Counting The Cushion

Bob Elliott · Nonconsensus · March 26, 2026 at 10:31 · ⏱ 4 min read  | Read on Substack ↗
TLDR
The article analyzes the oil market impact of the Iran war, noting that while temporary supply cushions from IEA releases and sanctions relief are mitigating price spikes, these are short-term. If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, oil prices could surge dramatically as cushions exhaust within months. • Oil production shut-ins due to the Iran war have reached nearly 10 million barrels per day. • Temporary supply cushions include IEA releases of 400 million barrels and sanctions relief on Russian and Iranian oil. • Floating storage is declining by about 2 million barrels per day and may only last 30 more days. • SPR releases can provide about 2 million barrels per day for a couple of months. • Without a resolution, oil prices could rise to $120 per barrel or higher as cushions dry up. • Commercial inventory drawdowns are accelerating, increasing price convexity.
Full Analysis

{ "tldr": { "summary": "The article analyzes the oil market impact of the Iran war, noting that while temporary supply cushions from IEA releases and sanctions relief are mitigating price spikes, these are short-term. If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, oil prices could surge dramatically as cushions exhaust within months.", "key_points": [ "Oil production shut-ins due to the Iran war have reached nearly 10 million barrels per day.", "Temporary supply cushions include IEA releases of 400 million barrels and sanctions relief on Russian and Iranian oil.", "Floating storage is declining by about 2 million barrels per day and may only last 30 more days.", "SPR releases can provide about 2 million barrels per day for a couple of months.", "Without a resolution, oil prices could rise to $120 per barrel or higher as cushions dry up.", "Commercial inventory drawdowns are accelerating, increasing price convexity." ] }, "trade_ideas": [] }

Read time 4 min
Length 4,578 chars
Category finance
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