BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said oil prices could reach $150 a barrel and cause a “global recession” if Iran “remains a threat” even after the war ends.
“If there is a cessation of war, and yet Iran remains a threat, a threat to trade, a threat to the Strait of Hormuz, a threat to this peaceful coexistence of the GCC region, then I would argue that we could have years of above $100 closer to $150 oil which has profound implications in the economy,” Fink told BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast published on Wednesday.
“We will have global recession,” he said, when asked if oil stays at $150 a barrel.
Oil prices have remained volatile and risen sharply since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began. However, prices sank about 4% on Wednesday after reports the U.S. had sent Iran a 15-point proposal aimed at ending the war, raising prospects of a ceasefire.
The war has all but halted shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas through the Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about one-fifth of the world’s gas and crude supply, causing what the International Energy Agency has called the biggest-ever oil supply disruption.
(Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Arun Koyyur)