Oil prices jumped slightly over 1% on Wednesday to near the $100 mark and stocks struggled as a fresh flare-up in the Middle East crisis renewed supply concerns, putting upward pressure on inflation ahead of key data at the end of the week.
With the U.S.-Iran conflict now in its seventh month and showing no sign of calming despite White House claims of an imminent deal, investors are growing increasingly anxious that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will have to hike interest rates to cap surging consumer prices.
The two foes are locked in a stalemate six months into the war, with Tehran maintaining a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the world's oil and gas, and Washington pushing a campaign to choke the Islamic republic's ports and economy.
Iran said Wednesday it had struck a U.S. military base in Jordan following American attacks on its vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which itself was in retaliation for ballistic missile launches at a U.S. warship.
It also said it would target oil tankers off Kuwait and Bahrain and urged crews to leave their ships, according to the IRNA state news agency.
