As soon as the war against Iran began, the oil price shot up - from a pre-war $70/barrel to $120/barrel and then came down to around $80/barrel. But that's probably not the end of its ups and downs, aggravated by speculators, who've been buying up oil stocks since January.
They rightly predicted the disruption to world oll supply, 15-20% of which passes through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, under Iranian control.
This oil crisis is, say economists, even worse than the 1970s "oil shock" which signalled the end of the post-war boom and the start of the period of permanent crisis for world capitalism.
Reacting to this crisis, the International Energy Agency instructed Western governments to release 400m barrels of oil reserves {out of a total of 1.8bn). Oil prices dropped briefly below $100/barrel, only to rise again, thanks to speculation on the market!
Yes, while sharks in Wall Street and the City profit from the war, prices of everything are already rising for ordinary people all over the world. In Northern Ireland, where many use oil for heating, its price has more than doubled. Here, petrol at the pumps is already 7% higher, and diesel, 13%. At the same time, heavy fuel oil for ships is 160% up.
Giant shipping companies pass on these price rises by charging more (+ 15-20% so far) for transporting goods. And then retailers hike up their prices... So workers everywhere, who are already experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, are being hit in the pocket again.
Meanwhile, instead of capping prices and attacking profiteers, (perish the thought!) the government announced "help" of £53m for the poorest households. But most of this money will go directly into the pockets of oil retailers!
As for the major oil producers, like BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Total, after paying out a total of £330bn in profits over the past 4 years, they're looking forward to an even greater windfall. Yes, it's Iranian blood for oil, this time round. And our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters will keep bleeding until the West's working class decides to use its own force to put a stop to imperialist exploitation for good.