Saudi-Iran dispute won't cause lasting oil price rally
Add BT as a preferred sourceOIL prices jumped on the first trading day of 2016 as the tension in the Middle East outweighed a selloff in financial markets around the world.
Oil markets remain oversupplied and depressed, but geopolitical flashpoints have a historical tendency to disrupt market trends.
Over the weekend, Saudi Arabia carried out a mass execution of 47 prisoners, including a prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. The executions prompted condemnations from around the world; in Iran, protesters threw Molotov cocktails at Saudi Arabia's embassy, setting the building ablaze. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saudi Arabia would face "divine retribution" for executing the cleric.
