Oil at $80 would once have been considered elevated. Now it would be interpreted as stability, and that shift alone reveals how fundamentally the market has changed.
Brent crude moving beyond $120 this week is widely being described as a spike driven by geopolitical tension. That interpretation is too narrow. Price action reflects something deeper and more consequential: a structural reset in how energy is priced, traded, and increasingly used as a direct instrument of geopolitical strategy.
At best, oil falls back to $80. Even at that level, the market remains far removed from the conditions seen at the start of the year, when crude hovered near $60 and key supply routes were broadly assumed to function without deliberate interference. That assumption no longer holds.
The catalyst is clear and measurable. A US-led blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted a corridor that carries close to 21 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly one fifth of global oil consumption, alongside a significant share of global LNG flows. Disruption at that scale does not simply tighten supply; it forces a repricing of risk across the entire energy complex.
Oil had already advanced above $100 before the latest escalation. The move through $120 reflects both immediate supply concerns and a sharp expansion in geopolitical premium. Tanker rates have surged, insurance costs have multiplied, and shipping routes are being adjusted, adding time, cost, and uncertainty into global energy distribution. These are not marginal adjustments; they are structural pressures feeding directly into pricing.
Focus on disruption alone misses the more important development. President Donald Trump is using energy access as leverage in the confrontation with Iran, placing supply constraints within a broader strategic framework. Oil is no longer sitting outside geopolitical negotiations; it’s embedded within them.
Markets are now attempting to price political intent alongside traditional fundamentals. Once a chokepoint such as Hormuz becomes part of a negotiation strategy, it ceases to function as neutral infrastructure. Risk becomes embedded into the system rather than appearing as a temporary shock.
A ceasefire announced weeks ago has not restored confidence in uninterrupted flows, precisely because the underlying structure remains unchanged. The possibility of renewed restrictions continues to influence pricing, and that influence does not dissipate quickly.
A retreat to $80 would still leave oil approximately 30% above where it began the year. For the global economy, that represents a meaningful and persistent shift. According to the International Energy Agency, every sustained $10 increase in oil prices adds around 0.2 percentage points to global inflation, feeding directly into transport costs, manufacturing inputs, and consumer prices.
Inflation expectations are adjusting in response. Energy costs move rapidly through supply chains, forcing businesses to reassess pricing and compressing margins where pass-through is limited. Consumers feel the effect almost immediately, while policymakers are faced with a more complex challenge as elevated energy prices maintain pressure on inflation.
Growth dynamics are shifting in parallel. Temporary increases in costs can be absorbed, but ongoing uncertainty changes behaviour. Investment decisions are delayed, expansion plans are reconsidered, and corporate confidence weakens.
Economies that rely heavily on imported energy, including large parts of Europe and Asia, are particularly exposed as higher prices feed into trade balances and earnings.
Supply-side flexibility offers limited relief. Spare production capacity remains concentrated within a small number of producers, primarily within OPEC+, and bringing additional supply online is neither immediate nor sufficient to offset a sustained disruption of this scale. This constraint reinforces a higher floor for oil prices.
Financial markets are already adjusting to this new reality. Energy producers and commodity-linked assets are benefiting from stronger pricing, while sectors with high transport exposure or limited pricing power are facing increased pressure.
The divergence is becoming more pronounced as cost structures shift.
The implications extend well beyond oil itself. Trade routes, sanctions, and supply chains are being used more assertively within geopolitical strategy, accelerating the speed at which political decisions translate into market outcomes.
Investors are operating in a world where those linkages are more direct and more immediate than in previous cycles.
Governments are responding by placing greater emphasis on energy security, with increased focus on domestic production, diversified supply chains, and strategic reserves. Investment into alternative energy sources is also gaining momentum, driven by the need to reduce exposure to external disruption.
Oil at $120 captures attention. Oil at $80 would be presented as stabilisation. Neither reflects a return to previous conditions. The market has shifted in a way that embeds a higher and more persistent baseline.
Energy flows can no longer be treated as a given. They’re increasingly shaped by political decisions, and that reality is now reflected in pricing.
Nigel Green is deVere CEO and Founder
Also published on Medium.
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