When Energy Volatility Hits Public Finance

In the latest Hilltop Talks, Tom Kozlik sits down with Walter Kunisch, Senior Commodities Market Strategist at HTS Commodities, to discuss how geopolitical disruption, constrained supply, and rerouted global energy flows are reshaping the outlook for oil, refined products, and public-sector costs.

With crude oil, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and heating oil markets under pressure, the conversation connects global energy disruption to a very practical question for state and local governments: how should public entities prepare when fuel and energy costs stay higher for longer?

In this episode:

• Why energy prices are being driven more by geopolitics than traditional demand cycles
• How disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz are tightening global supply
• Why U.S. exports are helping buffer global shortages — while keeping domestic inventories tight
• Which U.S. and global regions may feel the greatest pressure from fuel and refined-product shortages
• How HilltopSecurities can help state and local governments manage price volatility in energy markets

As Kunisch explains, energy risk is no longer just a market story — it is a budgeting, procurement, and planning issue for public entities.