,000 off in Customer Cash and 0% APR financing for 60 months.
Ready to test drive one? You can use our links below to find Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EVs at a dealership near you.
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Environment
Podcast: Electricity is the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss electricity becoming the base currency, Tesla Robotaxi crashes, the new Porsche Cayenne EV, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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