Geopolitical Risks Loom Large Over Oil Markets

While optimistic inflation data slightly buoyed oil earlier this week, with the Fed indicating one rate cut before the end of this year, and more to follow in 2025 and 2026, a cocktail of global events is just as likely to sway crude prices in the coming weeks.  In a flanking movement, Russia is trying to secure its position off the coast of Libya on the Mediterranean (within easy reach of Italy, and really anywhere in Western Europe), as Russian warships, including one a nuclear-powered sub, arrive in Havana Bay, Cuba, just off the Gulf of…