At its narrowest point, the Straits of Hormuz is a mere 39km-wide waterway. To put it in perspective, that is narrower than the distance from the eastern to the western side of Singapore (approximately 50km) – an area that is hardly noticeable on the world map. And yet, a blockage of this tiny waterway is all it takes to take global trade down to its knees. Just over this weekend, this vulnerability became a live crisis: after a fleeting attempt to reopen the waterway last week, a renewed military standoff has once again choked off the flow of 20 million barrels of oil per day, sending Brent crude prices surging back towards the US$100 mark. Nonetheless, here are some signals investors can watch for to ride out the storm. Energy Supply & Price Around 20% of global oil supplies are transported through the narrow Straits of Hormuz. Thus, a disruption in this narrow waterway instantly creates an acute squeeze on global oil supply,...