Trump Causes Global Panic Over Surging Oil Prices
The American and Israeli war on Iran is causing oil prices to skyrocket, fueling alarm around the world. Finance ministers from the Group of Seven, a collection of the world’s seven wealthiest nations, plan to meet on Monday to discuss a possible joint release of their emergency oil reserves in an effort to lower prices, Reuters reports. South Korea also plans to cap fuel prices for the first time in close to 30 years. At an emergency meeting, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called the war “a significant burden on our economy, which is highly dependent on global trade and energy imports from the Middle East.” Japan, which imports close to 95 percent of its oil from the Middle East, is reportedly preparing to release oil from its reserves, although no decision has been made yet. Vietnam has removed its import tariffs on fuel, while Bangladesh has shut down its universities to conserve energy. Last week, China asked its refiners to suspend fuel exports and cancel any existing oil shipments. In the Middle East itself, Iraq cut production in its oil fields by 70 percent, while Qatar, the world’s second-leading liquefied natural gas producer, has halted natural gas exports. Kuwait Petroleum Corp cut oil output on Saturday and declared force majeure, meaning that it can’t fulfill its contractual obligations. Bahrain’s state-owned Bapco Energies also declared force majeure on Monday after its refiners were attacked. Trump is trying to deflect concern about the oil price surge, posting on Truth Social Sunday night, “Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” But that’s of little comfort to the rest of the world. Oil prices have shot up to over $110 a barrel, the highest levels since the pandemic. With no plan in place for the war’s aftermath and no end in sight, it doesn’t look like things will get better anytime soon.