Axios

President Trump lambasted OPEC via Twitter Friday morning for making oil prices "artificially Very High" — a tweet which hit during an OPEC meeting today and was likely a reaction to oil prices trading at their highest level in three years.

Why it matters: Trump's tweet, while vague, appears to show the president directly attacking OPEC's work with Russia to limit production as the cartel seeks to tame the global crude oil glut. Trump's comments arrive as oil prices are trading at their highest levels in three years and U.S. gasoline prices, while still modest, have been creeping upwards too.line prices, while still modest, have been creeping upwards too.

Competition in the global solar industry is ramping up in the wake of President Trump imposing tariffs on panel imports earlier this year.

Why it matters: Before the administration issued the tariffs, most of the American solar industry predicted it would hurt U.S. solar jobs, many of which are based on installing cheap solar panels from places like China. Two interviews with top executives at American and Chinese solar companies offer a glimpse into how these countries are positioning to thrive amid the tariffs.

The global average temperature for the first quarter of 2018 was cooler than in recent years but warm compared to historical averages, new federal data shows.

By the numbers: Temperatures were 1.33°F above the 20th century average, and it was the sixth-warmest January–March in modern temperature records that date back to 1880.

Oil prices are on the march again Thursday after climbing sharply yesterday, with WTI prices this morning above $69 per barrel and Brent crude, the global benchmark, earlier reaching $74.61.

Crude oil is trading at its highest levels in well over three years.

Why it matters: As we noted yesterday in the Axios stream, the price jump suggests that oil may no longer be stuck in the $60 to $70-a-barrel range, but may have room to rise much higher. That would put a lot more money in the coffers of the petro-states, and could bring inflation to oil-consuming states.