10 hours ago
Oil prices climb on fears Iran will blockade supplies
STORY: Oil prices climbed to their highest in five months on Monday as fears grew over what conflict in the Middle East could mean for supplies.
Traders are waiting to see what Iran does next, after the U.S. struck its key nuclear facilities.
Media reports say the country's parliament has approved a move to close the Strait of Hormuz.
That's the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, through which around a fifth of the world's oil is moved.
Although there are also pipeline routes out of the region, experts say they won't be enough to make up for a halt to shipping.
The concerns saw international benchmark Brent crude up around 1.5% in Asian morning trade Monday, with U.S. crude posting similar gains.
Both are up 10% or more since the conflict began.
One analyst told Reuters that a move by Iran to disrupt shipping could see oil hit $100 per barrel, up from around $78 now.
That could spur inflation and mean higher gasoline prices around the world.
Stock prices headed the other way on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei index down 0.5% early on.
But analysts said there was no sign yet of panic selling across markets.
Optimists cited hopes that regime change in Iran could bring a more moderate government to power.
Though analysts at JPMorgan cautioned that past episodes of upheaval in the Middle East typically resulted in oil prices spiking by 76%.
