Free Republic

Iran appears to be losing its grip on the Strait of Hormuz while traffic through the critical waterway has exploded by nearly 400% over the last two weeks — as ships increasingly use a US-backed corridor to cross. Nearly 200 ships navigated the strait last week, up from 150 the previous week and just 40 two weeks earlier, according to data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center. The surge brings total traffic along the passage route to about 20% of pre-war levels, through which roughly 20% of the world’s seaborne oil flowed in peacetime. Activity in Hormuz ground to...

Americans are staring at $4+ gas and asking a simple question that should have a simple answer. If the United States is the largest oil producer on Earth, why does it still feel like an oil-importing country every time prices spike? That question matters far beyond the gas station. It cuts straight into inflation, consumer behavior, Fed policy, and where capital flows next. What looks like a pricing anomaly is actually a structural reality that investors ignore at their own risk.This Was Supposed to Be the Easy PartGasoline prices have climbed to an average of roughly $4.26 per gallon, the...