The surge in energy prices that has the Trump administration and foreign leaders wringing their hands is poised to get a lot worse, according an analysis released on Thursday from research firm Rystad Energy.
In the weeks since the Iran war started, the report says, global price shocks have been held in check by large global inventories of crude oil and petroleum products stored on ships already on the water and reserves in major consuming nations. That has “muted” the price shock seen so far.
“That phase is now ending,” said Rystad Chief Oil Analyst Paola Rodriguez-Masiu. “The system has shifted from buffered to fragile.”
U.S. crude oil prices were up about 5 percent on Thursday to $95 a barrel, an increase of nearly 50 percent since the United States and Israel launched their attacks. Gasoline prices at the pump were flirting with the $4 a gallon level, a jump of $1 over that period.
