WTI crude rises 0.8% at Asian open on risk of renewed US strikes on Iran

The move is small in percentage terms but telling in composition: this is a pure geopolitical risk premium, not a response to supply or demand fundamentals. That distinction matters because such premiums tend to be event-driven and reversible — they can deflate as quickly as they build if the threat recedes. The read-through extends beyond crude to the broader risk-asset complex, where energy costs feed into inflation expectations. Whether the premium holds depends on how concrete the strike risk becomes, and whether it spreads from headline pricing into physical market signals.