Economic Warfare has been going on for decades, though it has never benefited Americans quite so much as the battle between oil giants Iran and Saudi Arabia. Tensions in the Middle East have, in the past, frightened the markets over stability concerns. However, this time, there has been no naval threats to exporting nations. Saudi Arabia will not allow Iran to continue to build its military on the back of high oil prices; and will therefore continue producing at capacity until Iran agrees to cap many of their wells (Reuters). The rest of the OPEC nations are looking to reduce supply, but cannot do so while Iran and Saudi Arabia are racing to over-saturate the market.
However, Russia (which is heavily dependent on energy production and high energy prices) is stepping in to close a deal. “Yet there is a chance that this one might be different. There might be an agreement on a production freeze between Russia and Saudi Arabia, and a cap on production in Iran. If that happened there could be a real impact on the oil price” (Independent UK).
For Americans, economic warfare between Saudi Arabia and Iran has greatly reduced the impact of our own sluggish economic output on the US economy. If Russia is able to make a deal with Saudi Arabia this week, gasoline prices could rise dramatically in time to cripple retailers during the most important time of the year. Any marginal decrease in disposable income for the American consumer will mean massive blows to corporate profits after Black Friday. With our economy growing at the slowest post-recession rate since the Great Depression, higher energy and health care prices could grind the US economy to a halt. Once again, that which now benefits the Russian Federation harms the United States.
