Israel-Palestine Conflict: The Fuel to the Fire or Not?
While the Russia-Ukraine conflict shows no sign of armistice, the Israel-Palestine dispute has added to the global geopolitical turmoil. The oil market was possibly the quickest to react to the latest conflict, spiking within hours. While Iran, a major supporter of Hamas, had not entered the war at the time of writing, any involvement of the country could severely hurt oil supply, which would drive prices up.
Conversely, major oil suppliers, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are not supporters of either side and have “an understanding” with the US to ensure that oil price upticks remain within the 10% to 15% range. The EIA has also assured that Israel has “virtually no crude oil and condensate production,” but the conflict has immense potential to widen into regional hostilities that may eventually affect oil movement and hence global supply.
Pierre Andurand, a French businessman and hedge fund manager, has also predicted that global oil demand may push oil prices to a high of $110 per barrel, given that international inventories are declining rapidly.
Yet, the risk that the conflict in the Middle East will offset a chain reaction, remains factored into analyst projections and investor sentiment due to the location of the conflict zone. The situation puts traders who cannot assess investor sentiment in a difficult position. They have no way to adequately measure the impact of a massive geopolitical event, one of the key influencers of market volatility.