Oil prices got a slight 2% boost Friday when Iranians claimed that someone aimed suspected missiles at one of its oil tankers as it traversed the Red Sea, some 60 miles from Saudi Arabia, causing mild damage to the tanker itself and oil to spill into the Red Sea. There was no fire following the two explosions, the oil spill was brief, and the vessels are stable. The nature of the attack remains entirely unclear, as does its would-be motivations given that the attack appears to have been minimal in scope and scale. The entire region is experiencing a massive upheaval with the latest upset being a Turkish invasion of northern Syria after the US withdrew from the area and allowed Turkey to overpower its Kurdish allies in the region, much to Israel’s dismay.
Overall, oil is wallowing due to poor fundamentals, with OPEC cutting its oil demand growth forecast this week for the third consecutive month. Iraq may be on the brink of civil war and a possible staging ground for a US-Iran conflict, but oil prices simply don’t seem to care.
Why Investors Should Be Very Worried About Ecuador
Clients are always asking us to evaluate the vulnerabilities of foreign companies in certain emerging market industries, particularly the extractives. Few are willing to recognize the power of indigenous populations to rock these very lucrative boats. In Argentina, an indigenous movement is the most powerful threat to the mining and oil and gas industry; much more so than…
