The new malaise
MAKE IT MAKE SENSE: With an expanding war in the Middle East and an oil shock unfolding along with it, are we set to revisit the 1970s?
In today’s letter: As the war in Iran continues, oil prices are skyrocketing — that means higher prices, and if the past is any lesson, maybe much more.
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Crude oil prices surged over the weekend to over $110/barrel — the priciest the precious commodity has been in four years — as the war in Iran paralyzed oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, setting the stage for the worst energy crisis since the 1970s. Since higher oil prices make everything else more expensive, that has a lot of people nervous.
And to think that less than two weeks ago, Donald Trump had declared the affordability crisis over and done with. Prices were falling, he said: “Soon you will see numbers that few people would think were possible to achieve just a short time ago.”
About that…