The same liter of gasoline. Wildly different realities.
Local-currency cost indexed to January 2020 = 100, showing the combined effect of crude oil prices and currency movements. 1 liter ≈ 0.26 US gallons.
ACT 1 \u2014 BASELINE
In January 2020, a liter of gasoline cost roughly the same everywhere. Then the world broke.
ACT 2 \u2014 CRASH
COVID-19 emptied highways worldwide. Oil futures went negative for the first time in history. But the recovery would not be equal.
ACT 3 \u2014 DIVERGENCE
By early 2022, Turkey's lira had already collapsed. Then Russia invaded Ukraine, and energy prices exploded everywhere — but not equally.
ACT 4 \u2014 NEW CRISIS
In February 2026, the Strait of Hormuz — through which 20% of the world's oil passes — became a battlefield. Oil surged 40% in a month.
ACT 5 \u2014 NOW
Today, a Turkish driver pays 11 times what they paid in 2020. An American pays 55% more. The question is no longer if energy reshapes geopolitics — but how fast.
DATA: FRED (Brent crude monthly averages) · ECB (exchange rates via Frankfurter API)
Crude oil price per liter converted to local currency. Indexed: January 2020 = 100.