No One Needs A New iPhone. We Need More Refineries.
But Tell Me More About The Apple Watch
If you’re a bit of a tech nerd, you’re probably keeping a close eye on this week’s Apple event. If you needed a recap, the company announced the new iPhone 15 models, an updated Apple Watch and the latest iteration of its AirPods. In other words, you can spend another $1000 on a product that’s substantially the same as the one you have right now. And you’ll probably need some new chargers to go along with those things because why not gouge customers for more money if you can?
In the grand scheme of things, Apple’s latest product innovation isn’t a major needle mover. The one area of the economy that I’m more concerned about right now is one that impacts almost everybody - the energy market.
In case you haven’t noticed, it’s gotten more expensive to fill up your gas tank. The price of oil is a function of supply & demand with any number of factors impacting it at any given moment - e.g. economic activity, consumer sentiment and geopolitics. Today, we’re seeing each of them have a distinct effect, often occurring in opposite directions.
Crude oil prices have been on a tear since the beginning of summer, rising from $70 in June to nearly $90 today.
Not surprisingly, higher oil prices tend to lead to higher prices at the gas pump. The latest rally has pushed gas prices to their highest level in nearly a year, sitting at just over $3.70 a gallon nationally.
Let’s start by taking a look at the reasons that are driving oil prices higher at the moment.
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