A prominent Wall Street bank has warned the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz will have a significant economic impact across multiple sectors, as ITV News Economics Editor Joel Hills reports<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump has publicly dismissed concerns about rising fuel prices since the conflict began.<\/p>\n
Higher oil prices, he said, are \u201ca very small price\u201d to pay<\/a> for the increased security that Operation Epic Fury will deliver for ordinary Americans.<\/p>\n But tonight a prominent Wall Street bank has warned that the economic impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping lane for oil and gas – could intensify dramatically in the coming days as shortages emerge.<\/p>\n In a research note published on Friday evening, Natasha Kaneva, head of commodities research at JPMorgan Chase, wrote: \u201cBy the end of next week, we expect crude supply cuts to approach 12 million barrels per day, making the deficit highly visible across physical markets.\u201d<\/p>\n Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter<\/a> for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.<\/p>\n That is an enormous amount of oil to disappear. For context, the world normally consumes around 100 million barrels a day.<\/p>\n The JPMorgan note adds: \u201cThe market is facing an acute shortage of products<\/a> – diesel, jet fuel, LPG and naphtha – that cannot be consumed simply because they are not available.\u201d<\/p>\n In plain English: the problem isn\u2019t just oil prices. The world is running short of the fuels that power cars, lorries, aircraft, factories and farms.<\/p>\n The first visible effects of the shock are already appearing in Asian countries that depend heavily on energy exports from the Gulf.<\/p>\n Four-day weeks and driving limits: How the world reacts to Iran oil crisis<\/a><\/p>\n India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are already rationing fuel or preparing emergency measures.<\/p>\n Airlines in Australia have raised airfares, while Air New Zealand has begun cancelling flights.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have never been in this situation before,” Neil Atkinson, the former head of oil markets at the International Energy Agency, told ITV News<\/p>\n Neil Atkinson, the former head of oil markets at the International Energy Agency (IEA), describes the Strait of Hormuz as the \u201csingle most important choke point in global shipping\u201d – even more critical than the Suez Canal.<\/p>\n In an interview with ITV News, he explained that the IEA used to run war-game scenarios simulating major disruptions to oil supply.<\/p>\n But they never seriously considered the Strait of Hormuz closing.<\/p>\n It was considered unthinkable because of the shortages it would create.<\/p>\n The war in the Gulf Britain can’t escape<\/a><\/p>\n The release of 400 million barrels of oil is not enough to end the energy crisis<\/a><\/p>\n