Oil prices leap and stocks fall amid US-Iran strikes over Hormuz

Brent crude jumps 3.4% and European markets drop, with airlines including Ryanair among hardest hit

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Oil prices jumped and stocks fell after the US launched a fresh wave of attacks against Iran amid an escalating standoff over the strait or Hormuz.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 3.4% to $78.59 a barrel on the renewed hostilities in the Middle East. It had been trading at $72.48 before the outbreak of the war in February, and hit as high as $120 in April.