, Columnist
Oil Is Fine With Wars, Just Not Trade Wars
Conflicts typically boost prices, but this one threatens to crush demand.
A pipeline in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Joe Raedle/Newsmakers/Getty Images
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It’s a sad, cold fact that, for some, war actually is good for more than absolutely nothing. Consider how sprightly oil can get at the mere rumor of stuff getting blown up.
Trade war is different, though, because that usually entails large parts of the economy taking flak. While President Donald Trump appears to have pulled back from an immediate confrontation with the EU, the impact of existing tariffs largely aimed at China is starting to be felt from auto plants to farms.