As the attacks between the US and Iran continue, the average price of gas is now at $4 a gallon. It previously dipped in mid-June, but has since gone back up.
Inflation looked as though it was finally settling into a more manageable pattern, but energy markets have a habit of rewriting the script.
US stock futures pointed higher on Monday as attention turned to a bumper week of Big Tech earnings, even with the US-Iran conflict grinding into its tenth day. Dow futures edged up 0.2%, S&P 500 contracts added 0.3%, and the Nasdaq-100 popped 0.7%, a welcome bounce after a bruising week for semiconductor stocks.
Brent crude oil futures soared above $90 per barrel on Monday but have since settled around $88.10 after Iranian officials signaled openness to dialogue. Esmaeil Baqaei, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said the country had received proposals and ideas from various mediators to help quell tensions with the U.S., state media reported.
U.S. stock futures largely inched higher, as investors worried about the further escalation in the Middle East.
Stock futures tick up
Oil rose on rising concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East.
The number of ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz stayed low during the weekend as the United States and Iran intensified attacks in the Middle East, shipping data showed on Monday.
Gulf countries boosted crude oil and condensate exports in the first half of July to the highest levels since before the Iran war began in late February, shipping data showed, although flows through the Strait of Hormuz are now slowing as fighting escalates.
Two oil tankers were attacked at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal off Russia's Black Sea coast, CPC said on Sunday, adding that oil loadings are suspended.
Video: WSJ's David Uberti explains how the Strategic Petroleum Reserve works to help blunt the impact of oil shocks such as the Iran War.
A few words of caution before you start buying stocks.