The start of a U.S. war in the Middle East has historically induced significant oil-market panic. But on Monday, the markets broke with history and popped prices less than most analysts anticipated.
The spike in Brent oil prices Monday was significant compared to price changes over the course of the past year or so, but the increase did not even break the top 50 largest for a single day.
The reason? Over the last decade, the United States has transformed from an energy importer into one of the world’s top energy exporters.