Calls for mutual respect dominated the Africa Forward Summit on Tuesday as French President Emmanuel Macron announced new investments and said sovereignty will be key in the new partnership that France hopes to build with Africa.

Investments worth 23 billion euros ($27 billion) will fund various sectors in Africa including, energy, AI and agriculture, Macron said, adding that 14 billion euros ($16.4 billion) will come from French companies and 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) from African entities.

Ship operators rely on a sludgelike substance known as bunker fuel to keep vessels running. The Iran war 's closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked off the supply of this fuel that powers the global maritime industry and its largest refueling hub in Asia.

Bunker fuel is a literal bottom of the barrel product — heavier and dirtier than the more expensive kinds of refined crude oil used by other vehicles like cars and airplanes — it sinks to the bottom of storage containers.

World shares were mixed Monday after Wall Street set more records, and oil rose more than 2% following U.S. President Donald Trump's rejection of Tehran's response to the latest U.S. proposal on ending the war in Iran.

U.S. futures edged less than 0.1% lower.

World shares retreated and oil prices fell back Friday as the fragile ceasefire with Iran was strained by missile and drone attacks that prompted U.S. retaliatory strikes on Iranian military facilities.

U.S. futures rose despite the latest flare up in the conflict. The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.5%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%.

With hundreds of vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf and costs piling up, shipping companies are being whipsawed by uncertainty over how and when the Strait of Hormuz might reopen more than two months into the Iran war.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced "Project Freedom," a way for the U.S. to "guide" ships to exit the strait. Two ships made the transit, but by Tuesday Trump abruptly paused the effort to allow time for a deal to end the war.

World shares jumped on Thursday, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gaining almost 6% to a new record as investors waited to see if the U.S. and Iran will strike a deal allowing tankers to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf again.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped more than 3,300 points to 63,086.00 as markets in Tokyo reopened following "Golden Week" holidays.

World oil prices dived Wednesday and stock markets rallied on fresh hopes for an end to the Iran war.

The U.S. stock market is holding tentatively around its record heights Monday, while oil prices climb with uncertainty about when oil tankers can resume crossing the Strait of Hormuz and restore the world's flow of crude. Dueling claims about a possible Iranian strike on a U.S. Navy vessel in the strait heightened the tensions.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 76 points, or 0.2%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.

Soaring oil prices from the Iran war pushed inflation higher in Europe in April as growth continued to underperform in a worrying combination both for consumers and policymakers at the European Central Bank.

Annual inflation in the 21 countries that use the shared euro currency rose to 3.0% from 2.6% in March, fueled by a 10.9% increase in energy prices, the European Union statistical agency Eurostat reported Thursday. Crude oil is trading above $120 per barrel, up from around $73 before the outbreak of the war on Feb. 28.

President Donald Trump said a U.S. naval blockade against Iran could last months, leading oil prices to spike to their highest level in more than four years, which held into Thursday.

Trump is expected to receive a briefing on Thursday on new plans for potential military action in Iran from Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, two sources with knowledge told Axios.