Trafigura Chief Jeremy Weir says of oil, “We have got a critical situation. I really think we have a problem for the next six months. … [O]nce it gets to these parabolic states, markets can move and they can spike quite a lot.” As head of one of the world’s largest commodity traders, he is now the latest big name sounding the alarm over potential economic problems as the Ukraine war roils the world economy.

Weir spoke at the FT Global Boardroom conference on Tuesday, predicting oil would hit likely $150 per barrel or more in the coming months as the market contends with supply chain issues as Russia shifts its oil away from European markets.

Weir said, “If we see very high energy prices for a period of time, we will eventually see demand destruction. It will be problematic to sustain these levels and continue global growth.”

Both WTI Crude and Brent Crude have risen by more than 30% since Russia’s Feb 24th invasion of Ukraine.

Goldman Sachs  has predicted that oil could hit $140 a barrel in the coming months. Oil’s all time high was $150 per barrel set in 2008, but due to refining capacity issues, gasoline has been hitting record highs lately in the US, now up to $5 per gallon on average according to GasBuddy.

The S&P500 energy sector has risen by about 66% in 2022, doing far better than any other sector.