Iran nuclear row could detonate oil price increases

A surge in oil prices last week to almost $70 a barrel on concerns about the restart of Iran’s nuclear programme only hints at what may lie ahead.

Prices could soar past $100 a barrel, experts say, if the UN Security Council authorises trade sanctions against the Middle Eastern nation, which the West accuses of trying to make nuclear bombs, and Iran curbs oil exports in retaliation. A sharp global economic slowdown could follow.