Oil markets defied all expectations Monday, crashing more than 7% to $68 a barrel even as Iran launched a barrage of missiles at U.S. military installations in Qatar in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.
Instead of triggering a surge in crude prices, typical of an escalating Middle East conflict, the attack seemed to confirm what markets have already priced in: this was a symbolic, controlled response, not the start of a full-blown war.
