Don’t rule out $400 oil if the U.S. sanctions Saudi Arabia

So now Ford Motor F, -1.93% Chairman Bill Ford and JPMorgan Chase JPM, -1.09% boss Jaime Dimon have both opted to drop out of that Saudi conference following the country’s suspected role in the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The high-profile pair is following the lead of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Viacom VIA, -1.04% CEO Bob Bakish and AOL co-founder Steve Case, as well as media organizations like CNN, the New York Times NYT, +0.60% and the Financial Times.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, however, is said to still be planning to attend. That flow of Saudi cash is apparently pretty hard to resist. Nevertheless, mounting threats from around the world to punish Saudi Arabia, including the possibility of U.S. sanctions, are rattling the oil-soaked nation and drawing sharp words in response.

“The Kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by threatening to impose economic sanctions, using political pressures, or repeating false accusation,” a government source reportedly told the official Saudi Press Agency. “The Kingdom also affirms that if it receives any action, it will respond with greater action.”

Hence, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel’s general manager Turki Aldakhil, in our call of the day, warned we could see an explosive move in oil prices. “If U.S. sanctions are imposed on Saudi Arabia, we will be facing an economic disaster that would rock the entire world,” he wrote in an op-ed. “If the price of oil reaching $80 angered President Trump, no one should rule out the price jumping to $100, or $200, or even double that figure.”

Losses are building for futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMZ8, -0.45% , S&P 500 ESZ8, -0.51% and Nasdaq Composite NQZ8, -0.84% . Oil CLZ8, +0.83% , which will be closely eyed this week, is up about 0.6% at $71.92. Gold GCZ8, +1.10% is edging slightly higher.

Overseas, Asia markets ADOW, -1.19% continued bleeding, with the Nikkei NIK, -1.87% firmly in the red. Europe SXXP, -0.27% is looking at a sluggish start as well.