Key events49m agoIntroduction: Oil prices rise over 2% after Middle East strikes; China’s exports surge on back of AI boomChina’s car exports rose to a record 1m cars in June as part of the wider surge in trade, which could lead to more tensions with European and other trading partners.Shipments of cars jumped 71.2% in June from a year earlier to 1.06m, according to the Chinese customs data.This puts China on track to export more than 10m cars this year, up from 7.1m last year and more than double the 4.9m sold abroad in 2023, the Financial Times said.Sales within China have slowed sharply after Beijing phased out electric vehicle subsidies and as demand for petrol and diesel cars has fallen.The surge in Chinese exports has prompted the EU and others to slap steep tariffs on car imports from the country.Introduction: Oil prices rise over 2% after Middle East strikes; China’s exports surge on back of AI boomGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Oil prices rose more than 2% after the conflict in the Middle East worsened, with the US carrying out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran. Two tankers came under fire in the strait of Hormuz.Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed 2.2% to $85.15 a barrel, after touching $85.64 in early London trading.Donald Trump said the US would reinstate its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf, but vowed that the strait would remain open, with or without Iran.Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at the Wealth Club, said: