Long-Feared Oil Shock Comes to Fruition — Roiling Markets and the Global Economy

Markets slide as oil spikes — with no safety valve into bonds, gold, or the Swiss franc.

Key Takeaways

• Oil Prices Surge as War Continues: The big news overnight obviously is the parabolic surge in oil prices, with Brent soaring by +15% to over $110 per barrel, as neither the U.S. nor Iran is showing any signs of ending the war. Tehran has dug in its heels as it rejected any calls for a cease-fire, while President Donald Trump has stated that the surge in energy prices is a small price to pay for the greater good. In a snub to President Trump’s demands of unconditional surrender and helping choose the next Iranian leader, the twenty so-called “experts” in charge instead picked Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the recently killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to be the new supreme leader — a hardliner with close ties to the IRGC.