US-Iran Tensions Send Oil Prices Soaring Amid Escalating Conflict

Oil prices surged at the start of the week as tensions between the US and Iran escalated once again.

The price of Brent oil jumped by around 0.8% to $97 per barrel on Monday, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price rose by 0.6% to $92 per barrel.

The increase in prices comes after a drone strike near Erbil airport in northern Iraq targeted and destroyed a US military tethered surveillance aerostat, according to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that Iran will declare a new 'restricted' maritime zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days.