The Economist.

Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist.

I'm Rosie Bloor.

Today on the show, who will stand in France's pivotal presidential election and Brazil's chances at this summer's World Cup?

But first...

... But first. Oil prices have hit their highest level since 2022.

The price of Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, passed $125 a barrel,

as hopes for a swift end to the conflict in Iran evaporated.

This week two, the United Arab Emirates announced it was leaving OPEC,

the oil cartel that theoretically keeps prices and supply stable.

The sustained blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global

oil consumption flows,

once seemed unimaginable.

Now we're experiencing the biggest supply shock in the history of the oil market.

Yet, highest prices are today, they may not yet reflect that reality.

If you look at oil prices, you wouldn't really believe that we are on the brink of energy apocalypse.

Mathieu Favas is our commodities editor.

And that's because oil prices today, brand crude, the global benchmark, is still lower than it was at the peak of the Russia-Ukraine crisis of 2022. Yes, petrol is a bit

pricier. Yes, it costs more to buy a plane ticket. But most people still drive. So there's a

feeling of normalcy that is, I would say, quite misleading. Just put this in a bit of context for me.

We're talking about an oil shock, but how big is that hit?

Before the war, you had about 18 million barrels per day, which is roughly 18% of the global supply of oil, that went through the strait of ormus.

...