Professor Warns of Oil Shock if Strait of Hormuz Remains Closed
As tensions escalate in the Middle East and Iran effectively halts cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for global oil shipments, a Syracuse University expert is available to discuss the potential impacts on energy markets and the global economy.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most strategically important shipping routes in the world. A significant share of the 辫濒补苍别迟鈥檚 oil supply moves through the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, making any disruption to traffic there a major concern for energy markets and global economic stability.
, professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment in the听Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, studies the political economy of energy, capitalism, climate politics and resource geography.
Huber shared the following perspective on the conflict and its potential economic consequences:
“Before this war, Trump could at least claim gasoline prices were low to counteract the concerns about ‘affordability’ plaguing his administration. No longer (gasoline prices are up 25% since the beginning of the war). Like Venezuela before, there is a brazenness to this operation. It appears the administration expected it to go quickly and had little plan to address the havoc Iran is unleashing on the region and on energy markets more broadly. It is clear if they do not find a way to de-escalate the situation, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, we will see an oil shock that could very well throw much of the global economy into recession if not worse.”
Reporters interested in speaking with Huber can contact Vanessa Marquette, media relations specialist, at vrmarque@syr.edu.
Faculty Expert
