Red Sea Crisis Leaves Oil Market Cold. But This May Change

Last week, Brent crude closed above $81 per barrel, close to $82. This was a solid increase from the start of the week when the international benchmark was trading at around $78 per barrel. Yet these prices are about the same as prices were when the Yemeni Houthis began attacking ships in the Red Sea. The seemingly unnatural price movement probably played a part in Saudi Arabia’s decision to stop working on expanding its production capacity and contributed to already rife uncertainty about the long-term future of the oil industry in investment…