Commodities

Europe's "Less" Is Doing More Than Anyone Gives It Credit For

Brent is sitting a touch above $104 this morning, down slightly from yesterday's surge. The Strait of Hormuz, which used to move something like a fifth of the world's oil and LNG before the war, has been effectively shut since March. Saudi output dropped around 1.9 million barrels a day in August, tanker rates are breaking records, and the EIA doesn't see Middle East production back near pre-conflict levels until the second quarter of 2027. Meanwhile, the European Union imports 57 percent of the energy it consumes and spent €340 billion on…