Oil markets are still in La-La land

Leaders | Crunchtime in commoditiesOil markets are still in La-La landPrices have risen sharply. Unfortunately, they still have further to goShareIllustration: Deena So'Oteh Apr 30th 2026|6 min readSoMEONE WAS sniffing the butane. Energy experts have long warned that the war in Iran was causing the biggest oil-supply shock in history. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz shut in 14m barrels a day of oil. To destroy that much demand, they said, the price of Brent crude should be more than double its pre-war level, at well over $150 a barrel. But oil traders were in a stupor. As recently as April 17th prices were below $90 a barrel. Over the past week, on talk of renewed fighting, they have been waking up. On April 30th prices spiked above $125.

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