The Middle East continues to be on a roller coaster, with U.S. President Donald Trump launching a Navy operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and remove hundreds of stranded ships and crew from the Gulf. However, within hours, the operation was halted, leading to a new peace initiative being negotiated between the two sides. The hope of this deal led oil prices to fall to under $100 per barrel, which pushed many global stock markets to record highs. Meanwhile, Shell reported its highest Q1 profit in two years at $6.9 billion, largely due to strong performance of its oil trading business following the Iran war. The world is running out of shock absorbers as oil inventories are rapidly decreasing, which means oil prices will likely remain elevated.