Bdbusinessdaily.com – Global benchmark crude prices pushed higher on Tuesday, extending a multi-day rally driven by fears that the simmering confrontation between Washington and Tehran could calcify into a drawn-out military standoff. Brent crude futures added 49 cents, a 0.5 percent gain, to settle at $97.49 per barrel by 0400 GMT. Its American counterpart, West Texas Intermediate, jumped $1.44, or 1.6 percent, to $92.92 a barrel.

The price action came in the wake of a weekend that saw both sides trade fresh strikes, with Iran subsequently warning it would launch retaliatory measures against any further American attacks on its assets. The threat of sustained disruption to Gulf energy flows has now become the dominant variable shaping trader sentiment across the commodity complex.…