Oil rises past $100 a barrel after latest Middle East attacks

# Analysis The jump in oil prices above $100 a barrel represents a direct threat to the fragile economic stability that policymakers have worked to establish after years of inflation. Since oil underpins transportation, manufacturing, and heating costs worldwide, this surge will ripple through supply chains within weeks—increasing prices at gas pumps, raising shipping costs that retailers pass to consumers, and potentially reigniting inflation pressures that central banks have fought hard to contain. For developing nations already struggling with debt, higher energy costs can force painful choices between importing fuel and investing in education or healthcare. The market's sensitivity to Middle East disruptions also reveals how concentrated global energy infrastructure remains: despite decades of renewable investment, geopolitical events in a single region still hold leverage over grocery prices and airline tickets across continents, making energy diversification no longer an environmental aspiration but an economic necessity.