"Fresh food and perishables are almost like the canary in the coal mine," when energy prices go up, according to Vidya Mani, an associate professor at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.
We, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Moldova, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Spain and Sweden, concerned by the conflict in the Middle East, are appalled by the dramatic situation and renewed escalation of violence in Lebanon, where there are already 1.2 million internally displaced persons, representing some 25% of the overall population.
The war has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil route, since the end of February and cut exports from OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Iraq.
The market remains highly sensitive to developments in the Middle East, where elevated geopolitical tensions continue to expose energy infrastructure and shipping routes to significant risks. Supply conditions have already tightened, as production in parts of the region has been curtailed due to limited storage capacity and difficulties in exporting crude amid shipping constraints.
The Iranian military's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Tehran has sent energy markets into turmoil. A quarter of the world's natural gas, a fifth of its crude oil, and tons of critical materials for fertilizers and other petroleum products pass through this strategic Persian Gulf waterway.
The United States - we produce more oil than we can consume. We're a net oil exporter," Wright said. This comment misses some important context. Some metrics show the U.S. as a net exporter, but for crude oil - the material that's refined into gasoline - the U.S. is a net importer.