Oil prices soar and stocks fall over concerns Israeli strikes on Iran could spiral into wider war

Oil prices soared on Friday while stocks fell over concerns that Israel’s attack on Iran could spiral into a wider war and damage the flow of crude around the world. 

Iran is one of the world’s major oil producers and China its largest customer. Despite Western sanctions, a slowdown in Iranian oil could keep the price of crude and gasoline higher for buyers everywhere.    

The price of a barrel of benchmark US crude jumped 6.4% in…