Oil Prices Near Peak Due to Hormuz Risk Premium
In this podcast conversation with @paulkrugman from last week, we debate my view that oil prices are near their peak because large risk premia are priced into oil that embed substantially reduced tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Watch here: https://t.co/q2xmlFYMku https://t.co/6gObRxreUI
Both Administrations Fear High Oil, Keep Prices Low
One thing the Trump and Biden administrations share is a fear of high oil prices. That means we can't get $150 or $200, as evidenced by Trump's latest about-turn today. Important to look through the alarmist hype and remember the...
Oil Prices Have Peaked, Shock Explained
People had lots of questions about the oil shock after this weekend's podcast with @paulkrugman, including on all the different types of oil and which one is most important. I've been pounding the table that oil prices have peaked, so...
US‑backed Iranian Oil Flow Dampens Price Spike
After all the hype over the weekend about escalation, you'd have thought oil prices would spike on tonight's open. But no sign of that. What matters are actions, not words. And those are that Iranian oil is flowing through SoH...
Oil Price Panic Scenarios Need Impossible Export Collapse
Of course you can paint all kinds of horror scenarios for oil prices. But they require two things: (i) a collapse in oil export volumes out of the Gulf from current levels near 10 mmb/d; (ii) a price elasticity of...
US‑backed Tankers Keep Loading at Kharg Despite Tensions
Threats are flying between the US and Iran, but what matters for oil prices isn't words but deeds. Those deeds are that big oil tankers with capacity of 2 million barrels keep docking at Kharg Island to fill up. This...
Bombing Iran's Plants Equals De Facto Embargo, Says Analyst
If the US bombs Iran's power plants, there's no power to fill up oil tankers, so it's an embargo. Same with taking Kharg Island by force. Iran will stop exporting oil, so it's an embargo. Much better to do an...
Rising Short‑term Rates Threaten High‑debt Nations
Short-term rates (black) are rising as markets settle in for a long war. That pushes up long-term yields, a problem for any high-debt country out there. The last time we saw this in 2022, Italy and Spain needed ECB bailouts...
Markets Tighten on Trump Amid Bond, Credit Strain
Markets have been the ultimate constraint on Trump and they're starting to look very iffy, especially where the US bond market (bottom left) and private credit (bottom right) are concerned. If the US escalates the war with Iran, markets will...
Brent’s $110 Price Already Reflects Hefty Risk Premium
There's so many people talking about oil going to $150 or $200, but those numbers are a stretch because Brent around $110 already embeds a big risk premium. Big thanks to @paulkrugman for having me on his podcast to talk...
Markets Restrict Trump's Aggressive Moves Amid Distressed Conditions
Markets have been the ultimate constraint on Trump. It was like that in April 2025 when China tariffs went to almost 150% and arguably also in January 2026 over Greenland. Markets are now very distressed. Trying to take Kharg Island...
Nobel Laureate Simon Shaped G7 Russia Price Cap
This @ProSyn column by @baselinescene is a must-read. Before he won the Nobel for economics in 2024, Simon was deeply involved in design and execution of the G7 price cap on Russia. Few other voices carry as much authority now...
Supply Shock History Warns High‑Debt Nations of Crisis
Last time the world faced a big supply shock - after COVID in 2022 - the Yen went into a depreciation spiral, Italy and Spain needed ECB bailouts and the Gilt market blew up in the UK. This environment is...
Embargo Iranian Oil, Not Seize Kharg, to Open Strait
Headlines that the US is thinking about taking Kharg island are pushing up Brent (lhs) and causing stocks to tank (rhs). Taking Kharg doesn't reopen the Strait and could turn into a fiasco. Better to embargo Iranian oil and force...
Waiting for Italy, France to Trigger EU Debt Relief
Feeling listless and irritable as I wait for Italy (lhs) to call for the ECB to activate its TPI tool because markets are being anti-Italian and France (rhs) to call for joint EU debt issuance on account of "force majeure"...
Rising 10y10y Yield Shows Cost of Fiscal Recklessness
The 10y10y forward Treasury yield (red) is rising towards its historical highs. If only we'd brought our deficit under control after COVID, then we'd now have more gas in the tank for emergency spending. But we didn't. Reckless fiscal policy...
G10 Hawkish Policies Weigh on Dollar Strength
The reason the Dollar isn't stronger is because markets price a much more hawkish policy shift by central banks in the G10 compared to the Fed. That's moving rate differentials against the Dollar and tempering what otherwise would be an...
Oil Embargo, Not Escalation, Is War’s Off‑ramp
This war needs an off-ramp. That isn't military escalation or just declaring "mission accomplished." Instead, it's an embargo of Iran's oil. That'll throw Iran into chaos and the upside for oil prices is limited given how much they've already risen... https://t.co/t20Z7S85OZ...
Oil $200 Price Unrealistic; Even $150 Doubtful
Of course it's possible that oil goes to $200. But that kind of price level basically assumes a return to full shut down for all oil coming out of the Persian Gulf and a very low price elasticity of demand....
US Waivers De‑Stigmatize Russian Oil, Boosting Putin
Big thanks to @Aaron_Krolik for including me in this great @nytimes story on how Russia is a major beneficiary from the sharp rise in oil prices. Temporary US waivers of Russia sanctions are de-stigmatizing Russian oil and giving Putin a...
Gold Drops 12% Since War, Defying Safe‑Haven Expectation
I'm a fan of the debasement trade and think precious metals will keep going higher over the medium term. But the fact that gold keeps falling when it should act as a safe haven also isn't nothing. Gold is now...
Brazilian Real Set to Rally Amid Higher Oil Prices
We've now reached the point where - four years ago after the invasion of Ukraine - the Brazilian Real began to rally and outperform everyone else. As we settle into a higher-for-longer equilibrium on oil, the same will now start...
Oil Surge Boosts Trump TACO Risk, Yet Markets Hold
Brent is at $115. As oil prices rise, the risk of a Trump TACO also rises. That in turn depends on dysfunction in global markets. At the moment, even with Brent up 70% from a month ago, markets are looking...
Brent Surge Won’t Reach $150‑$200 Amid Capacity Limits
Brent is up 70% in the past month. This prices Strait of Hormuz tanker traffic at half its capacity indefinitely. With the Saudis diverting lots of oil to the Red Sea and Iran continuing to export, we're already almost at...
Powell’s Hawkish Tone Risks Market Crash Amid Gulf Tensions
Today is very dangerous for Powell. If he sounds hawkish, markets might tumble given what's going on in the Persian Gulf. Next thing you know, Trump could be attacking the Fed like in Dec '18. Back then, the Fed capitulated...
Gold's 8% Drop Threatens Debasement Trade Momentum
Gold is now down 8% from before the war (blue). That may be due to the crazy run-up in precious metals and people locking in gains now that uncertainty is so high. But - the longer this sell-off lasts -...
10‑Year Yield Falls, Yet 10y10y Hits Record Risk Premium
The 10-year Treasury yield (blue) has fallen, pulled down by expectations of Fed easing and a lower 2-year yield (black). But that's a deceptive picture. 10y10y forward yield is near record highs (red). Markets price big risk premia in long-term...
China Shifts Food Imports From US to Emerging Markets
China retaliated against tariffs by importing much less food from the US in 2025. Canada, Ukraine and the EU also got hit. Instead, China ramped up its food imports from many across emerging markets. Vietnam, Indonesia and Argentina are among...
Big Oil Uses Doom Forecasts as Lobbying Tool
Big oil has its prophets of doom. When it's unhappy, it trots them out to prophesy doom. One such forecast in 2022 was oil would hit $380 because of the G7 price cap. This is lobbying on behalf of big...
Rising Tanker Traffic Could Shrink Brent's War‑driven Risk Premium
Great piece by @MelissaLawford in @Telegraph on tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and what's going on in global markets. Brent is up 42% from before the war, a big risk premium. As oil tanker traffic picks up, this...
Brent up 42%, Now Mirrors Post‑Ukraine Invasion Levels
The Brent oil price is up 42% from before the war. This shock has spilled over into all kinds of other things, but what spot and options now markets price (blue) is basically on par with what we saw after...
Yen Slides Below Mid‑2024 Low; Intervention Won’t Halt Decline
The Yen has fallen below its previous low from mid-2024. This even though we're within two months of the NY Fed "rate check," which temporarily lifted it. As long as Japan believes in FX intervention, it's in denial on debt...
Brent Drops Again, Risk Premium Already Overpriced
Today marks the second Monday in a row where - after a weekend with lots of alarmist talk about how high prices will go - Brent has fallen. That tells you a big risk premium is priced and it's not...
Dollar's Rise Is Modest; Will Fall Post‑war
The Dollar has risen against the G10 (lhs) and against EM (rhs), but - once you factor in that this shock is at least 3 times as big as Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine - it's trading quite soft. We're...
Brent's 42% War Surge Faces Three Major Downside Triggers
Brent is up 42% from before the war began. That's a bigger risk premium than after the Ukraine invasion. Catalysts that can make Brent fall: (i) Trump ends the war; (ii) the US blockades Iranian ports (Iran's economy implodes); (iii)...
Embargo Iranian Oil, as Missed Russian Embargo Cost War
The big mistake the West made in 2022 was to not embargo Russian oil. That would have spiked oil prices further, but Russia's economy would have imploded and it likely wouldn't still be waging war in Ukraine. The lesson for...
Shortening Conflict Drives Oil Prices Down, Prolonging Rises
Every time markets think this conflict lasts longer, oil prices rise. Anything that shortens it makes prices fall. A Trump TACO does that or a blockade of Iran's ports, which'll cause Iran's economy to implode, forcing the Mullahs to reopen...
Oil Prices Swing Wildly on Political Hype, Not Trends
Last Sunday night, after being hugely complacent, the market was panicking and Brent briefly went to $120. But then Trump said war would be over soon and it fell back to $80. Oil isn't a one way trip here. There's...
Greek Shipowners Sabotage EU Sanctions for Putin Profits
Greece' shipping oligarchs fatally undermined the maritime services ban that should've been in the EU's 20th sanctions package. They're loyal only to money. If that means helping Putin, they fall over themselves doing it. No one should celebrate them... https://t.co/LOEwsvkjYG https://t.co/xUJgZVccK2
India’s Gulf Oil Imports Vanish, Boosting Iranian, Russian Demand
India used to import 50% of its oil from Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE (blue). All this oil had to transit the Strait of Hormuz and - recently - this is down to zero. It's this massive hole that's...
Greek Oligarchs Sold Half of Putin’s Shadow Fleet
Quick reminder that Greece's shipping oligarchs and their buddies in Malta and Cyprus sold Putin half his shadow fleet. They're loyal only to money and - in this case - are putting desperate people's lives at risk for their own...
Analysts' Oil Forecasts Serve Producers, Not Truth
One of the things I learned after Russia invaded Ukraine is that many commodity analysts are in bed with oil producers and ship owners. They forecast terrible oil price spikes and financial Armageddon to keep the West from being tough....
Market Fear Matches 2022 Levels Despite Complacency
How big is the market fear factor? The 4 charts on the left show what's going on in spot markets. The 4 on the right show options markets. Compared to Russia's invasion of Ukraine 4 years ago, we're now at...
Western Tankers Barred, Iranian Vessels Still Flow Freely
It's absurd that Western tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is shut down, while Iran's tankers continue to run through the Strait unhindered. Iran is a gas station masquerading as an Islamic Republic. Kharg is about shutting down the...
War Spikes Hedging While Markets Stay Oddly Complacent
As war escalates, markets look complacent. The S&P 500 is barely down and USD is up only a bit. But hedging activity in options markets is picking up a lot. That's most pronounced for oil (top left), but it's also...
Block Iran's Oil Ports to Cripple Regime, Open Hormuz
Iran is a one-trick pony. It exports oil. Those exports pay for everything else, including its military. Shut down its oil exports and Iran implodes. Iran's ports need to be blockaded immediately. That's the fastest way to open up the...
US Eases Russian Oil Bans as Iran Fuels Price Surge
Great @business reporting by @DanielPFlatley on US moves to ease restrictions on buying Russian oil. This is all backwards. Russia and Iran are making money while the Strait of Hormuz is shut and global oil prices spike. Iran's oil exports...
Iran's War-Era Oil Exports Surge, Prices Likely Drop
According to this excellent @WSJ story, Iran is today exporting more oil than before war broke out. That’s insane. First order of business for the US Navy is to stop any and all ship traffic out of Iran. That won’t...
Iran's Oil Surges Amid War; Call to Blockade Ports
Iran is a gas station posing as an Islamic Republic. Iran's oil exports are reportedly up since war broke out. That's nuts. First order of business must be to blockade Iran's ports. If that hurts China, all the better. Have...
Oil Prices Now Reflect True Disruption Risk
What happens with oil prices is all about whether risk premia are accurately priced. Initially, markets were massively complacent. Then there was all-out panic. Now, at between $90-100 per barrel, we're accurately pricing risk of a serious disruption... https://t.co/evJVri93wZ https://t.co/EZteEvaeo1