SINGAPORE: Global oil and gas shipping rates soared, with supertanker costs in the Middle East hitting all-time highs, as the US-Iran conflict intensified after Tehran targeted ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to shipping data and industry sources on Tuesday. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, which carries around one-fifth of oil consumed globally as well as large quantities of liquefied natural gas, has ground to a near halt after vessels in the area were hit as Iran retaliated to US and Israeli strikes.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and US-Israeli strikes in Iran are reigniting the specter of a surge in crude oil prices. But the global economy is less vulnerable today than…

LONDON: Asian governments and refiners rushed to assess oil stockpiles as well as alternative shipping routes and supplies as the Iran conflict disrupted shipping in the crucial…