Oil prices rise as U.S. and Iran fight for control of Strait of Hormuz

[WSHazel]

8. The oil industry wants you to think that there is a shortage

But demand destructions is happening quickly. China is already majority EV, and most of the rest of Asia is converting quickly. Almost 70% of Europe's car sales in 2026 are EV or hybrid. The producers see this happening, and they are pumping more, because they realize the long-term trend is their enemy.

Why do you think Qatar and UAE have left OPEC? They don't want to be constrained by OPEC's quotas.

Russia has been getting its crude and refined oil out until recently. Ukraine's devastation of Russia's shipping fleet in the Black Sea, along with taking out 20-40% of Russia's refining capacity, could impact the market.

Most of the Gulf region producers are bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, which is part of the reason that oil has not spiked.

There are a lot of hedge funds and banks very long oil, and they desperately need the price to go up. They are flooding the news with stories about how there will be an oil crisis, just like they have been doing all year. If you go back through the last 4.5 months, many analysts have predicted $150 and $200 a barrel oil. It is at $73.50 this morning, after several days of saber rattling by our Administration and Iran.

It might go way up, but it is going to take something major for that to happen.