The energy crisis triggered by the US-Israeli military operation against Iran threatens to soon spread widely across the United States and other regions, The Wall Street Journal writes.
The article notes that if peace talks fail quickly, the consequences of record-high prices for certain types of Middle Eastern oil will soon hit the United States and other regions.
“The disruptions in fuel supplies are so severe that we will fall into a full-blown panic if this situation is not resolved soon“, warned energy market analyst Helge Andre Martinsen of the Norwegian branch of the Swedish investment bank DNB Carnegie.
The newspaper specifies that under “permission“ in this case, the restoration of full-scale oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz is meant. “Even then, in order for prices to return to pre-war levels, the Gulf countries would have to abandon their previous plans to reduce oil production”, traders believe.
“Furthermore, this return of oil prices to pre-war levels, according to Martinsen, would require a long-term easing of sanctions against Iran and Russia“, the newspaper emphasizes. So far, the United States has only implemented short-term, selective easing of its restrictions on Russian and Iranian oil.
Gasoline prices in the United States have already jumped to their highest levels since 2022. However, American experts admit that even if the Iranian conflict ends relatively quickly, fuel prices in the United States will fall slowly.