The Hormuz Panic Spiral: How Market Fear and Policy Chaos Are Fueling Energy Shortages
None of the attempted mitigation measures have succeeded in bringing oil prices down. Even when the IEA coordinated the largest-ever release from global strategic reserves totaling 400 mb, and the US contributed 172 mb from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, prices kept climbing. Similarly, the Trump administration’s temporary waivers on sanctions, allowing the sale of sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil currently stranded at sea, failed to reverse the upward trend. The core reason boils down to one word: Panic. Discussion below.
