Iran assault engulfs the oil markets – ‘Could keep gasoline and other energy prices high’
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BY ARIANNA SKIBELL
The United States and Israel show no signs of slowing the military campaign against Iran. And that’s triggering an oil price spike that’s offering Democrats a new opening to sway voters on energy affordability.
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That risks further inflaming the global oil supply, write Ben Lefebvre and James Bikales.
Retaliatory attacks have already damaged several oil tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz, which abuts Iran and offers passage to more than 20 percent of the world’s waterborne crude oil shipments. Arab allies warned the Trump administration in recent weeks that strikes against Iran could lead to attacks against oil fields and tankers in the Strait, three people familiar with the conversations told Ben and James.
The global Brent futures price on Monday settled up 6.7 percent to $77.74 a barrel, according to JP.
Market analysts and geopolitical consultants are warning that continued hostilities could keep gasoline and other energy prices high — just as cost concerns about energy take center stage in midterm primary races.
Trump dismissed worries about energy prices last week, telling reporters that “I’m concerned about people’s lives” and the “long-term health for this country.”
But Democrats are seizing on the war to bring more attention to rising prices.
“Americans are demanding help with the cost-of-living crisis, but President Trump would rather start another war, potentially driving up energy prices, than listen to them,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.
House Democrats gathered last week for a retreat to hammer out their midterm messaging strategy, writes Manuel Quiñones.
“Destabilizing Iran is not cost-free,” Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) said in a statement. “Iran has the capacity to disrupt oil shipments in the Persian Gulf, activate proxies across the region, and trigger refugee flows that would immediately affect Qatar, the UAE, Turkey, and others.”
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It’s possible, however, the U.S. has the means to keep prices stable. A boom in domestic oil production that started in the mid-2000s offers some cushion for price increases, and the cost of regular gasoline is well below the all-time high of $5.016 it hit in June 2022. (It averaged $2.997 today.)
Global reserves, including the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, could offset any major disruption, said Landon Derentz, a former national security and energy official during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations.