The Iran war is fundamentally reshaping the oil industry, as geopolitical volatility rattles traders and derails expectations of a Middle East drilling boom.
US President Donald Trump’s policy swings on the conflict, delivered via social media, have transformed the way oil markets behave, Citadel’s head of commodities told the Financial Times, adding that he has a screen devoted to monitoring the president’s posts.
The war has also upended conventional wisdom on the Middle East; oilfield executives were recently bullish on a rebound in the region’s drilling and fracking orders, but their hopes — and fortunes — have since dimmed, Bloomberg wrote. Analysts expect profits for some of the world’s largest oil contractors to fall this year.