Asian Economist

Kok Peng Chan

Kok Peng has over three decades of experience covering the global economy and financial markets. He spent the bulk of his career in top global investment banks where he covered the Asian economies and stockmarkets. During this period, he travelled extensively to meet clients that cut across business lines. They include fund managers, hedge fund managers, private banking clients, corporates, and fixed income investors in the US, Europe, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. He is well liked by clients because of his commitment to a consistent framework and the ability to explain economic and financial developments with actionable investment recommendations. As a result he was ranked among top 3 economists in many surveys and polls conducted by financial magazines.

The Latest Weekly EIA Crude Oil Data Help Confirm Our Bullish Outlook for the U.S. Crude Oil Balance

Oil futures: Crude prices rebound on Strait of Hormuz tensions

Oil futures: Brent higher as uncertainty surrounds peace talks

Macroeconomics

<ul>
<li>Today’s oil shock is serious, but inventories, shale production, and lower energy dependence make the global economy far more resilient than in the 1970s</li>
<li>If today’s oil shock were truly worse than the 1970s, prices should be far higher. Oil quadrupled then, implying crude could approach $260/barrel by July if history repeated </li>
<li>For the US economy specifically, fears that higher oil prices will derail the AI capex boom appears overstated. Data centres run on electricity and not crude oil</li>
</ul>


Today’s oil shock is serious, but inventories, shale production, and lower energy dependence make the global economy far more resilient than in the 1970s
If today’s oil shock were truly worse than the 1970s, prices should be far higher. Oil quadrupled then, implying crude could approach $260/barrel by July if history repeated 
For the US economy specifically, fears that higher oil prices will derail the AI capex boom appears overstated. Data centres run on electricity and not crude oil


The Oil Shock of 2026 : Why It Is Not a Repeat of the 1970s