Financial Sense Newshour Mark Mills: Global Markets Experiencing Dramatic "Recoupling" to Oil and Commodities
Mar 28, 2026
Mark Mills, Executive Director of the National Center for Energy Analytics and energy-tech analyst, discusses why oil and commodities remain central to geopolitics and economic stability. He links rising demand for metals and chips to the digital and AI boom. He also examines how data centers, electricity use, and supply-chain vulnerabilities reshape global power.
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Oil Still Rules Global Energy
- Oil remains the central geopolitical and economic commodity because every product and service depends on it directly or in supply chains.
- Mark P. Mills shows global oil use per capita has been essentially flat since 2000 despite ~$10 trillion spent on energy transition efforts, so dependency persists.
Liquid Hydrocarbons Are Irreplaceable At Scale
- There is no practical replacement at scale for liquid hydrocarbons for many uses like heavy equipment, mining, and long-distance aviation.
- Even a large EV rollout (50% of light vehicles) would cut global oil use by only about 10%, still leaving vast oil demand.
Digital Tech Increased Demand For Exotic Materials
- The digital economy increased dependence on exotic raw materials because modern devices use many more elements from the periodic table.
- Mark P. Mills notes applications like data centers and AI need large quantities of copper, rare earths, and other scarce elements.
