The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Oil and what the markets are telling us

Russ Mould of A J Bell says that oil briefly touched $125 a barrel because the "blockade of the blockage" is cutting off 1/5 of the global supply. However, he points out that this is a paper future oil price. The current price is higher, as one might expect with tight supply. There are, of course, other types of oil which are currently much cheaper because they go nowhere near Iran. The equity market is pricing in a speedy solution but it is just as easy to argue that the blockade will continue and that stagflation will be the result. It isn't only oil that is the problem, of course. Urea and helium are both essential commodities also facing supply problems. Even if the markets are correct and things de-escalate, in the face of so much that has been destroyed or damaged, it is unlikely to be a smooth ride ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices