Oil prices extend gains as US-Iran tensions flare again

Oil prices extended gains Tuesday as fresh military exchanges between the United States and Iran raised fears of renewed escalation. Washington struck Iranian rocket launchers on the island of Larak on Sunday, prompting Tehran to target US forces in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. US President Donald Trump vowed the US would respond and 'hit them hard,' despite his administration's recent shift toward an economic pressure campaign. Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained subdued, with around five vessels making the passage compared with a 10-day average of about 14, and no liquid tankers transiting. The renewed tensions come after six months of war, with Iran still blocking the Strait of Hormuz and the US maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports. Higher oil prices are adding to inflation concerns and expectations of higher interest rates, weighing on global stock markets. Trump is due to meet US oil refining executives Tuesday as soaring gasoline prices become a political liability ahead of November's midterm elections.