Alex Ossola

Yesterday, the U.S.

oil benchmark settled below $75 a barrel, a level not seen since last June.

And though global oil prices seem to have stabilized today, Goldman Sachs analysts predicted that global oil could shoot to $100 a barrel if the Strait of Hormuz is paralyzed for weeks.

But Benoit Morin, who covers the U.S.

oil and gas industry, says American drillers aren't rushing to boost their production.

Benoit, why aren't American drillers jumping on this?

What is the risk for them if they jump into increasing production too quickly?

Oil prices have been on a roller coaster over the past few years because of things like COVID and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Has that given these oil companies a playbook for how to handle these kinds of situations?

What is the impact that this has on American consumers?

Are we just stuck paying more at the pump?

That was WSJ reporter Benoit Morin.

Thanks, Benoit.

With the Strait of Hormuz effectively blocked, several thousand ships are stuck in and around the Persian Gulf.

That's trapping about a fifth of the oil and liquefied natural gas the world consumes each day.

And it's affecting the industry in the entire region.

Storage tanks are filling up with oil that can't get shipped out, which means producers have to cut their output.

Coming up, the latest on oil prices and stock market moves.

Plus, what's the corporate jargon that WSJ readers hate the most?

We'll circle back and unpack that after the break.