COMMENT | Whenever tensions escalate in the Middle East, the shock rarely stays confined to the battlefield.

One of the first places the impact is felt is the global energy market. That pattern is visible again as rising tensions involving Iran have pushed oil prices sharply higher, reminding the world how quickly geopolitics can unsettle economic stability.

Within a short period, global crude benchmarks climbed beyond US$100 (RM392.95) per barrel for the first time in more than three years.

Oil remains one of the central pillars of the modern economy. When prices move sharply upward, the effects travel quickly through transport systems, factories, electricity generation and eventually into the prices households pay for daily necessities.

Much of the market’s nervousness can be traced to...