Growing tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran caused oil prices to jump in the first trading session of 2016, an early sign of how the unstable political situation in the Middle East could complicate the outlook for oil prices in 2016. The price of both major international crude benchmarks—West Texas Intermediate and Brent—rose more than 3% in early Asian trade, after Saudi Arabia on Sunday severed diplomatic ties with Iran, a fellow member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The Saudi move came as hundreds of Iranians protested against the kingdom’s Saturday execution of Nemer-al-Nemer, a prominent Shiite cleric. Oil prices later pared their gains, with WTI up 1.6% at $37.63 a barrel and Brent up 1.7% at $37.92 a barrel by early afternoon Hong Kong time. The tension between two major producers is adding to the unpredictability of oil prices, which slumped to multiyear […]