Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and CNBC’s Jim Cramer led a wave of alarm Sunday after oil prices surged and President Donald Trump said higher energy costs were “a very small price to pay” for world safety and peace.
Schumer And Cramer Sound Early Alarm
Schumer wrote on X, “Due to Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice, gas prices have surged to their highest levels in years,” and demanded that Trump release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve “IMMEDIATELY.”
Cramer warned, “A sudden oil shock is always bad for stocks,” adding, “I don’t see a path to de-escalation.”
Trump Shrugs Off Pressure On Oil
Trump has brushed off the pain at the pump. In a Reuters interview last week, he said of rising gas prices, “if they rise, they rise,” and he has resisted calls to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is the largest emergency crude stockpile in the world and was established to protect the United States from severe petroleum supply interruptions. The Energy Department says that the SPR has an authorized storage capacity of 714 million barrels, while Reuters reported that presidents have used it before during wartime supply shocks.
Other critics sharpened the political attack. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office circulated a satirical image showing an “Iran war blend” price of $8.21 a gallon.
Economist Peter Schiff wrote, “Oil is now over $112 per barrel,” warning prices “can easily go much higher.”
Market Shock Ripples Across Global Economy
Reuters reported last week that analysts see prolonged supply disruptions, fresh inflation pressure and slower global growth if the conflict drags on. At the time, Goldman Sachs estimated that a temporary rise in oil to $100 could shave 0.4 percentage points off global growth.
Global markets opened the week under heavy pressure as oil prices jumped nearly 20% to about $108 a barrel, their highest level since 2022, on fears that the widening U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict could disrupt energy supplies.
Dow futures fell 999 points, or 2.10%, to 46,518, while WTI crude April 2026 futures surged 27.58% to $116.03 per barrel and the U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.61% to 99.59, signaling a broad flight to safety.
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