- Tweeter
republish
Oil prices have soared in recent hours in the markets. More than 10% in Asia, a consequence of the fever surge in the Middle East after the drone attack on two Saudi oil sites on Saturday. On Sunday, President Donald Trump, following in his footsteps with his secretary of state, appointed the Islamic Republic without naming it and said he was ready to retaliate in any form, even though Tehran denied any involvement.
The Asian markets that opened first, before London and then New York reacted quite violently to the statements of the American president. We have seen the price of the barrel of brent for example climb up to + 20% before falling during the session.
Such flights have been unprecedented since 1991, that is, since the Gulf War.
Asian investors are very nervous because this region is a big consumer of Saudi crude oil: China, Japan, India, Korea and Taiwan daily absorb 4 million barrels Saudi, gold production has been amputated more than 5 millions of barrels since Saturday's attack on two of its main operating sites.
A few hours ago Donald Trump authorized the use of US strategic reserves. A gesture there too very strong. The United States, which has long been dependent on oil from the Middle East, is now able to calm the markets, a role traditionally attributed to Saudi Arabia.
The increases observed these last hours are spectacular but let us forget that on the bottom, there are considerable margins of maneuvering: it would be enough to lift the sanctions against Venezuela and of course Iran, to find quickly a very substantial offer. Here again it depends on Washington.