Worst case scenario: $150 oil, energy shortage, rising prices | The Usual Place podcast

After US President Donald Trump walked back on his threats to wipe Iran off the map – and six weeks after the war in the Middle East started – there’s now a two-week ceasefire in place. Hours before this kicked in, the Singapore Government announced in Parliament on April 7 support measures to help cushion the cost increases resulting from the Middle East conflict. These included disbursing $500 in CDC vouchers half a year early and a $200 increase in the Cost-of-Living Special payment. But with any real resolution in the Middle East war still yet to be worked out, the question now is: do things get better from here, or are we just having a moment of respite before the knock-on effects continue to worsen? In this podcast episode, I chat with economists Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and Sheana Yue, a senior economist at global economic advisory firm Oxford Economics, about what else we should brace ourselves for. Highlights (click/tap above): 0:00 Intro 4:12 Iran war uncertainty’s impact on Singapore 10:53 Singapore’s 1973 oil crisis lessons 17:21 Better placed to handle this war? 20:12 “We have a bit of breathing space.” 23:30 Do we need more handouts? 29:21 Is Singapore headed for a recession? 32:01 Stagflation a worry for all countries 35:55 Should we throw out the old diplomacy rulebook? 43:39 The worst-case Iran war scenario Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah ([email protected]) Read Natasha’s articles: https://str.sg/iSXm Follow Natasha on her IG account and DM her your thoughts on this topic: https://str.sg/8KNT Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG: / theusualplacepodcast Filmed by: Studio+65 Edited by: Eden Soh, Amirul Karim & Natasha Liew Executive producer: Danson Cheong Editorial producer: Elizabeth Law Feedback to: [email protected] Turn on notifications 🔔 to stay updated. -------------------- Discover more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel ➤ https://str.sg/wvz7 Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store ➤ https://str.sg/icyB Google Play ➤ https://str.sg/icyX