The response in oil markets to the Hamas assault on Israel has been surprisingly muted. That could be the calm before the storm.
An offshore oil platform in the Persian Gulf’s Salman Oil Field, operated by the National Iranian Offshore Oil Co. Iran is a major oil producer and reportedly backs the Hamas terrorist group that launched last weekend’s offensive on Israel.
More recently, however, with Russia having assembled a “ghost armada” of hundreds of ageing tankers that now carry about 60 per cent of its exports, the effectiveness of the price cap regime has been questioned. Its current account surplus in the September quarter of $US16.6 billion compares with an $US8.6 billion surplus in the June quarter and was roughly double the level expected.