A flare-up in U.S.-Iranian tensions, coupled with a work stoppage in the North Sea, sent crude oil prices higher Monday ahead of the start of U.S. trading. In an apparent response to a warning from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani of the “mother of all wars,” U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter at around 11 p.m. EDT Sunday to state that Tehran would “suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before” should provocation continue. The messaging is significant to oil markets because Iran is the third-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, but faces isolation because of U.S. sanctions that go into force in November. Iran has warned that if its […]