Saudi Arabia Can Ease Trump’s Gas Price Fears
By exporting more of its own stockpile to the U.S., Riyadh would help offset the effect of Iran sanctions.
Riyadh to the rescue.
Photographer: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images
Saudi Arabia confronts something of a dilemma. On the one hand, it really wants to put the squeeze on arch-rival Iran, and few things squeeze that country harder than the resumption of U.S. sanctions on its oil exports. Yet the mere prospect of taking that much oil off the market has helped to raise gasoline prices in a midterm-election year in the U.S., prompting tweeted demands from President Trump that Saudi Arabia reciprocate by pumping millions of extra barrels to fill any shortfall. Open the taps too much, though, and Riyadh would risk undoing all the work of the past 18 months or so to support prices.
What’s a crown prince to do? One option is to shift around the merchandise rather than just produce more of it.