One cost of trade tensions: economic uncertainty

After President Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran – potentially restricting sales of its 4 percent of the world oil production – oil markets surged. But gas prices in Waltham, Mass., did exactly nothing.

Hours ticked by. A day. The filling station signs dotting the Boston suburb’s main drag remained unmoved. After a week, prices had pushed upward a few pennies per gallon – noticeable, but hardly dramatic.

Last month, US soybeans initially lost nearly 5 percent of their value after China threatened new tariffs on US goods if the White House carried out its broadside on Chinese imports. Then prices quickly stabilized.

And on Monday, share prices of US tech companies initially hit