Iran War Oil Shock: How World Economy on Brink of Something ‘Even Worse’

July 14, 2026 | President Donald Trump has U-turned on his threat to charge cargo ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz as much as 20% - but the US and Iran have continued trading strikes as Trump has told the US Congress that war has resumed.

So, can the US gain the upper hand? Will more US bombs and bullets really help? And has this whole episode proven that the memorandum of understanding, which was meant to end the conflict, was destined to fail.

In this episode of The Fourcast Indicators, presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Defence and Intelligence Analyst, Mark Urban are joined by former US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, who is now a senior fellow at The Foundation for Defence of Democracies.

Iran Challenges US Dollar, Demanding Oil Be Sold in Chinese Yuan, as It Targets US Corporations

Mar 17, 2026 | In response to the US-Israeli war, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the most important oil chokepoint on Earth, causing energy prices to skyrocket.

However, Tehran is allowing Chinese tankers through, and says other ships can pass if they agree to sell oil in China's currency, the renminbi (aka yuan).

Iran is also targeting offices of major American corporations, and wants to force them out of the Middle East (West Asia), while trying to expel US military bases.

Ben Norton explains how this war affects the petrodollar system, and the dominance of the dollar as the global reserve currency.


INVESTOPEDIA: Yuan vs. Renminbi: What’s the Difference? »

Col Doug Macgregor: Iran War Not Ending Anytime Soon

March 15, 2026

Global Markets Tumble After U.S. Warns War Could Last Weeks

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Oil and gas prices surged and stock markets fell, after U.S. and Israeli officials signaled that strikes on Iran would intensify. As the conflict widened, Israel’s military stepped up operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fired rockets into Israel.

Global stock markets tumbled on Tuesday and the price of oil surged, as the widening conflict in the Middle East sent a shudder through the world economy and American and Israeli officials signaled that their bombing campaign against Iran could last weeks.

President Trump was set to meet with Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany in Washington on Tuesday morning, the president’s first meeting with a foreign leader since the war began, and the two were expected to speak with reporters. The meeting was long planned, but is likely to be dominated by discussions of the attacks on Iran, which continued for a fourth day.

With Iran retaliating for the killing of its supreme leader, the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia warned of imminent drone and rocket attacks in Dhahran, the eastern city that is home to Saudi Aramco, the government-controlled oil producer, threatening to put more pressure on global oil supplies. The embassy itself was hit by a drone attack early Tuesday, a day after a drone struck the U.S. embassy in Kuwait, prompting the United States to announce that it was closing both facilities.

Fighting escalated between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said that it was carrying out additional strikes in Iran, and had targeted weapons storage facilities in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, as Hezbollah said it had fired attack drones at Israel. Israel’s advance in southern Lebanon prompted fears that it could be weighing a wider ground assault similar to the one it launched during its yearlong war with Hezbollah that ended in late 2024. Iran Live Updates » | Aaron Boxerman, Helene Cooper and Yan Zhuang | Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Stocks, Gold and Oil Plunge in Market Rout

THE TELEGRAPH: Stocks, gold and oil have plunged in a global market rout driven by fears about AI spending and the outlook for interest rates.

Asian markets were pummelled and Wall Street was expected to open lower as a sell-off in precious metals fuelled a downturn across the world.

Gold was down as much as 7pc to nearly $4,400 an ounce, less than a week after hitting a record high close to $5,600. Silver plummeted by as much as 14pc to less than $72, having tipped above $120 for the first time last week. Oil was also down around 5pc to less than $66 a barrel.

Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said: “Traders are unnerved by the market tumult witnessed on Friday in precious metals.”

Gold and silver sold off sharply at the end of last week as a string of concerns swept the market, from Donald Trump’s trade war to the latest batch of tech earnings.

There were also questions over the outlook for US interest rates after President Trump nominated a Kevin Warsh to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. » | Chris Price | Monday, February 2, 2026

Free Oil | Planet Finance (2/6)

Aug 5, 2023 | Planet Finance sets the world price for many commodities: for grain, for gold and also for oil. There is always demand for oil and the price is constantly changing. It is hard to imagine now, but at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, we could not get rid of oil. The world's oil supply was floating at sea. The tankers, and their crews, had no choice but to wait for a better price. And then came a day when a barrel of oil was free! How can a market be so derailed?

In this six-part documentary series, Marije Meerman takes you to Planet Finance. Who live and work there? What language do they speak? What is the use of this planet, and what makes this financial world so attractive to so many people?


Part 1 here.

Petroleum and Crude Oil - The Future of Oil Production | DW Documentary

The market for oil is volatile. The transition from petroleum to renewables is in full swing, and global demand for oil could fall faster than predicted.

When the price of crude oil tumbled dramatically between 2014 and 2016, it heralded the demise of an economic and geopolitical world order in place since the end of World War II. In the last few decades, fracking technology has turned the US into the world's largest oil producer. Against that backdrop, the move towards renewable energies and away from fossil resources is making dramatic steps forward. A study published back in September 2012 made headlines by predicting an imminent drop in oil prices. The analysis bucked traditional mainstream scientific opinion, which forecast that the market would continue to climb until hitting ‘peak oil’ - the moment when global oil production peaked. After that, most experts believed, the price for crude would skyrocket. But by the end of 2013, market supply began to far outstrip demand, and prices collapsed. Within two years, they fell by 70%. Was it just another anomaly in the history of the industry? Not quite. Many factors contributed to the fall.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the US was shocked by reports that Saudi Arabia might have been involved. North America relied on vast imports of oil from the Middle East, so to lower US dependence on the Gulf States, policymakers overhauled and realigned the country’s oil strategy. When oil prices rose dramatically in the first decade of the new millennium, companies in the US were able to begin implementing a technology that had previously been viewed as economically unviable - extracting oil and shale gas through fracking. By exploiting its significant shale oil deposits, the US was able to slash imports, which in turn led to an oversupply on world markets and crashing prices. The world’s biggest oil-producing nations began fighting fiercely for their slice of the pie. In a move to break the American producers, Saudi Arabia moved into high-stakes poker mode, flooding the market in an intentional attempt to lower prices even further and force the North American fracking industry to its knees. But the move didn’t pay off, and the order that had prevailed on the international oil market since the end of the Second World War was stood on its head. To turn prices back around, Saudi Arabia and the other members of OPEC were forced to curb production and join forces with Russia. It’s a game with high geopolitical stakes, and the market for oil remains volatile. Meanwhile, the transition to renewables is in full swing, and global demand for oil could fall even faster than predicted. Is it the beginning of the end of the Oil Age?

Counting the Cost - Beyond Oil: Saudi Arabia's 2030 Economic Vision

Inside Story - What Will Happen When the Gulf Countries' Oil Runs Out?

The International Monetary Fund has some advice for countries in the Gulf: Diversify, and diversify fast. The oil, that’s made many Gulf countries extremely wealthy, is not going to last forever. And the IMF’s 2017 report is predicting the worst growth rate for the region since the global financial collapse several years ago.

Economies in the region have been suffering since oil prices fell dramatically in 2014. Attempts to curb oil production have only slightly raised revenue. And the Gulf Cooperation Council diplomatic crisis that began in June has only made the situation worse.

The IMF says Qatar and its blockading neighbours could have trouble finding investors if the crisis continues. So what are the alternatives?

Presenter: Jane Dutton | Guests: Jane Kinninmont, Deputy Head and Senior Research Fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House; Cornelia Meyer, oil-and-gas specialist; Khaled Al Khater, Specialist in Monetary Policy and Political Economy

Daniel Lacalle | Currency, Oil and Stocks after the French Elections

Counting the Cost - The Future of Oil Jobs in the Middle East

Currency, Oil and Stocks after the French Elections

Outlook for the Euro, Oil and Stocks after the French Elections

In this short video, Dr Daniel Lacalle explains his view of the EUR/USD short-term, why oil remains subdued despite OPEC cuts and the earnings season so far, with implications on stock markets.

You can comment on this video on Dr Daniel Lacalle’s website here

Saudi Arabia Warns Trump against Banning Oil Imports

Cheap oil pushes Saudi Arabia into further budget cuts. Saudi Arabia is cautioning President-elect Donald Trump against carrying out a threat to cut off American purchases of the kingdom's oil.

Saudi Arabia Warns President-Elect Trump: Don't Stop Buying Our Oil – Cavuto

Financial Storm Coming: “Sunny Ways” Won’t Stop Global Economic Forces

Greenland - The World's Newest Frontier

With huge reserves of minerals, oil and gas buried under their icebound nation, Greenland's tiny population may be about to become very rich.

Read the Sunday Telegraph article here | Colin Freeman, Nuuk | Sunday, November 03, 2013

Trillions of Dollars Worth of Oil Found in Australian Outback
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Up to 233 billion barrels of oil has been discovered in the Australian outback that could be worth trillions of dollars, in a find that could turn the region into a new Saudi Arabia.

The discovery in central Australia was reported by Linc Energy to the stock exchange and was based on two consultants reports, though it is not yet known how commercially viable it will be to access the oil.

The reports estimated the company's 16 million acres of land in the Arckaringa Basin in South Australia contain between 133 billion and 233 billion barrels of shale oil trapped in the region's rocks.

The find was likened to the Bakken and Eagle Ford shale oil projects in the US, which have resulted in massive outflows and have led to predictions that the US could overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer as soon as this year.

Peter Bond, Linc Energy's chief executive, said the find could transform the world's oil industry but noted that it would cost about £200 million to enable production in the area. Shale oil is more costly to extract than conventional crude oil and involves the controversial process of fracking, in which water and chemicals are used to break up the rocks.

"If you took the 233 billion, well, you're talking Saudi Arabia numbers," Mr Bond told ABC News. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Thursday, January 24, 2013

Saudi Arabia Sends Tankers to US with Pledge to Bring Down Oil Price
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia has pledged to take action to lower the high price of oil, which has risen to around $125 a barrel, with laden supertankers set to arrive in the US in the coming weeks.

Saudi Arabia said yesterday it will work "individually" and with the other petrol-rich Gulf states to return prices to "fair" levels.

The country indicated earlier this year that $100 a barrel was the ideal oil price.
The price of oil slid this morning in London as a result, with Brent crude trading down as much as 1pc at $124.40.

Oil prices have climbed to $127 a barrel this year, just $20 short of their all-time high, as tighter Western sanctions on Iran threaten to choke off the country's exports.

Prices also took a hit this morning after China increased retail fuel prices for the second time in two months, increasing concern that demand in the country - the world's second-largest oil consumer after the US - will decline. » | Telegraph staff and agencies | Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Saudis and Oil Key to Global Economy
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: The fate of the world's economy and financial markets lies with Saudi Arabia's political stability and the price of oil over the next three months.

That's according to independent economist David Hale, who says an escalation of friction between oil producers Saudi Arabia and Bahrain could tip the world back into recession.

Mr Hale's opinion is backed by Magellan Financial Group's chief executive Hamish Douglass, who says a major conflict involving major oil producers could have the oil price skyrocket by $US200 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia's intervention in Bahrain two weeks ago to quell a civil uprising polarised, rather than stabilised, the situation that had since quietened down, said Mr Hale, who is global economic adviser to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

"I think it was probably too pre-emptive and probably destructive," he told AAP in an interview in Melbourne.

"I think the critical issue of a tipping point is Saudi Arabia and political stability.

"If that's jeopardised, that could send the oil price up (by) $US50 a barrel, $US100 a barrel. That would tip us into a new global recession." » | Alison Bell | AAP | Tuesday, March 29, 2011