Oil prices seesaw, gas creeps further past $4 per gallon amid Iran war uncertainty

Oil prices seesawed Monday as the next stage of the Iran war remained unclear — with President Trump threatening heavy attacks and Tehran rejecting a 45-day ceasefire.Brent crude prices rose 0.9% to $109.48 and West Texas Intermediate jumped 1.2% to $112.86 after both benchmarks regained losses earlier in the morning.National average gasoline prices – which typically lag behind energy supply shocks by a few weeks – continued to climb, hitting $4.12 a gallon. The US, Iran and regional mediators have been discussing a deal for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war, Axios reported on Sunday night, giving a boost to oil and stock markets after Monday’s opening.But oil futures rose and stocks posted modest gains after Tehran turned down the proposal and Trump repeated his promise to pummel Iran if it doesn’t meet his deadline of by 8 p.m.ET Tuesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a vital maritime route for 20% of the world’s oil.“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” the commander-in-chief said at a White House press conference.Iran vowed “much more devastating and widespread” retaliation if Trump follows through with his threat to ramp up strikes.The major US stock indexes clung to minor gains at the end of a turbulent session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 165 points, or 0.4%, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.“It’s clearly too early for market watchers to stop thinking about geopolitical risk,” Jeff Buchbinder of LPL Financial told Bloomberg News.

“For now, we believe the best course of action for investors is to be patient.”Trump said last Wednesday that the US would leave Iran in two to three weeks, but investors have been concerned that the exit could come without a deal to reopen the strait.Iran’s effective blockade of the route has caused the worst-ever energy supply disruption – with an est...