CNBC Daily Open: Truce tested ahead of ceasefire talks in Pakistan

Hello, this is Leonie Kidd writing to you from London. Welcome to another edition of CNBC's Daily Open.

A lot has changed in a week, but investors are yet to be convinced the truce over Iran can hold. Oil prices are hovering below $100 a barrel and the volatility in equities has steadied, but a raft of upcoming economic data, as well as the start of earnings season, may demonstrate a longer-lasting economic impact is setting in.

A lot will ride on this weekend's negotiations in Pakistan, but with neither side looking to tone down the rhetoric ahead of talks, it will take immense willpower from both Washington and Tehran to keep the ceasefire in place.

The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran continues to be tested, in large part due to Israel's attacks on Lebanon but also by Tehran's persistent targeting of energy infrastructure in the Gulf.

Saudi Arabia's critical pipeline to the Red Sea has suffered an attack from Iran, cutting throughput by 700,000 barrels per day.

The attack hit a pumping station on the East-West pipeline, according to a state news agency report. The pipeline brings crude oil from processing facilities near the Persian Gulf to an export terminal on the Red Sea called Yanbu.

Meanwhile, shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, which handled about 20% of global oil supply before the war, remained severely restricted, keeping markets on edge.

"Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz," U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post.

During a trip to the Middle East, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was "fed up" seeing energy bills in the U.K. swing up and down because of actions taken by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a podcast interview dated Thursday he said, "I'm fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy, businesses' bills go up and down on energy, because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world."

American and Iranian negotiators are arriving in Pakistan for weekend talks to discuss the 10-point ceasefire plan.

But the financial fallout is already being felt across the globe. China's factory-gate prices rose for the first time in more than three years while consumer inflation moderated in March amid a surge in oil prices as the Iran war upended global energy markets.

And it's not just inflation that the Federal Reserve needs to worry about. An expected nomination hearing for Federal Reserve chair candidate Kevin Warsh has been delayed, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC on Thursday evening.

Warsh had been set to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on April 16. That won't happen, but the hearing is still expected soon, the person said, requesting anonymity as the details have not been made public by the committee.

In Europe, investors will be looking ahead to the general election in Hungary taking place on Sunday, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is on course to lose to the main challenger party, Fidesz, in what could be the biggest power shift in 16 years.

— Leonie Kidd