The Economist (July 4)
“We woz wrong about oil. The market bested us…. There is no shame in that. We stick our neck out and consequently risk having it chopped from time to time.” This is one of those times. Before May, “we said oil traders were in ‘la-la land’ thinking that oil prices would fall to $88 by the end of the year. Today Brent crude costs just over $70 a barrel. Our prediction went about as well as the war.”
Tags: $70 bbl, $88 bbl, Brent crude, La-la land, Market, Oil, Oil prices, Prediction, Shame, Traders
New York Times (June 27)
“Over the past 24 hours, prices have dipped below the levels not seen since Feb. 27, the eve of the war in Iran, when Brent crude settled at $72.48 a barrel.” The sharp drop is attributable to “increased optimism that a deal would be reached to enable more regular shipping flows through the strait.” And a lot of “oil coming through the strait is poised to hit the market all at once, putting downward pressure on prices.” The I.E.A. believes there could even be a glut next year as “global demand is expected to drop by almost five million barrels a day in the second quarter of 2026 partly because consumers scaled back their energy use during the conflict.”
Tags: Brent crude, Consumers, Dipped, Downward pressure, Energy use, Global demand, Glut, I.E.A., Iran, Market, Oil, Optimism, Prices, Shipping flows, Strait, War
The Economist (May 12)
“Ten weeks into the Iran war, the great oil-market mystery is deepening. Every day the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, nearly 14m barrels of oil—14% of global output—are lost.” Yet somehow Brent crude is priced at “just $107 a barrel,” far lower than expected. “Petro-powers [especially the U.S.] outside the Gulf have turbocharged exports.” Inventories and strategic reserves [especially China’s] are being tapped liberally. “During the four weeks to May 10th the big oil-buying regions imported 11m b/d less petroleum” than a year prior. “America and China have bought the world time. It still faces a reckoning if Hormuz stays shut.”
Tags: $107, 14m b/d, Brent crude, China, Closed, Exports, Global output, Gulf, Inventories, Iran war, Mystery, Oil market, Petro-powers, Strait of Hormuz, Strategic reserves, Ten weeks, U.S.
MarketWatch (March 13)
“America’s “goldilocks” economy is over. The next seven days of the Iran conflict will set the stage for stagflation or global recession.” The U.S. was nearing perfection with unemployment at 4.4% and inflation down to 2.4%. Instead of basking in economic triumph, the U.S. now frets over a potential “doubling of the oil price,” which historically “coincides with a global recession. In today’s terms, that is $120-$140 a barrel. Brent crude brushed the bottom of that range earlier this week.”
Tags: $120-$140 bbl, Brent crude, Conflict, Doubling, Economy, Global recession, Goldilocks, Inflation, Iran, Oil price, Stagflation, U.S., Unemployment
