SINGAPORE: Oil prices surged more than 25 percent on Monday to their highest levels since mid-2022 as some major producers cut supplies and fears of prolonged shipping disruptions gripped the market due to the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran. Energy markets are particularly nervous because the crisis is unfolding around the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply normally passes.

The price of a gallon of Brent oil has jumped by nearly 30% in a week as prospects of a longer war set in.

Major disruption to energy supplies threatens to push up prices for consumers and businesses around the world.