Updated

Oil prices fell Monday even as Middle East tensions continued to escalate, with traders watching for a recovery in Saudi crude shipments and Iran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed amid intensifying Houthi attacks. The U.S. State Department urged Americans to reconsider travel to the Middle East given the deteriorating security situation. Despite falling crude prices, record-high diesel prices are exposing pain points across the economy, threatening to keep upward pressure on inflation. Separately, companies across manufacturing, auto supply, retail and transportation report being squeezed simultaneously by tariffs, elevated fuel costs and higher interest rates, with executives describing conditions as increasingly difficult. Together these pressures highlight how geopolitical risk in the Middle East is feeding through into U.S. inflation dynamics and corporate margins.