The previous piece by ‘Seeking Alpha’ on March 1 had ranked the US as the most influential country on crude oil prices, with Iran and Iraq jointly taking the fourth place.
Recent developments, however, have contributed to a change in the ranking, with Iran coming on top of the list, followed by Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The report cites Iran’s option to close the Strait of Hormuz, which is a key waterway/chokepoint between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, as the reason behind the new development.
Iran’s announcement over the strategic strait came as US decided that it would not renew waivers that let countries buy Iranian oil without facing US sanctions in a bid to drive Iran's oil revenues to zero.
Meanwhile, Russia halted oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline to several European countries due to a contamination issue, as US/China trade tensions became worse.
The report maintains that ranking can change quickly, adding that this time the results are geopolitical as much as they are economic.
Seeking Alpha is a New York-based crowd-sourced content service for financial markets.
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