Oil prices surged past $100 per barrel on Sunday, the first time crossing that mark since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as investors worried that the war in Iran would mean prolonged restrictions on Middle Eastern oil flows.

World shares tumbled on Monday, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunging more than 5%, after oil prices spiked at nearly $120 a barrel.

The Group of Seven major industrialized powers have decided against using strategic reserves for now to counter the impact on oil prices from the Iran war. French Finance Minister Roland Lescure

Oil prices have surged as the war, now in its second week, ensnares countries and places that are critical to the production and movement of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.

Oil prices surged early Monday, briefly trading near $120 a barrel, as the Iran War threatened to cause a full-blown global energy crisis.

The U.S. ordered non-emergency government staff to leave Saudi Arabia as the widening Iran war rattled global markets.

The G7 nations have yet to decide whether to release emergency stocks of oil in response to surging crude prices triggered by the was in Iran, the French finance minister has said. "We are not there yet,

Stocks erased deep losses to end higher on Monday after Trump hinted the war is almost over and was well ahead of his earlier timeline.