Daily Oil Fundamentals

Opening the Strait! Really?

26 Aug 2026

Opening the Strait! Really?

Oil prices fall when supply is abundant and/or demand is scarce. Equities strengthen when economic prospects are sanguine. In light of this economic trivia, it is worth re-citing the US Treasury Secretary. As the US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran on Monday, it targeted digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping—with emphasis on the last one. The cantankerous announcement also carried a warning that a ‘defined timeline’ would be given to Iran’s trading partners to sever ties or risk being ‘cut off from the US financial system’. Yet oil dropped like a stone over two days, stocks strengthened yesterday, and bond yields stabilised.

Daily Oil Fundamentals

The Long Game Unfolds

25 Aug 2026

The Long Game Unfolds

The insulting invocation of ‘D-Day’ by Scott Bessent, the US Secretary of Treasury, when foregrounding in the ‘Financial Times’ over the weekend of the coming new sanction regime the US will impose on Iran was given meat to its bone yesterday. ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ aims to cut Iran’s economic lifeline by targeting all of Iran’s sources of revenue, including oil, with the goal of preventing corporations and countries alike from conducting trade with Iran.

Daily Oil Fundamentals

Escalating Iran Conflict, Escalating Trade War

24 Aug 2026

Escalating Iran Conflict, Escalating Trade War

There are no visible exit ramps. There was a reason why oil prices strengthened last week. Seemingly unable to succeed on the military front, the US announced fierce economic sanctions against Iran and any other country that supports it. Should the pledged embargo be launched, oil supply from the region will fall.

Insights

Daily Oil Fundamentals