Oil Prices and NewsOil market faces a rude awakening if Iran’s energy infrastructure is targeted, analysts say Oil markets are being too complacent given the risk of major supply disruptions in the Middle East, analysts told CNBC on Thursday. Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at Swedish bank SEB, said that if Iran’s oil infrastructure is wiped out, prices could “easily” go to $200-plus a barrel. It comes amid speculation that Israel could be planning to launch a retaliatory attack on Iran targeting its oil infrastructure.
$100 oil could be the October surprise no one wanted New YorkCNN — The Middle East is in chaos, and the oil market is remarkably calm about it. Oil prices have climbed, but not dramatically so, even as the world braces for an all-out war in the most critical region on the planet for energy. The relatively chill reaction in the oil market reflects a boy-who-cried-wolf mindset that has set in. Investors, having been burned by prior geopolitical scares that quickly fizzled, have grown numb to the cascade of crises around the world. This time they’re waiting for evidence of actual supply disruptions before bidding up the price of crude oil. Yet experts warn there is still a real risk that the emerging regional war in the Middle East could cause a devastating surge in oil prices that rocks not just the world economy but perhaps the US presidential election, too.
