As we are now seeing an ‘echo’ of the huge spike in oil prices that in my view precipitated a US recession as much as the implosion of the credit markets, it’s worth revisiting the 2008 bubble in energy prices. emstrongThe historic oil price shock of 2005-8 was triggered not by a supply interruption like that of the 1970’s but simply by stagnating supply in the face of soaring demand, reducing the daily supply cushion to uncomfortably low levels at 1-1.5m b/d (now up to 5m plus) and magnifying the potential impact of any threatened supply disruption/strong/em , be it from Nigerian militants or a Gulf Hurricane. The impact on prices was exacerbated by a speculative mania that gripped the poorly regulated and opaque energy markets from late 2007, creating a parabolic blow-off move to the $147 high last July. Crucial to this whole destabilizing episode was the role of …