Central banks must brace for another energy shock

The humanitarian cost of conflict between Israel and Hamas makes other issues pale by comparison, and our hopes and prayers are with the victims.

Yet the wider economic ramifications will affect billions of people globally. There is a concrete risk if the situation deteriorates that Middle Eastern energy producers could physically restrict supplies to supporters of Israel and cut production to push up prices.

Fifty years ago, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) acted