Oil Nears $120 as Iran War Hammers KOSPI, Asian Stocks and Wall Street
Oil jumped to levels not seen since mid-2022 on Monday, with Brent spiking to $119.50 a barrel after the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran disrupted Gulf supply routes and clogged traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Stocks tumbled from Asia through Europe, and Wall Street followed with a weaker open after Asia’s latest selloff. This shift lands at a tricky moment, threatening to spark fresh inflation just as hopes for easing borrowing costs had started to build. Money markets quickly swung to price in possible rate hikes across Europe. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva, for her part, cautioned that policymakers ought to "think of the unthinkable." Her warning: if oil prices climb 10% and stay elevated most of the year, global inflation