A major escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas could send oil prices surging as much as 75 percent, the World Bank warned on Monday. Energy prices have remained largely contained since Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7. However, economists have been trying to determine the potential scale of economic repercussions if the current conflict intensifies and broadens across the Middle East. The World Bank’s new study suggests that such a crisis could overlap with energy market disruptions already caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The World Bank projects that global oil prices, which are currently hovering around $85 per barrel, will average $90 per barrel this quarter. World Bank officials cautioned that the effects on inflation and the global economy would depend on the duration of the conflict and how long oil prices remained elevated.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/30/business/economy/middle-east-war-oil-prices-world-bank.html