RIYADH: Oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel on March 9 for the first time since 2022 as conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran continued, but analysts believe more shocks could be on the way. The immediate concern for oil markets is no longer only the initial price shock, but how long supply and storage buffers can absorb a prolonged disruption to flows through Hormuz, a chokepoint that handles a large share of Gulf crude and liquefied natural gas exports. A further escalation around Iran’s Kharg Island export hub could deepen the shock.

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

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, is virtually shut.