Now, in the Iran war, the price rocket is taking off again. When the price of oil rises, it usually rises steeply. And depending on what happens with the production facilities in the Gulf and especially the blocked Strait of Hormuz, it could rise significantly higher. Hardly any price reacts as sensitively as that for oil.
No wonder, economists say, demand is “inelastic.” What they mean: People continue to fill up as if nothing had happened and tend to limit their other consumption. However, they come to the gas pumps with a lot of anger in their stomachs, “Tank-Wut” is the first candidate for the word of the year. Because everyone knows about these reaction patterns, the price of oil goes up when there is even a threat of a reduction in supply.