#oil-prices-surge

#oil-prices-surge

After 46 days of rising prices, the cost of both petrol and diesel across the country has finally begun to drop very slightly. Wholesale prices are still lower, so we're hopeful there will be further reductions amounting to several pence a litre in the coming days.

The IEA sees global oil demand falling by 80,000 barrels per day this year, compared with a projected year-on-year rise of 640,000 bpd in its previous monthly report.

Higher inflation expectations will be meaningless if employers still hold the cards in wage setting and their customers retrench. The US labor market is too weak to support large price spikes, making fears over oil prices spiking inflation overblown.

The market remains highly sensitive to developments in the Middle East, where elevated geopolitical tensions continue to expose energy infrastructure and shipping routes to significant risks. Supply conditions have already tightened, as production in parts of the region has been curtailed due to limited storage capacity and difficulties in exporting crude amid shipping constraints.

It may be too late for Trump to negotiate from a position of strength with Iran. The conflict has raised the risk of a worldwide recession.

The United States - we produce more oil than we can consume. We're a net oil exporter," Wright said. This comment misses some important context. Some metrics show the U.S. as a net exporter, but for crude oil - the material that's refined into gasoline - the U.S. is a net importer.