Oil Back to $100?

Jamal Khashoggi... that's a name that has been flooding our news feeds recently. He's a Saudi journalist and a critic of the Saudi kingdom who is currently missing. Actually, many believe he was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Turkey.

Currently, investigations are being done and threats are being tossed around between Saudi Arabia and... the US?

Yup, Khashoggi is a Washington Post columnist and the US has always made it clear that you'll get in trouble if you inflict any harm on journalists, let alone kill them.

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has called for a “transparent” and “thorough” investigation. Vice President Mike Pence tweeted about the incident saying that

...violence against journalists across the globe is a threat to freedom of the press & human rights. The free world deserves answers.

Unfortunately, journalists get murdered all the time. According to Reporters Without Borders, 57 journalists have been killed so far in 2018 alone. Many countries have voiced out their concerns about Khashoggi and the US has threatened to sanction Saudi Arabia if they find out he was murdered. Meanwhile, the Saudi government has threatened to retaliate if the US does end up going forward with the sanctions.

The Saudi stock exchange fell 6% to the news of potential sanctions. Even more interestingly, Al Arabiya, a Saudi TV news broadcaster, released an op-ed claiming that the potential sanctions could spill into the oil markets and that oil prices could skyrocket if the sanctions are materialized, stating that

If the price of oil reaching $80 angered President Trump, no one should rule out the price jumping to $100, or $200, or even double that figure.

Double that figure?? $400?? Insanity! I think $400, and even $200, is pretty farfetched.

Regardless, the geopolitical environment in the Middle East is, and always has been, sophisticated and troubling. It'll be interesting to see how this whole thing will pan out. Expect lots of action in the upcoming days or weeks.