Energy

• Natural gas futures are up 66% this month, which is the largest monthly rise since futures contracts came into existence in 1990. Record heatwaves on every northern continent drove demand for fuel for cooling.

• Russia said it will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024, abandoning one of its few areas of cooperation with the U.S. NASA, which coordinates with Russia's space agency, said it hadn't yet been notified that Russia is pulling out.

• Exxon made two new discoveries in the Stabroek block offshore Guyana. That brings it to seven discoveries in 2022: an average of one per month.

• Locals in Goma and Butembo are protesting against the UN and its peacekeeping mission in DRC, which is the largest and most expensive UN peacekeeping operation - but have failed to quell eastern Congo's insurgencies.
• The protests turned violent, killing at least 15 so far - including both demonstrators and UN personnel.

• Reuters says the U.S. and the Taliban are making progress towards releasing billions in Afghan government money into a trust fund. However, there are still big roadblocks: the Taliban has refused to replace central bank officials who are under sanctions, and it objects to the U.S. requirement that a third-party control disbursements.

• The IMF released an updated global economic forecast yesterday, and it showed that the economies of the U.S., China, and Europe slowed more than expected. The IMF now puts the likelihood of a recession starting in one of the G7 countries at around 15%, which is four times higher than usual. It expects inflation of 6.6% in developed countries and 9.5% in emerging markets and developing countries.
• Tunisian voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution that further strengthens Pres. Saied's one-party rule...or at least some Tunisian voters did: most big parties boycotted the vote.