Two numbers stand out after a week of the US-Israel war on Iran and a year of Donald Trump’s economic mismanagement: oil is now more than US$100 a barrel, and the US economy lost 92,000 jobs in February.
Or, to use a term from the 1970s, stagflation — aka rising inflation and unemployment.
In the wake of the Iran bombing, crude oil futures accelerated Friday with gains of 11% to 13%, then spiking to more than US$100 yesterday. That Trump doesn’t seem to have any particular goal with the attack — other than perhaps further distraction from the Epstein files — along with his failure to rule out a dramatic expansion of the war, including sending in troops, has further engendered uncertainty.