Economic and financial fortune-tellers will base their predictions on the rather hectic week behind us as they assess what the future might hold. They will conclude that the deviation from the norm will persist. They might even go as far as to establish that this deviation is, in fact, the new norm.
Tension still surrounds the Middle East; the threats of further supply disruption are very much elevated, but oil prices came off the day’s peaks as conflicting reports on the volume of oil passing through the Strait sowed the seeds of confusion. Shipping data, as reported by Reuters, showed six vessels transiting the waterway on Wednesday and four yesterday, contrasting with the US vice president’s estimate of 15 million barrels leaving the region two days ago. Meanwhile, Iraqi crude oil exports in August are set to rise by 1 mbpd.
The world has become used to being deceived by its major leaders. The words of Donald Trump informing that the new spate of attacks on Iranian targets might be repeated “anytime we want,” but the current campaign “won’t last too long,” might just lead to a reprieve in the price of Brent’s mad dash toward $100/barrel.
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