Investors on Wednesday weighed the aftermath of a wave of strikes across the Middle East, with stocks and bonds fluctuating in a choppy trade.
U.S. forces hit military targets in Iran, and Iran retaliated against American bases in Jordan and Iraq. Commercial ships in the Persian Gulf have also come under attack. The surge in violence in recent days, after a month without U.S. strikes, has pushed oil prices back above $90 a barrel. In turn, the higher cost of energy is feeding through to more expensive gasoline, diesel and other refined fuels.
Fears of accelerating inflation have bucked financial markets, especially bonds, compounding worries about government debt levels and deficits. Rising borrowing costs also threaten to squeeze consumers and businesses, another risk to the stock market.
The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose less than half a percent, reaching $95 a barrel. The price began the week below $90 and is now up more than 30 percent since the start of the war.
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, was above $90 per barrel.
Investors and analysts are focused on the continued disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that before the war carried as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply and a large amount of gas. The Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen have also restricted tanker traffic in the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, which Saudi Arabia has used as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
How much the international benchmark costs
Notes: Data shows future contract prices for Brent crude oil. Gaps indicate nontrading hours. Data is delayed at least 15 minutes.
Note: Data may not include all activity because some vessels have turned off tracking capabilities.
Here is a county-level look at where drivers are facing the highest costs.
How stocks are trading in the United States
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