Middle East Conflict Sends Oil Markets Surging

Bloomberg reports that escalating Middle East conflict has driven investors to safe havens and pushed oil prices sharply higher, with Brent rising about 13% to above $82 a barrel and WTI near $72 in early Asia trading on Monday. Analysts warn that an Iranian outage or Strait of Hormuz disruption could boost prices roughly 20% to about $108, hurting importers and exposing low-reserve economies to capital flight.