Oil prices rise, financial markets fall in response to Middle East conflict

We’re seeing oil prices rise while the markets, in general, are down on the news of what’s happening in the Middle East. Oil prices of course are going to go up when you see a disruption in the supply chain like what we’re seeing right now.

A fifth of all oil consumed in the world comes through the Strait of Hormuz – that transportation location is now under threat.

We’re seeing the benchmark for stocks in oil, the Brent Crude oil stock, up nearly 8 percent to almost $80 a barrel now and the concern is that that could reach $100 a barrel.

We’re seeing OPEC countries rally to try to prevent that from happening. They’re vowing to produce 200,000 more barrels a day to offset the rising prices, but if they can’t deliver that oil then prices are likely to rise.

Rising oil prices could affect other goods and services, as well as the financial industry, so that’s why we’re seeing not a dramatic decrease in the market today, but certainly a down less than 1 percent in all the major stocks indexes here as volatility and nervousness permeate the trading floor today.