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Oil Rises on Gulf Tensions; Stock Futures Steady

New York Times Business •
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Oil prices climbed Sunday evening as traders priced in persistent Persian Gulf tensions following days of attacks on shipping lanes. The benchmark Brent crude contract edged higher while S&P 500 futures held near unchanged levels, reflecting a market parsing geopolitical risk against resilient economic data. Energy shares outperformed in early futures trade.

The move underscores how quickly supply fears can resurface in a market already balanced by OPEC+ discipline and non-OPEC growth. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — conduit for roughly one-fifth of global seaborne crude — remains the focal point. Insurers have raised war-risk premiums, adding latent cost pressure that could filter into physical cargoes if disruptions persist.

Equities shrugged off the oil spike, suggesting investors still view the episode as contained rather than systemic. That calculus shifts if attacks escalate beyond targeted strikes into sustained interdiction. For now, the risk premium embedded in crude reflects caution, not panic — a distinction that matters for inflation forecasts and central bank policy paths.