Senior oil analyst: If the conflict in Iran escalates, oil prices may rise by another 50%.

Senior oil analyst Edward Morse said that if the fighting in the Middle East region escalates, crude oil prices could rise by as much as 50% from current levels. Morse, who is a special advisor at Hartree Partners and former global head of commodities research at Citigroup, said in an interview on Monday that Houthi forces could intensify attacks in various parts of the Arabian Peninsula, leading to further disruptions in oil supply in the region. He said, "I suspect that the bombings targeting Iran and energy infrastructure in the western Gulf could last for at least two full weeks." He added that based on the price hikes seen in other parts of the world, the time for retail gasoline prices to reach $4 per gallon could be sooner than initially expected.