The global economy has just been dealt another highly unpleasant surprise. The Opec+ cartel’s decision to substantially cut its output quotas, despite biden begging them (while he destroys our supply) not to, will severely test Europe and the US as they head into an economic downturn. This is especially the case as western countries have increasingly limited options to respond. It acts as another reminder of the collective west’s limits to enforce its will in a world where it is heavily dependent on others for key natural resources.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies, including Russia, whose Ruble has gotten a lot stronger since our sanctions, agree to cut production. The Saudis and Russia are underscoring the shear stupidity of biden’s limits on oil and gas production, and his non-emergency release of oil from the national petroleum stockpile.

Analysts estimate this would lift crude prices to about $100 a barrel from the $80 to $90 range of the last month. OPEC countries may be seeking to boost their budgets to cope with rising food prices and the strong dollar. But the timing couldn’t be worse for biden and liberal/ democrats.

The biden regime has released 200 million barrels or so from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over the past year and about one million barrels a day in recent months, no doubt worried that a taper would increase gasoline prices before the midterm election. But oil traders aren’t naifs. They know the releases will soon end and the biden regime will also have to start refilling the reserve, which is at its lowest level since 1984. Much of the oil that remains can’t be efficiently processed by U.S. refiners. So, if there were a true national emergency—say, a cyber attack on a major oil pipeline—the U.S. might not have enough inventory to keep supply flowing.

To refill the reserve, the biden regime may soon have to buy oil at a higher price than it has been selling it. Sell high and buy higher wasn’t supposed to be the strategy. A smarter strategy to reduce U.S. energy prices would have been to encourage more domestic production, kinda like Trump did.

So, to summarize, liberal/ democrats, in order to get the vote from environmental extremists, hamstrung domestic production and begged OPEC to make up the difference, and instead they’ve got a wide-open opportunity to drive the price through the roof and cripple the U.S. economy

What’s coming is a dystopian nightmare. Europe will be first, they will burn dirty wood this winter as their civilization reverts from postmodern abundance to premodern survival, next will be us for while the biden regime ossifies oil fields, cancels new federal oil and gas leases, stops pipeline construction and hectors investors to shun fossil fuels, the supply drops dramatically, scarcity naturally follows, prices soar. The middle class has now mortgaged its upward mobility to ensure that they might afford gasoline, heating oil, and skyrocketing electricity. More pain will follow.

1 Trump wanted to refill the SPR when oil was cheap, when he was president, and "they" wouldn't let him do it. If he becomes president again, I hope that's the first thing he does.

2 That reserve is there for emergencies and high prices do not constitute an emergency. It never should have been tapped.

Trump knew what he was doing. Sell high and buy low.