The closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the Middle East conflict is tightening global energy supply and raising concerns about ripple effects across key commodities.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Brooke Thackray, research analyst at Global X Investments Canada, about the implications for oil, gold investments, European equities and defensive sectors such as Canadian utilities.
Key Takeaways
- The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has removed a major share of global oil supply, and prolonged disruption could continue pushing crude prices higher.
- Investors should avoid reacting to short-term geopolitical headlines and instead maintain balanced portfolio allocations despite volatility in energy markets.
- Gold bullion may offer a safer exposure than gold miners during consolidation phases, while streaming companies can outperform producers in more volatile periods.
- Rising energy prices pose a particular risk for Europe, where economies rely heavily on imported oil and natural gas.
- Defensive sectors such as Canadian utilities may attract investors during geopolitical uncertainty because of stable revenue streams and dividend income.
Read the full transcript below:
ANDREW: The Middle East conflict has been weighing on stocks, even though the broad indices are up today. And, of course, the Strait of Hormuz has shut down, pushing oil in North America not far from US$100. Let’s get more on this fallout from Brooke Thackray, research analyst at Global X Investments Canada. Thanks very much indeed for joining us.
Brooke, the Bloomberg commodities commentator says today that the longer this goes on — almost regardless of whatever the White House tries to do to get oil flowing — it will relentlessly add to the price of crude. Do you think that sounds right?
BROOKE: Absolutely. I think there was an expectation at the beginning that the war was going to be short, and the possibility of closing the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t really factored in. There was a lot of optimism that it was all going to work out.
What’s happening now is that investors are realizing this could take a lot longer, and that’s going to continue pushing oil prices higher. And it’s not just oil prices. There are a lot of other materials flowing through that strait as well.
ANDREW: How do you suggest investors play it right now? I presume overweight oil stocks?
BROOKE: I don’t think investors should have a knee-jerk reaction to any announcement and suddenly say, “Oh, I’ve got to do this because of that.” You should have a portfolio allocation that makes sense over time.
The energy sector can still do well at this point. Oil stocks — which is how most investors play it — haven’t really gone up as much as oil itself. But they had already been performing well before the war as commodities in general were rising.
Even if oil comes down somewhat, as long as it doesn’t fall significantly, oil stocks can still perform well. I wouldn’t react to daily announcements — whether it’s sanctions being removed for Russia or something similar — because those measures won’t last long.
If this goes on for weeks, the oil curtailment will simply be too large and it will continue to push prices higher. Short-term announcements may buy time, but they’re not a reason to dramatically change your allocation to oil stocks.
ANDREW: We got numbers from Wheaton Precious Metals, and of course their cash flow is soaring and profits are climbing because of the high gold price. How are you playing the gold market right now?
BROOKE: I think the safer bet is gold itself versus gold miners at this point. Gold, gold miners and streamers have all had strong runs, and we’re now seeing a consolidation phase in gold.
Some investors ask why gold didn’t surge when the war started. But once gold enters a consolidation phase, it tends to trade off other factors such as interest rates and the U.S. dollar. That’s the phase we’re in right now.
If you had to choose between gold miners and streamers, I would look at the streamers. Wheaton Precious Metals reported excellent earnings — beating both revenue and earnings expectations — and operationally it’s doing very well.
When gold goes through consolidation phases — which we’ve seen repeatedly over the past couple of decades — streamers tend to perform relatively well. So the order of preference would be gold bullion first, then streamers, and then gold miners.
ANDREW: So first bullion itself, then streamers, and then the producers.
BROOKE: Yes, that’s correct.
ANDREW: I’m looking at the numbers here. Over the past year Wheaton has done quite well, and over the longer term it has outperformed many gold miners. Although it does look like it has lagged miners a bit recently. I guess people see more leverage in the gold miners right now?
BROOKE: Yes. If you look at something like an ETF tracking gold miners, when gold prices are rising strongly, miners tend to outperform. That’s because they offer more leverage to the gold price than streamers do.
Streamers are a bit more defensive than miners. During the strong rally in 2025, miners outperformed streamers such as Wheaton Precious Metals. But in a more uncertain environment like this, streamers can become more attractive.
ANDREW: You have a couple of ideas for us. One of them is a Global X product — the Equal Weight Canadian Utilities Index ETF, ticker UTIL. Tell us why investors should consider this one.
BROOKE: For full disclosure, I work for Global X. But if you look at what’s happened recently in markets, we’ve seen a shift away from high-growth technology sectors into more cyclical sectors such as industrials and materials. Now we’re starting to see investors become more cautious and move toward defensive sectors.
Investors aren’t necessarily leaving the market — they’re rotating into areas that are more defensive. In Canada, utilities are a good place to be.
If you compare Canadian utilities with those in the U.S., the U.S. sector is much more tied to AI-related demand from data centres, which introduces more volatility. Canadian utilities tend to offer more stable revenue and growth.
Interest rates are relatively stable as well, and utilities often perform well seasonally. If markets struggle, the Canadian utilities sector can be a good place for investors to hide.
ANDREW: Brooke, thank you very much indeed. Great hearing from you.
BROOKE: Thank you very much.
ANDREW: Brooke Thackray, research analyst at Global X Investments Canada.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the March 13, 2026 interview with Brooke Thackray are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
