Tyler Schipper, an economist and associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas, recently spoke with WCCO-TV about the impact of oil prices on businesses and consumers.
From the story:
Despite an announced Middle East ceasefire on Monday, there are concerns about oil prices and whether people will be paying more.
Iran controls the northern side of the Strait of Hormuz, which is used by ships carrying roughly 20% of the world’s daily supply of oil.
The price of the West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, jumped 4% on Sunday night shortly after the start of trading, but fell more than 7% on Monday afternoon.
What does that mean for consumers? ...
Even though images of Iran may trigger memories of the ’90s, associate professor of economics at the University of St. Thomas Tyler Schipper says times have changed.
“The U.S. is now the largest producer of oil. We are actually an exporter of oil, and so conflicts in the Middle East, yes, they rattle the market, but on a very different scale than a similar conflict would have 20 years ago,” Schipper said. “What you’re seeing in oil markets over the last 10 days or so has been mostly about pricing and risk. It’s always been about escalation and risks of escalation, not necessarily what’s already happened to oil supplies. I would say don’t worry too much at this point. It’s still relatively muted because of the new landscape for oil production.”
