Rising oil prices are weighing on stock prices since they raise costs for most businesses and erode their profits. They also can dent consumer spending.
Early Thursday, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, was up 4.3% at $98.16, its highest level since early June.
It had fallen to less than $72 earlier this month, roughly where it was before the war with Iran. But continued fighting is preventing oil tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz to exit the Persian Gulf. Normally, a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passes through the narrow strait.
U.S. benchmark crude gained 3.6% to $89.91 a barrel.
The U.S. military announced Wednesday that it was conducting a 12th night of strikes against Iran as both sides increasingly targeted civilian infrastructure.
Higher oil prices are threatening a reacceleration of inflation, which could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, slowing economies and undercutting prices for stocks and other investments.
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